To decide between the Gigabyte Aorus 17 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, consider your primary use cases. The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is a high-performance laptop typically suited for gaming, 3D modeling, and intensive engineering tasks because of its robust hardware. However, it is heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less portable. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is more portable, with a lighter build and longer battery life, but less suited for demanding tasks. It is ideal for general use, like web browsing, office work, and media consumption. If performance for resource-intensive applications is essential, the Gigabyte is the better choice; if you prioritize portability and battery life for everyday tasks, go for the Surface Laptop Go 2. 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 17
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
267.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for general use, though the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is somewhat better.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 delivers better performance for general use due to its superior CPU, more RAM, and dedicated graphics card, but it's heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, which has a more modest CPU, less RAM, integrated graphics, but is lighter and offers longer battery life. Both have high-quality screens, though the Surface Laptop Go 2's is smaller with a touch feature, affecting portability and user interaction preferences.
Gaming and AI
8.1/10
6.0/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is better suited for gaming and 3D applications primarily due to its powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card and a high screen refresh rate of 360Hz, which together provide smoother visuals and more responsive gameplay.
Engineering and Design
8.4/10
6.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 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
8.0/10
7.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aorus 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.
Screen Quality
8.0/10
6.9/10
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
267.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 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 Aorus 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 both have screens with suitable resolution and brightness for everyday tasks, which explains their good quality for general use. For engineering and design, both laptops offer screens with color gamuts that can handle precise color work, despite varying in their coverage extents. However, for gaming and 3D, where smooth motion and rapid refresh are critical, the lower refresh rates of these displays may not provide the fluid visuals desired by gamers, despite their adequate resolution and panel types.
Battery
6.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has 6 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
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,700
$565
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has a price of $1,700 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $565.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 and Gigabyte Aorus 17 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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How the Gigabyte Aorus 17 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is a powerful high-end gaming machine. The Aorus 17 is a potent gaming notebook in a 17.3-inch format designed for FHD gaming at maximum settings. A Core i7-12700H processor and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU make this possible. A lightning-fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the necessary storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Aorus 17 XE4, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded, high-performance gaming notebook."
"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 Aorus 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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