Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
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GENERAL USE: Good—7.4/10
GAMING/AI: Fair—6.1/10
ENG/DESIGN: Good—7.1/10
SOFTWARE DEV: Good—7.2/10
CONTENT CREATION: Good—7.4/10
PORTABILITY: Excellent—9.0/10
BATTERY: Good—7.4/10
OVERALL SCREEN QUALITY: Good—7.3/10
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: Good—7.4/10
SIZE: 13.5"
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" is a midrange device featuring an Intel i7 processor with Iris Xe graphics, ample storage and RAM, and a high-resolution touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, ideal for productivity tasks. It is quite thin and light, making it very portable. With a solid build quality and a score reflecting good performance for general use, it's suitable for everyday computing needs, office work, and media consumption. However, its integrated graphics are not designed for intensive gaming or demanding 3D tasks, which could be a drawback for those specific uses. The battery life supports typical usage fairly well, and it comes preinstalled with Windows 11 Home. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Evaluation
Pros
- High-resolution touchscreen display
- Windows Hello facial recognition
- Backlit keyboard available
- Good portability and build quality
- USB-C charging support
Cons
- No hardware ray tracing or DLSS
- Limited ports available
- No available RAM or storage slots
- No number pad on keyboard
Ratings by Category
Portability:4.7
PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.
Build Quality:4.3
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, chassis rigidity, and overall reliability.
Our assessment of build quality includes many details that are difficult to quantify.
Our laptop experts use their best judgment to produce the final score.
General Use:4.2
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.
The most important factors in this score include CPU performance, amount of RAM, screen quality, storage, and battery life.
Keyboard quality, speaker quality, low fan noise, heat management, and to a lesser extent webcam quality are all moderately important factors for this score.
Content Creation:4.2
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, and video editing work.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Battery Life:4.2
PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.
General Use Screen Quality:4.2
The general use screen score is based on the screen technology, contrast ratio, resolution, brightness, color gamut and color accuracy. This score does not take into account specialized display features for specific use cases, such as high refresh rate for gaming.
Operating Noise:4.2
PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.
Software Development:4.1
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software development.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Engineering & Design:4.0
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" has a powerful Intel i7 processor and ample RAM which facilitate demanding engineering tasks, while its high-resolution touchscreen with good color coverage supports detailed design work. Although it doesn't have high-end graphics typical for intensive 3D work, its premium build quality and excellent portability make it suitable for on-the-go engineering professionals and designers who prioritize screen quality and system performance over gaming-grade graphics.
Keyboard Quality:4.0
The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.
Gaming & AI:3.2
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" has an integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU which is less capable for demanding gaming and 3D applications compared to dedicated graphics cards, and its screen has a standard refresh rate of 60Hz which is not as smooth for fast-paced gaming as higher refresh rates.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $1,200 | ||
Release Date | October 1, 2022 | ||
Overall Dimensions | 12.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.57'' | ||
Weight | 2.86 lbs | ||
Width | 12.1" | ||
Depth | 8.8" | ||
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | Intel i7-1255U | ||
RAM | 16 GB | ||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | ||
RAM Slots | 0 | ||
Storage | 512 GB | ||
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | 7.5 Hours | ||
Battery Capacity | 47.4 Wh | ||
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | 13.5" | ||
Display Technology | IPS | ||
Resolution | 2256 x 1504 | ||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | ||
Display Brightness | 400 nits | ||
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score  | 7.8/10 | ||
Portability Score | 9/10 | ||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | ||
Premium Business Laptop | No | ||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | ||
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | ||
Speaker Quality Score | 8.8/10 | ||
Webcam | 720p | ||
Fingerprint Reader | No | ||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | ||
Number Pad | No | ||
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | 1 | ||
USB-C ports | 1 | ||
USB-C Charging | Yes | ||
Display Outputs | 1 | ||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | ||
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
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Dig into reviews and images
CNET
Lori Grunin | October 2022
"The Surface Laptop 5 remains afloat as a solid machine. It's just not one that stands out in any particular way. Just like the last one. The biggest upgrade were some new components, but they perform in the same range as other laptops with them, and frequently at the bottom of that range. I suspect Microsoft's settings are very conservative to help keep cooling and battery life within reason in the older chassis design."
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