For a balance of performance and portability with a focus on gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks, the Gigabyte Aorus 15X is a strong choice with its high-performance CPU and dedicated GPU. It offers a fast refresh rate display, suitable for gaming and engineering tasks that require smooth visuals. However, it's heavier and has a shorter battery life compared to the Surface Laptop, making it less ideal for frequent travelers.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is designed for general use and business professionals, featuring a touchscreen display with excellent color accuracy and a taller 3:2 aspect ratio, which is great for productivity. It's lighter, has a longer battery life, and a more compact design, enhancing its portability. While it has a capable integrated GPU, it may not match the Aorus 15X in intensive graphics tasks or gaming.
Consider the Aorus for its superior gaming and graphics performance, and choose the Surface Laptop for its portability, business-oriented features, and all-day battery life. 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 Aorus 15X
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.5/10
6.6/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is very 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
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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
8.2/10
8.1/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.0in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" for gaming and AI, and content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has a better screen for general use, and engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
5.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has 5.5 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
15.6in
SIZE
15.0in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" and Gigabyte Aorus 15X both have good portability, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,600
$1,200
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a price of $1,600 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" costs $1,200.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" are both good for general use.
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
8.0/10
7.8/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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
7.7/10
7.8/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" and Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Gigabyte Aorus 15X and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" 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."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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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