PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.

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.

PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.

PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is fair for general use primarily because it offers a balance of performance with its decent CPU and sufficient RAM for everyday tasks, and excellent portability due to its compact size and light weight. However, its average battery life and limited high-end performance for demanding applications might not satisfy users who require extended usage or run intensive software..

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.

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.

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.

The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is deemed fair for engineering and design use mainly because it offers moderate performance with its Intel i5 processor and integrated Iris Xe graphics, which could limit running complex engineering simulations and rendering tasks efficiently. Additionally, while its screen quality is adequate with good color coverage and resolution, professionals in engineering and design might seek larger screens with higher resolutions for detailed work, although its portability and build quality are favorable for on-the-go usage.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is equipped with an Iris Xe GPU and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which means it can handle some lighter gaming and less demanding 3D applications, but may struggle with high-end gaming and intensive 3D tasks due to the moderate graphical processing power and the standard refresh rate, which is not optimized for fast-paced gaming scenarios.