Gigabyte Aorus 17H vs Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2

The Gigabyte Aorus 17H offers higher performance for general use with more RAM, a more powerful CPU, and dedicated graphics, albeit at the expense of portability due to its larger size and heavier weight; whereas the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 provides less power but higher portability and better battery life, making it suitable for lighter use and on-the-go activities. Screen quality is excellent on both, but the Surface Laptop Go 2 has a higher resolution and touchscreen capability, which might be preferred for certain users despite its smaller screen size.

The Gigabyte Aorus 17H excels in gaming and 3D tasks due to its powerful Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics card and a high screen refresh rate of 360Hz, which ensures smooth visuals and responsiveness. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has a less robust integrated Iris Xe GPU and a standard refresh rate of 60Hz, which provides a fair experience but is less suitable for the high demands of gaming and 3D applications.

The Gigabyte Aorus 17H is equipped with a high-end CPU and dedicated graphics card, which are essential for demanding engineering and design tasks, whereas the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has a mid-range CPU and integrated graphics, suitable for lighter tasks but less so for compute-intensive applications. Additionally, while both laptops have quality screens, the Aorus 17H's larger size and specifications likely provide a more detailed and color-accurate display, further enhancing its suitability for precision work in engineering and design.

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.

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.

For general use, both the Gigabyte Aorus 17H and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offer panels with sufficient resolution and brightness, making text and images clear and vivid, which is essential for daily activities like browsing and video streaming. When it comes to engineering and design, despite both having good screen quality, the Aorus 17H may have a slight edge due to better coverage of professional color gamuts, which helps in tasks that require color accuracy. However, neither laptop is ideal for gaming and 3D because of their lower refresh rates, which cannot provide the smooth visuals that are crucial for fast-paced gaming or 3D rendering.

Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.

PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.