Choose the MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo for superior performance in engineering tasks and gaming, thanks to its more powerful processor and higher resolution, non-touch display with a faster refresh rate. It's also lighter and thinner, making it more portable despite having a larger battery that offers longer usage times. However, it lacks a touchscreen and has fewer ports, which might be a drawback if you need versatile connectivity options.
Opt for the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" if you prioritize a touchscreen, a more business-oriented design with a number pad, and a wider range of ports including USB-C charging. It has a slightly smaller screen with lower resolution and refresh rate, but the display quality is excellent with better color accuracy, making it ideal for general use and productivity tasks. It's also a bit heavier and has a shorter battery life compared to the MSI. 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 MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
Very good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.2/10
7.8/10
13.0in
SIZE
13.5in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
415.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Cost
$1,280
$1,200
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo has a price of $1,280 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo to be very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" 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
6.8/10
6.6/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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
8.0/10
7.7/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo to be very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good.
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
8.1/10
7.7/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo to be very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" 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
7.9/10
7.7/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" 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
8.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo has 8 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has 9 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
Very Good
13.0in
SIZE
13.5in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo both have very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
GENERAL
Price
Price
$1,280
$1,200
Release Date
Release Date
February 1, 2024
June 1, 2024
Overall Dimensions
Overall Dimensions
11.8'' x 8.3'' x 0.67''
12.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.66''
Weight
Weight
3.53 lbs
3.04 lbs
Width
Width
11.77"
12.13"
Depth
Depth
8.27"
8.78"
INTERNAL
Processor
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
Intel Core Ultra 7 135H
RAM
RAM
16 GB
16 GB
DDR Memory Version
DDR Memory Version
5
5
RAM Slots
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage
Storage
1024 GB
256 GB
Storage Slots
Storage Slots
1
1
Graphics
Graphics
Arc 8-Cores
Intel Arc 8-Cores
Mux Switch / Advanced Optimus
Mux Switch / Advanced Optimus
No
No
GPU Type
GPU Type
Integrated
Integrated
Supports DLSS
Supports DLSS
No
No
Supports Ray Tracing
Supports Ray Tracing
No
No
BATTERY
Battery Life
Battery Life
8 Hours
9 Hours
Battery Capacity
Battery Capacity
73 Wh
47 Wh
SCREEN
Diagonal Size
Diagonal Size
13"
13.5"
Display Technology
Display Technology
IPS
IPS
Resolution
Resolution
2880 x 1800
2256 x 1504
Refresh Rate
Refresh Rate
144Hz
120Hz
Display Brightness
Display Brightness
415 nits
400 nits
Screen Aspect Ratio
Screen Aspect Ratio
16:10
3:2
Pixel Density
Pixel Density
261.25 PPI
200.84 PPI
Contrast
Contrast
1802: 1
1300: 1
Display Response Time
Display Response Time
59.6 ms
1 ms
DCI-P3
DCI-P3
79 %
73.4 %
sRGB
sRGB
99 %
98.9 %
Adobe RGB
Adobe RGB
77 %
85 %
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS
Build Quality Score
Build Quality Score
7.4/10
7.4/10
Portability Score
Portability Score
8.6/10
8.7/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
Gaming Laptop Appearance
No
No
Premium Business Laptop
Premium Business Laptop
No
Yes
Fan Noise Score
Fan Noise Score
7.5/10
8/10
Facial Recognition
Facial Recognition
Yes
Yes
Upper Side Temp (Max)
Upper Side Temp (Max)
46.1°C
38.6°C
Lower Side Temp (Max)
Lower Side Temp (Max)
58.1°C
42.9°C
Palm Rest Temp (Max)
Palm Rest Temp (Max)
36.1°C
25.1°C
Keyboard Lighting Color
Keyboard Lighting Color
White
White
Warranty Period
Warranty Period
1 year
1 year
HARDWARE FEATURES
Keyboard Quality Score
Keyboard Quality Score
7.5/10
7/10
Speaker Quality Score
Speaker Quality Score
7/10
8/10
Webcam
Webcam
1080p
1080p
Fingerprint Reader
Fingerprint Reader
Yes
Yes
Backlit Keyboard
Backlit Keyboard
Yes
Yes
Number Pad
Number Pad
No
No
CONNECTIVITY
USB Type-A
USB Type-A
1
1
USB-C ports
USB-C ports
2
1
USB-C Charging
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
Display Outputs
Display Outputs
3
1
Thunderbolt Version
Thunderbolt Version
4
4
Thunderbolt Ports
Thunderbolt Ports
2
1
DisplayPorts
DisplayPorts
0
0
HDMI Ports
HDMI Ports
1
0
Ethernet
Ethernet
No
No
Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth Version
5.2
5.3
WiFi Version
WiFi Version
6E
6E
Get a great deal on the MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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
124,095
Recommendations made
26,888
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.