For a balance of performance and portability with a stunning OLED display, the Gigabyte Aero 16 is ideal, especially for creative tasks and some gaming, thanks to its powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and high-resolution screen. However, it's heavier and has a shorter battery life compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15", which offers a touchscreen, excellent build quality, and longer battery life, making it a great choice for business users and general productivity on the go. The Surface Laptop 6 also has a unique 3:2 aspect ratio, which is great for reading and writing. Choose the Aero 16 for intensive tasks and better gaming capabilities, or the Surface Laptop 6 for its all-day battery life, touchscreen, and sleek design. 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 Aero 16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
Very good speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.8/10
6.6/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
7.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
8.4/10
8.1/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.0in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" for general use, engineering and design, and content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has a better screen for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
7.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has 9 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
Good
Good
16.0in
SIZE
15.0in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" and Gigabyte Aero 16 both have good portability, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 16 to be very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Content Creation
8.2/10
7.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 16 to be very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good.
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
7.9/10
7.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" 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.
Build Quality
7.8/10
7.4/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,260
$1,200
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a price of $1,260 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" costs $1,200.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Gigabyte Aero 16 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aero 16 is a workstation laptop for light gaming. It's design is still muted, with a silver chassis alongside a black keyboard and trackpad that provides some contrast. The Gigabyte Aero’s full-size chiclet-style keyboard is enjoyable to type on thanks to its snappy feel and responsiveness. The 4K+ AMOLED display is good, but it could be better. It doesn’t handle true black very well and suffers from strong reflections and glare. The Gigabyte Aero excels at productivity performance and can keep up with other gaming laptops in 1080p. But it has very few ports and its refresh rate leaves a bit to be desired."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 16 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
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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