The Gigabyte A7 offers superior performance suitable for gaming, 3D work, and engineering tasks with a high-end processor and dedicated graphics, but it is larger, heavier, and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is more affordable, lightweight, and has a longer battery life, making it highly portable and ideal for general use, but it has less storage, memory, and significantly lower performance capabilities. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Gigabyte A7
Good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good overall display quality
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.3/10
6.1/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Gigabyte A7 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.
The Gigabyte A7 offers a higher screen refresh rate and more powerful GPU with Nvidia RTX 3060, which is essential for smooth, fast-paced gaming and 3D rendering, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has a lower refresh rate and an integrated GPU, which is less capable in handling graphics-intensive tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
6.8/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte A7 is good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.
The Gigabyte A7 offers superior performance for engineering and design tasks with its higher-tier AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, which are better suited for demanding workloads compared to the Surface Laptop Go 3, which has a lower-tier Intel CPU and integrated graphics suitable for less intensive tasks. Furthermore, the A7's ample RAM and higher resolution screen contribute to its good rating, while the Surface Laptop Go 3's fair rating can be attributed to its lower RAM and screen quality, which may still be adequate for light use but are less optimal for engineering and design.
Screen Quality
7.3/10
6.8/10
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
318.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
The Gigabyte A7 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, the Gigabyte A7 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 both offer displays that provide clear images and bright visuals, making tasks like browsing, video streaming, and document editing comfortable. In the realm of engineering and design, these laptops may display colors accurately with sufficient coverage of professional color gamuts, aiding in precise visual work. However, for gaming and 3D applications that benefit from smoother motion, both laptops fall short due to lower refresh rates which can make fast-paced visuals appear less fluid.
Battery
4.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Gigabyte A7 has 4.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has 8 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Fair
Excellent
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has excellent portability, while the Gigabyte A7 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and Gigabyte A7 both have good build quality, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has somewhat better build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$940
$789
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Gigabyte A7 has a price of $940 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 costs $789.
The Gigabyte A7 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 are both good for general use.
The Gigabyte A7 offers strong performance thanks to its high-end CPU and ample RAM, making it suitable for various tasks and even gaming, but its larger size and shorter battery life reduce its portability compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3, which has a lower-powered CPU and less RAM but is much lighter and can run longer on a single charge, trading off some performance for better portability and longer usage away from power sources.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.3/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and Gigabyte A7 are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.0/10
7.1/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and Gigabyte A7 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
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How the Gigabyte A7 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 compare to other laptops
"In terms of looks, the Gigabyte A7 X1 is certainly not a trendy, slim, and ultra-mobile gaming laptop. But it does what it's supposed to do, namely bringing games smoothly onto the screen, very well. Both the processor and the GeForce RTX 3070 are able to unleash their performance without restrictions thanks to the well-ventilated case. The Gigabyte A7 X1 brings modern games smoothly onto the screen and offers excellent maintenance options."
"When it comes to affordably priced laptops, the numbers after the dollar sign are crucially important—more so than in any other price category. By increasing the starting price of its Laptop Go line by $200 and not changing much else, Microsoft irrevocably altered the calculus surrounding the decision of whether to buy the Surface Laptop Go 3. Sure, it has a newer processor and longer battery life, but don’t think for a second you’re not paying dearly for that extra RAM and SSD capacity at that new price."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte A7 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.