The Gigabyte Aorus 5 offers superior performance for intensive tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering due to its powerful processor and high-end graphics card, but it comes at a premium price and is heavier, making it less portable. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is much more affordable, lighter for better portability, and has a touch screen with a higher resolution and aspect ratio that benefits productivity tasks. However, it's less suitable for demanding applications due to its less powerful processor and integrated graphics, and it has a shorter 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 5
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.5/10
7.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
280.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for general use, though the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is somewhat better.
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 boasts a stronger CPU and more RAM than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, providing better performance for demanding tasks, and it has a larger, though not touch-sensitive, screen with a higher refresh rate, enhancing visual experiences. However, the Surface Laptop Go 2 offers greater portability due to its lighter weight and smaller size, coupled with better battery life, making it a more convenient choice for on-the-go use despite its less powerful hardware.
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
6.0/10
8.2/10
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 5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aorus 5, with its Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card and an impressive screen refresh rate, provides a powerful gaming experience, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offers a more modest performance with an Intel Iris Xe GPU and a lower refresh rate, although still adequate for less demanding games and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
6.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
8.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 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.
Screen Quality
8.0/10
6.9/10
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 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 5 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 both offer screens with ample resolution, panel quality, and brightness for everyday tasks, ensuring crisp and clear visuals for general use. For engineering and design, these laptops provide good color accuracy and range, important for precision in color-sensitive work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, their lower refresh rates lead to less fluid motion, which can be a drawback for fast-paced visuals or professional-grade animation work.
Battery
5.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has 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
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$2,359
$565
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has a price of $2,359 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $565.
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both 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
7.3/10
7.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 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 5 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 5 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4 is a capable mainstream gaming notebook that will run the latest PC games with aplomb. However, it's not your stereotypical flashy gaming PC. Gigabyte has added some interesting tweaks. For example, the webcam placement and its Microsoft Azure AI tool — to automatically switch between power modes — are unusual for this genre. But more importantly, the pricing is fairly competitive and reasonable."
"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 5 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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