If you need a laptop with higher performance for intensive tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering software, the Gigabyte Aorus 15X with its powerful processor and graphics card is suitable, keeping in mind it is heavier and larger, which affects portability. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2, while more expensive and with slightly less raw power, offers a flexible display hinge to be used as a laptop or drawing tablet, superior build quality, and greater screen sharpness with a unique aspect ratio, making it ideal for creative professionals who value versatility and portability over top-tier gaming performance. Give Feedback
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Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 15X
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Very good overall build quality
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.5/10
7.7/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is very good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
8.2/10
7.9/10
15.6in
SIZE
14.4in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
503.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has a better screen for engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X's screen offers vibrant colors and sharp visuals suitable for everyday tasks, but it may not fully satisfy engineers and designers who require wider color gamut coverage. While the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2's screen also provides a high-resolution experience for productivity and professional design work, thanks to its excellent color reproduction. Both laptops, however, fall short for gaming and 3D applications due to their lower refresh rates, which can limit the smoothness and responsiveness during high-speed gaming or 3D rendering.
Battery
5.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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
Good
Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.4in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Gigabyte Aorus 15X both have good portability, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,600
$3,300
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a price of $1,600 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 costs $3,300.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 to be very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
8.7/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Gigabyte Aorus 15X are both very good for engineering and design.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is equipped with a high-end Intel i9 CPU and Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, making it powerful for engineering tasks that require strong processing and graphics capabilities, and it has a quality screen. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 offers more RAM for multitasking and complex projects, along with a high-resolution and high-quality display, but it comes with a slightly less powerful CPU and GPU compared to the Aorus 15X.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.4/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Gigabyte Aorus 15X are both very 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
7.7/10
8.2/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X is good.
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 Aorus 15X and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is a strong showing of Raptor Lake and RTX 4000 series. While the Aorus had trouble keeping up in older games like Grand Theft Auto V, it nudged past the competition in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It also flexed its next-generation muscle in Far Cry 6 and Borderlands 3. While we were impressed with the overall build quality and design of the Aorus 15X, the keyboard lacked good tactile feedback. The display performed well in real-world testing despite its on-paper shortcoming with brightness, but the speakers are lackluster at best."
"The new Surface Laptop Studio with its foldable display is supposed to replace the old Surface Book and the overall impression is good after our review. The build quality and the materials are top-notch, the performance utilization of the two components is solid and the device does not show any major flaws in terms of display or speakers, either. The folding mechanism leaves a sold impression as well, but it remains to be seen how it will hold up over the years. The so-called presentation mode is also not ideal since it covers the whole keyboard."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 15X or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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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