The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is more affordable and very portable with good battery life, ideal for general use and routine tasks. If your work involves 3D rendering, machine learning, or intensive gaming, the Razer Blade 14 (2023) offers significantly higher performance, with a better screen for fast motion and higher resolution but is heavier, less portable, and at a higher price point. Choose the Surface for everyday use and if you're on a budget, or the Razer for demanding applications and if you're comfortable with a higher cost. 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 Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Very good speakers
Advantages of the Razer Blade 14 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
8.1/10
1536 x 1024
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
401.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
560.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
9.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is good.
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.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
8.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
1536 x 1024
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very 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
6.5/10
8.7/10
4.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) outperforms the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 in engineering and design tasks primarily because of its superior CPU and GPU, which are crucial for demanding applications, and its greater RAM, which facilitates multitasking and complex processes. While both have quality screens, the Razer's higher resolution and refresh rate provides a smoother visual experience, although it is heavier and likely noisier under load compared to the more portable Surface Laptop Go 2, which may offer a quieter and more mobile experience at the expense of raw power.
Content Creation
7.1/10
8.2/10
4.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
1536 x 1024
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is good.
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
7.0/10
7.9/10
4.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1536 x 1024
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for software development, though the Razer Blade 14 (2023) is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
6.9/10
8.9/10
12.4in
SIZE
14.0in
1536 x 1024
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
401.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
560.0 nits
The Razer Blade 14 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
If you prioritize a sharp, colorful display for activities such as browsing and watching videos, both the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 and the Razer Blade 14 offer high-resolution screens with vibrant color reproduction; however, the Razer's display is superior in brightness and color depth, providing an enhanced viewing experience. For engineering and design work where color accuracy is critical, the Razer Blade 14 has the edge with better coverage of professional color gamuts, ensuring that designs and projects appear with true-to-life colors. Gamers, on the other hand, might find both laptops lacking due to their lower refresh rates, which could result in less smooth visuals during fast-paced games compared to laptops specifically tailored for gaming with higher refresh rate displays.
Battery
8.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has 8 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 14 has 6 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
Excellent
Very Good
12.4in
SIZE
14.0in
2.4 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the Razer Blade 14 (2023) has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8/10
8.5/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) has very good build quality, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$774
$2,400
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has a price of $774 and the Razer Blade 14 (2023) costs $2,400.
"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."
"After making a huge splash with the original 2021 model, it's expected that the 2022 refresh would be more of a minor update to an already impressive machine. It adds a higher resolution webcam (720p to 1080p), faster CPU (Ryzen 9 5900HX to Ryzen 9 6900HX), faster GPU (RTX 3070/3080 to 3070/3080 Ti), faster RAM (DDR4-3200 to DDR5-4800), faster M.2 SSD support (PCIe3 x4 to PCIe4 x4), newer WLAN module (Killer AX1690i to Qualcomm WCN685x), and a MUX switch for the new integrated Radeon 680M GPU. It's indubitably an upgrade especially in terms of single-thread processor performance."
Get a great deal on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 or the Razer Blade 14 (2023)
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.
About Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
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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