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G5
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Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated June 22, 2024·

For general use and portability, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is a strong contender with its sleek design, high-resolution touchscreen, and excellent battery life. It's also well-suited for business environments with Windows 11 Pro and robust security features like facial recognition. However, its limited storage and lack of dedicated graphics card make it less ideal for gaming, 3D rendering, or intensive engineering tasks. On the other hand, the Gigabyte G5 offers a more budget-friendly option with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, making it a better choice for gaming and graphics-intensive work. It has a larger screen with a higher refresh rate, which is great for fast-paced games and multimedia content. The G5 also provides more storage and RAM expansion options, catering to those who need more power and space for their tasks. In summary, if you prioritize portability, screen quality, and battery life for everyday tasks and business use, the Surface Laptop 6 is the way to go. But if you're looking for a laptop that can handle gaming and demanding graphics tasks at a lower price point, the Gigabyte G5 is the better choice, despite being less portable and having 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 G5
  • Good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
  • Good for software development
  • Good overall display quality
  • Very good portability
  • Good battery life

Key differences

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General Use

7.1
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
7.7
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
248.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and Gigabyte G5 are both good for general use, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is somewhat better.

Gaming and AI

7.3
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
6.6
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte G5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is only fair.

Content Creation

7.2
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
7.7
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and Gigabyte G5 are both good for content creation, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is somewhat better.

Software Development

6.8
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
7.7
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for software development, while the Gigabyte G5 is only fair.

Screen Quality

6.8
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
7.8
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
248.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has a better screen than the Gigabyte G5 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.

Battery

3.5 Hours
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
9.0 Hours
The Gigabyte G5 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has 9 hours of battery life.

Portability

Good
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
4.1 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has very good portability, while the Gigabyte G5 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Cost

$868
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
$1,200
Product image
Product image

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$1,600

$1,800

The Gigabyte G5 has a price of $868 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
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Key similarities

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Engineering and Design

7.6
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
7.7
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and Gigabyte G5 are both good for engineering and design.

Build Quality

7.2
G5
Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
7.4
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and Gigabyte G5 both have good build quality.

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How the Gigabyte G5 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Gigabyte G5Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
Gigabyte G5Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"

GENERAL

Price
$868
$1,200
Release Date
May 1, 2023June 1, 2024
Overall Dimensions
14.2'' x 9.4'' x 0.89''12.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.66''
Weight
4.19 lbs3.04 lbs
Width
14.2"12.13"
Depth
9.4"8.78"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i5-12500HIntel Core Ultra 7 135H
RAM
8 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
45
RAM Slots
20
Storage
512 GB256 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
3.5 Hours9 Hours
Battery Capacity
54 Wh47 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
15.6"13.5"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 10802256 x 1504
Refresh Rate
144Hz120Hz
Display Brightness
248 nits400 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.2/107.4/10
Portability Score
7.4/108.7/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoYes
Fan Noise Score
6.5/108/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
7.5/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
8/108/10
Webcam
720p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
21
USB-C ports
21
USB-C Charging
NoYes
Display Outputs
21
Thunderbolt Version
N/A4

Shopping

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Gigabyte G5

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam | April 2023
"The Gigabyte G5 KE is a midrange gaming laptop that checks most boxes. Gigabyte makes good use of the Core i5-12500H and RTX 3060 Laptop GPU combo, and we find no untoward issues with overall performance. The dual-fan quad-heatpipe cooling arrangement does well to ensure that the underlying hardware doesn't throttle under load. That being said, the display is below par when compared to 2023 standards, especially when competing devices."

Get a great deal on the Gigabyte G5 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"

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.

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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.

By the numbers

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Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
125,895
Recommendations made
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About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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