The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a higher-priced option but offers significantly better performance for 3D tasks, machine learning, and engineering work thanks to its more powerful processor and dedicated graphics card; it is also suitable for intensive gaming, though it's heavier and has slightly shorter battery life. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is more affordable, with better portability due to its lighter weight and smaller screen, as well as longer battery life, but it has less storage and RAM, and its performance is lower, making it more suitable for general use rather than demanding tasks. 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 Legion Slim 7 15.6"
Good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good overall display quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
7.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
350.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for general use, though the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is somewhat better.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7, with its higher RAM and powerful AMD Ryzen CPU, provides better performance suitable for a range of tasks, while its gaming-quality GPU and larger, high-refresh-rate screen enhance visual experiences, trading off a bit of portability and battery life. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offers greater portability with its lighter weight and smaller form factor, and a touchscreen display which the Lenovo lacks, but sacrifices performance due to less RAM and a less powerful CPU, as well as lower storage capacity, making it less ideal for more demanding applications.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
6.0/10
7.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.8/10
6.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
7.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is 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
7.7/10
7.1/10
7.4/10
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 Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for content creation, though the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is somewhat better.
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
7.7/10
6.9/10
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
350.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 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 Lenovo Legion Slim 7, with its high-resolution display and robust color reproduction, caters well to general use and tasks requiring precise color detail, such as engineering and design work. However, despite its high resolution and panel quality, its lower refresh rate does not suit the fast-paced action in gaming or the needs of 3D applications. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 also provides an appropriate resolution and color fidelity for everyday activities and professional design, but like the Lenovo, it falls short for gaming and 3D because of its refresh rate limitations.
Portability
Good
Excellent
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
4.1 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,200
$774
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has a price of $1,200 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $774.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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.
Battery
9.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 9 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.
Build Quality
7.6/10
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
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How the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
"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 Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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.
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