The Gigabyte Aero 17 offers high performance, a large high-resolution screen, and better capabilities for 3D rendering, machine learning, and intensive gaming, but it's more expensive and not as portable due to its size and shorter battery life. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is more affordable, lightweight, and offers a longer battery life, making it highly portable and suitable for everyday tasks and light productivity, but it has less storage, memory, and much lower performance for demanding applications due to a less powerful processor and integrated graphics. Choose the Aero 17 for demanding tasks and performance, or the Laptop Go 2 for casual use and portability. 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 17
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
8.1/10
7.0/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
368.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 17, with a robust CPU, ample RAM, and a high-quality screen, is well-suited for a range of tasks, but its larger size and lower battery life affect its portability. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offers greater portability and longer battery life but has a less powerful CPU and less RAM, making it a fair choice for general use but not as well-equipped for demanding applications.
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
6.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
8.8/10
6.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
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.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
7.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for software development, though the Gigabyte Aero 17 is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
6.9/10
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Gigabyte Aero 17's top-notch display offers high resolution and brightness suited for detailed work in engineering and design, along with broad color coverage, ensuring precise color accuracy crucial in professional environments. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2's display, while it offers sufficient resolution and brightness for everyday tasks and non-specialized design work, lacks the expansive color gamut required by more demanding engineering software. Both laptops, however, have screens with lower refresh rates, which can hinder the smooth visuals important for gaming and handling 3D models where fluid motion and quick screen updates are essential.
Battery
5.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$2,071
$565
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a price of $2,071 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $565.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 17 to have very good build quality, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
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How the Gigabyte Aero 17 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 compare to other laptops
"Not only is the Aero 17 a very good laptop for gamers but also for content creators. With the upgrade to the Intel Core i9-11980HK, Gigabyte particularly improved the system performance. In addition, the hardware package is rounded by the extremely fast SSD and 32 GB of working memory in dual-channel mode. Compared to the predecessor, the battery life is reduced only moderately, and the 4K display also basically keeps its good qualities."
"The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review is a compact companion with old hardware. The Surface Laptop Go 2 shows some weaknesses. Microsoft didn't really develop the second generation of the Surface Laptop Go 2 any further but has only equipped it with a slightly more powerful Core i5 processor. However, the performance still remains at a fairly low level overall, but for many users, it definitely should still be sufficient for everyday tasks."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 17 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
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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