The Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers more storage, higher RAM, and a powerful AMD Ryzen processor, making it better suited for intensive tasks like engineering work or 3D modeling. It also has a longer battery life but is heavier, which affects portability. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, conversely, is lighter and has a smaller screen, making it more portable and convenient for travel. It features an Intel processor with integrated graphics, suitable for general use and casual tasks but not as optimized for performance-intensive applications. If portability and lower cost are your priorities, consider the Surface Laptop Go 2; for better performance in demanding tasks, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is the more suitable choice. 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 Lenovo Flex 5 14
Good for engineering and design
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
7.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
277.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
11.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for general use, though the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
6.9/10
14.0in
SIZE
12.4in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
277.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 for software development, and content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
When considering general use, the Surface Laptop Go 2 offers a crisper, brighter display that enhances activities like web browsing, document editing, and streaming, while Lenovo Flex 5's screen, although satisfactory, may not be as vibrant. For engineering and design purposes, the Surface Laptop Go 2 provides a wider color spectrum, which is key for accurate color work, whereas the Lenovo Flex 5 may fall short in representing colors precisely but still performs reasonably for non-color-critical tasks. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both laptops may disappoint due to lower refresh rates, which limits smooth gameplay and rendering; although, Lenovo Flex 5's resolution and panel type provide an adequate but not ideal experience.
Battery
11.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has 11.5 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
Very Good
Excellent
14.0in
SIZE
12.4in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 both have good build quality, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has somewhat better build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$450
$565
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has a price of $450 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $565.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both limited in gaming and 3D performance due to their integrated GPUs—the Vega 8 and Iris Xe respectively—which fall behind dedicated gaming GPUs, and both have standard 60Hz screen refresh rates, which are lower than the higher refresh rates preferred for gaming. Additionally, while both have solid screen quality with IPS panels, the CPUs, an AMD Ryzen in the Lenovo and an Intel i5 in the Microsoft, aren't as powerful as those typically found in higher-end gaming laptops, further impacting their suitability for intensive gaming and 3D tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.0/10
6.5/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Flex 5 14 to be good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 outshines the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 for engineering and design use primarily because it boasts a more powerful AMD Ryzen 7 processor and has double the RAM, which are crucial for demanding software tasks, alongside a significantly larger storage capacity and a dedicated Vega GPU to better handle engineering graphics. While both have high-quality IPS displays, the larger and higher resolution screen of the Lenovo enhances detail and workspace, and although the Surface Laptop Go 2 is more portable due to its lighter weight and smaller size, its lower RAM, less powerful Intel i5 processor, and integrated graphics make it less suitable for intensive engineering applications.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.1/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 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
7.4/10
7.0/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Flex 5 14 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 compare to other laptops
"The highlight of the latest IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is clearly its AMD CPU. The octa-core Ryzen 7 5700U is insanely fast even when compared to the best Tiger Lake Ultrabooks in the market or even Core H CPUs in many gaming laptops. It's a lot of raw processing power for what is supposed to be a budget 14-inch convertible. If your daily workloads can benefit from extra multi-thread CPU performance, then look no further than the inexpensive AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14. For regular on-the-road browsing or video streaming, however, a slimmer and lighter 10th gen Core Yoga, Spectre, or XPS would be a more balanced option."
"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 Lenovo Flex 5 14 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
93,495
Recommendations made
20,258
Consumer hours saved
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.