Which Surface is the right one for you? This Surface Book vs Surface Laptop review will make the decision-making process easy for you.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: At First Glance
Microsoft’s swift transition from just being known as a software company to being known as one of the most innovative laptop manufacturers has been a beautiful thing to experience.
The moment they found the right formula – the Surface Pro – they’ve been able to build off of the brand’s success to develop more exciting lineups. It’s their innovative drive that has brought us to the two laptops Ialptop lineups I’m comparing in this article – The Surface Book and the Surface Laptop.
Since the Surface Laptop belongs to the most conservative lineup in the Surface family, it doesn’t have a design as innovative as the Surface Book’s. It has a structure that’s more similar to the natural laptop structure compared to the Surface Book.
Despite its “boring structure”, the Surface Laptop’s fair configuration specs make it the perfect fit to cater to the audience in need of a regular laptop. However, the more versatile Surface Book packs a good deal of hardware configurations that will make it a tempting choice.
Unlike most cases, the question here may not be which Microsoft laptop is better, but which one is right for you. Let’s see.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: Design, Dimension & Weight
If Microsoft’s design team had “structure” in mind during the design of the Surface Laptop, then they definitely took “functionality” seriously with the Surface Book. That said, both laptops are incredibly good-looking laptops in their own rights.
Not much of a surprise though, considering how much of a pleaser Microsoft’s design team has grown to be. Time and time again, they’ve shown how creative and innovative they can be with their Surface line of laptops.
No exception here, especially when you figure that both laptops still look very much like their predecessors. Although some may find the design repetition somewhat boring, the good thing is we still get improved laptops with the same quality build and fantastic appearance.
Both the Surface Book and Surface Laptop look absolutely stunning.
If you are familiar with my reviews here on www.itechguides.com, you’d have noticed my preference for black-colored laptops. In this comparison, the matte-gray Surface Book completely displaced my special preference for the black color in which the Surface Laptop came in.
Both laptops’ ravishing looks left me gasping for air. It was impossible to instantly prefer one’s appearance over the other.
In terms of their design pattern, simplicity seems to be the common watchword with both laptops. Both the Surface Book and Surface Laptop look so neat you could think they were a solid unit of block cut from concrete.
Microsoft has opted for a neat and pattern-free design that’s quite similar to Apple’s design approach. In the light of simplicity, the only noticeable pattern on the Surface Book and Surface Laptop is the shiny Microsoft logos at the center of their lids.
The only other notable element on the Surface Book’s lid is the 5.0MP front-facing camera that’s positioned at the bottom left corner. Not much of a surprise since the screen is detachable and can be used as a tablet.
Other than the camera, the Surface Book’s lid is just as plain and clean-looking as the Surface Laptop’s.
There’s just this thing with fewer lines and patterns that makes a device look better. The clean look always looks classier and feels more premium.
Sliding your palm along the Surface Book’s magnesium chassis feels heavenly. It feels so smooth and sturdy.
The icing on the cake is that the laptop’s magnesium chassis is fingerprint and stain-resistant. On the contrary, the Surface Laptop’s aluminum body is more prone to dust stains and scratches.
Regardless, the Surface Laptop’s chassis feels just as smooth and sturdy as the Surface Book’s. Perhaps it’s the unibody design that Microsoft adopted for both laptops’ overall structure.
Like I hinted earlier, both laptops look like a single piece of a component. Due to this, there are no noticeable creaks or fragile points on both laptops.
The downside, however, is that you will find it difficult to open either of the two laptops for maintenance or upgrade. Nonetheless, the satisfaction I have for both laptops’ rigidity makes me care less about opening them up for whatever reason.
When I opened their lids, both the Surface Book and Surface Laptop remained firm to the table. There were no hints of weakness in their hinges.
The Surface Laptop’s hinge is so sturdy that the display is held up firmly at any angle it is opened up to. Even when you poke at the display to make use of its touch screen feature, you don’t have to constantly re-adjust the screen back to position.
This makes the 15-inch 10 point multi-touch screen interesting to use. Moreover, the laptop’s 3:2 PixelSense display has a QHD resolution of 2496 x 1664 that makes content appear sharp and colorful.
The Surface Book’s hinge, on the other hand, is something of an entirely different nature. Microsoft calls the hinge on the Surface Book a fulcrum hinge.
This hinge is in fact the biggest difference between both laptops. Thanks to the fulcrum hinge, the Surface Book can be used as a regular laptop or a detachable – tablet.
The weirdest thing with the Surface Book’s hinge is its retracting treads that make the laptop look like an actual book when closed. This is because of the gap that the hinge creates between the lid and the deck when the laptop is closed.
Some of my colleagues expressed their displeasure with the hinge because it makes the back of the Surface Book a bit thick. Also, it could make the internals of the laptop easily accessible for dirt or dust because the laptop isn’t always fully closed.
On a brighter note, this fulcrum hinge is the focal point behind the functionality of the Surface Book. With the push of a button, the fulcrum hinge facilitates the magical transformation that has brought the Surface Book the fame it has today – “the laptop that can be used in many forms”.
The hinge achieves this with a hidden release mechanism that is activated when you press on a particular key on the keyboard. When you press on the key right next to the delete key, the 15-inch display detaches from the keyboard base.
This enables you to use the Surface Book as a tablet. What this means is that, unlike most laptops, the Surface Book 3’s components are fitted to its lid, not the laptop’s base.
Hence, the Surface Book can still be efficiently used as a tablet. Moreover, its PixelSense display is one of its best components.
The Surface Book’s 3240 x 2160 display resolution means you get to enjoy very clear and colorful content. Like the Surface Laptop, the Surface Book’s 3:2 aspect ratio is perfect for web browsing or word processing.
Some may complain about the thick bezels on the Surface Book and Surface Laptop, but I believe the Surface Book can be excused. Since its display can be used as a tablet, the thick bezels on the Surface Book help with usability.
On the other hand, I think Microsoft could have done a little bit of trimming with the bezels on the Surface Laptop’s display. Nevertheless, its bezels are not too displeasing.
Focusing more on the lower parts of the Surface Book and Surface Laptop reveals another big difference between the two laptops. While the Surface Book maintains the simple and smooth design that was on its exterior, the Surface Laptop diverts its concentration to comfortability.
The Surface Laptop’s keyboard base is surrounded by the regular Alcantara material that feels soft and sweet. It makes the interior of the Surface Laptop feel akin to the interior of a luxurious Bentley car.
The downside is that this material can easily get stained.
Asides from that, every other thing about the soft-touch material is great. It also enhances the typing experience on the laptop.
Typing on the Surface Laptop was very comfortable. The keyboard’s soft-touch feel made typing on the laptop seem effortless.
Surprisingly, the keys have a good amount of travel despite the laptop’s thin chassis. Likewise, the keys on the Surface Book have a decent amount of travel which made the typing experience on the laptop equally comfortable.
When I took the 10FingersFingers.com typing test with the Surface Book, I was able to type 78 words per minute. Meanwhile, I typed at 80 words per minute on the Surface Laptop.
Except for the fact that I find the touchpad on the Surface Book and Surface Laptop to be too tiny, both touchpads are excellent. Both touchpads are very sensitive and they easily responded to Windows 10 gestures like pinch-to-zoom and two-finger swiping.
Tapping and clicking on both touchpads were also precise.
All along, you may have been itching to know the exact dimensions of both laptops. Well, both laptops are quite compact and not so heavy.
To be specific, the Surface Book measures 343 x 251 x 15 mm and weighs 1950 g. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop is more compact – its exact dimension is 339.5 x 244 x 14.7 mm.
The Surface Laptop is also less heavy. It weighs 1542 g.
Although it’s a good thing both laptops have compact forms, their compact forms affect the number of ports. The implication of smaller form factors means that both laptops are limited in port selection.
The Surface Book features 2 USB 3.1 Type-A ports an SD card slot, and 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop features just 1 USB Type C and 1 USB Type-A port.
If I wasn’t already far impressed by both laptops’ design and structure, their port selection could have been a turn-off. With that being said, there are more positives than negatives in both laptops’ designs.
Both the Surface Book and Surface Laptop designs are simply fantastic. They both also feel incredibly sturdy.
Other than for the Surface Book’s functionality design, I would have given the same score to both laptops in this design review.
Hence, the Surface Book scores a nine in this Surface Book vs Surface Laptop design review, while the Surface Laptop scores an eight.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: Processor (CPU) Performance
The processor configurations on the Surface Book and Surface Laptop are entirely different. While the Surface Book is powered by a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor, the Surface Laptop has two processor configuration options.
Before I state the Surface Laptop’s processor configuration options, I will give you brief details of the Surface Book’s processor.
The Surface Book’s Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor has a base frequency of 1.30 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.90 GHz. It comes with an 8 MB cache memory.
Back to the Surface Laptop’s processor configuration options, you can either equip the laptop with an intel or AMD processor type. To be specific, Microsoft offers a quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor and an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 4980U processor to choose from.
Purchasing the Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor means you will be getting a processor base frequency of 3.0 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.80 GHz. On the other hand, the AMD Ryzen 7 4980U processor will offer you a base frequency of 2.0 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.40 GHz.
Our Surface Laptop review unit comes equipped with this AMD Ryzen 7 4980U processor.
Moving further into the processor performance review, I will be testing both laptop’s processors using our usual approach at www.itechguides.com. I will carry out a benchmark and a real-world performance test.
Theoretically, the Surface Book’s Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor ought to deliver a satisfactory performance. Besides, the official Microsoft web page advertises the laptop as one that’s highly capable.
“Tackle intensive tasks, edit large video files, and enjoy the best gaming experience on a Surface laptop”; says Microsoft.
To my pleasure, I was glad to see the efficiency with which the Surface Book handled my real-world test. It smoothly ran computing operations like web browsing, document processing, and sending of emails.
Similarly, the performance of the Surface Laptop’s octa-core processor was very good. The laptop had enough power to tackle all the basic computing operations I threw at it.
Although the real-world performance test I carried out on both laptops made it seem like both laptops were on par, the benchmark test brought out the competitive spirits in both laptops.
On the Cinebench R20 test, the Surface Laptop knocked the Surface Book completely out of the park. Hold on while I give you the details.
For those that are wondering, the Cinebench R20 is a synthetic benchmark that tests a processor’s performance capabilities. It tests for the processor’s single-core performance where only one of the processor’s cores is put to use.
It also tests for the processor’s multi-core performance where more than one of the processor’s cores are put into use by placing them on a workload.
The Surface Book scored 453 points in the single-core aspect, while the Surface Laptop scored 492 points. In the multi-core aspect, the Surface Laptop came back even stronger.
While the Surface Book scored 1505 points, the Surface Laptop scored 3453 points.
In conclusion, the Surface Laptop undeniably has this round. Even though both laptops had nearly equal real-world performance capabilities, the Surface Laptop outperformed the Surface Book in all the benchmark test aspects.
As a result, the Surface Laptop scores an eight in this Surface Book vs Surface Laptop processor performance review. The Surface Book scores a seven for its notable processor performance.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: Memory (RAM) Performance
In this aspect, the Surface Book and Surface Laptop share some similarities. Although they can be bought with different base memory configurations, they offer the same maximum memory configuration size.
They also both have just a single RAM slot soldered to their motherboards.
To give more detail about their configurations, the Surface Book comes with 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM. You can also buy this laptop with the 32 GB maximum memory configuration.
On the other hand, the Surface Laptop is usually equipped with the 8 GB LPDDR4X base memory configuration. If this will be too small for you, you can buy your unit with either the 16 GB or the 32 GB RAM size.
I will kick off this RAM review section with the real-world memory performance test which is mainly based on multitasking. Both laptops barely had any performance issues when I loaded 30 Google Chrome tabs with three YouTube videos while checking Twitter and Slack feeds.
As I switched between the local apps running in the background and the web browser, there were no hints of lags nor sloppiness. Beyond words, both the Surface Book and Surface Laptops completely aced the real-world memory performance test.
To properly identify the difference in their memory performance test, I carried out a benchmark test using the PCMark 10 benchmark. The PCMark 10 test benchmark usually simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows.
Essentially, it assesses the overall system performance for office-related operations such as word processing, spreadsheet preparation, web surfing, and videoconferencing.
In this PCMark 10 test, the Surface Laptop outclassed the Surface Book to remain on top. To be more specific, the Surface Laptop scored 5154 points, surpassing the Surface Book’s 4317 points.
In the end, the result is quite similar to the one for the processor performance aspect. While both laptops aced the real-world performance test, the Surface Laptop was clearly superior in the benchmark test.
Due to this, the Surface Laptop scores an eight in this Surface Book vs Surface Laptop memory performance review. Meanwhile, the Surface Book scores seven for its impressive multitasking capabilities.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: Storage Options & Performance
In terms of storage configurations, the Surface Book appears to be the better-equipped laptop between the two laptops. The Surface Book features a 2 TB SDD storage drive.
It also comes with an additional full-size SDXC card reader for external SD card file storage.
On the other hand, the Surface Laptop features a 1 TB SSD storage drive. To make it less comparable to the Surface Book’s capacity, the Surface Laptop’s storage option doesn’t include an external SD card storage option.
By their storage configuration options, the Surface Book has the Surface Laptop beaten halfway. Can the Surface Laptop maintain its performance dominance in this aspect as well?
Let’s see.
First, we will take a look at both laptops’ performance result in the benchmark test. I made use of the CrystalDiskMark test as usual.
The CrystalDiskMark test is a synthetic benchmark that measures the performance speed of a laptop’s storage disk. It tests for the read and write speeds of a storage disk drive.
At the end of this test, the Surface Book and Surface Laptop had mixed results. I mean the nature of their results wasn’t very clear enough to pick out an undisputable winner.
In the CrystalDiskMark test, the Surface Book recorded sequential read and write speeds of 1029 MBps and 609.9 MBps respectively. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop recorded sequential read and write speeds of 1007.82 MBps and 851.07 MBps.
On the file transfer test, the difference in their storage performance capability became clearer. It took the Surface Book just 6 seconds to copy a 4.97 GB at a transfer rate of 862.6 MBps.
Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop needed up to 13 seconds to copy the same file at a rate of 372.49 GB. With this performance result, we can clearly say that the Surface Book is the superior laptop in this storage performance aspect.
Hence, the Surface Book scores an eight in this Surface Book vs Surface Laptop storage performance review. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop scores a seven.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: Graphics Card Performance
Like the processor configuration, the Surface Book comes with a single graphics card configuration option. Meanwhile, Microsoft offers the Surface Laptop with two graphics card configuration options.
Microsoft equips the Surface Book with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, Max-Q. This graphics card has a base frequency of 1440 MHz and a boost frequency of 1335 MHz.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, Max-Q graphics card also comes with a 6 GB GDDR6 dedicated VRAM to aid its performance.
On the other hand, the Surface Laptop comes with either an Intel Iris Xe Graphics or an integrated AMD Radeon Graphics. The Intel Iris Xe GPU has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 1350 MHz.
Meanwhile, the AMD Radeon GPU has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 1750 MHz. Neither of these two configuration options comes with a dedicated VRAM.
For this review, our Surface Laptop came equipped with the integrated AMD Radeon Graphics card.
I will be testing the two laptops with the 3DMark 11 benchmark test. The 3DMark 11 is a DirectX 11 video card benchmark test tool that tests for a laptop’s gaming performance capabilities.
The definite scores it gives based on performance level make it easy to compare the results of two laptops. On this benchmark test, the Surface Laptop lagged behind the Surface Book.
While the Surface Laptop scored 6276, the Surface Book got an impressive score of 17421.
I also ran a real-world gaming performance test. When I played The Witcher 3 on low settings, I was able to get frame rates of 144.5 frames per second on the Surface Book.
Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop offered frame rates of 70.6 frames per second.
I also played Dota 2 Reborn at low settings on both laptops. The Surface Book ran the game at 113 frames per second.
Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop offered 91 frames per second.
Lastly, the Surface Book was able to play X-Plane 11.11 at frame rates of 68.8 frames per second. The Surface Laptop was able to play the game at 40.4 frames per second.
Overall, the difference in graphics performance gap is undeniably clear. The Surface Book is no doubt the better performer in this aspect.
It outperformed the Surface Laptop in every aspect under the graphics performance review section. Hence, the Surface Book scores an eight in this Surface Book vs Surface Laptop graphics performance review.
The Surface Laptop, on the other hand, scores a seven.
Surface Book vs Surface Laptop: Battery Life & Performance
Both the Surface Book and Surface Laptop feature the same battery type, but different capacities. They both feature a lithium-ion type of battery.
The Surface Book features a 90 Wh Lithium-ion battery. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop comes with a 45.8 Wh Lithium-ion battery.
On our continuous web surfing battery test, the Surface Book was able to last for 8 hours 33 and minutes. The Surface Laptop, on the other hand, lasted for 7 hours and 13 minutes.
When I placed the laptops on a more intensive load at maximum brightness, the Surface Book lasted for 3 hours. On this test, the Surface Laptop lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes.
From these test results, we can conclude that the Surface Book has a longer battery life compared to the Surface Laptop. It outlasted the Surface Laptop in every aspect of the test that was carried out.
Hence, the Surface Book scores an eight in this Surface Book vs Surface Laptop battery performance review. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop scores a seven.
Our Rating Summary
| Rating Areas | Surface Book | Surface Laptop | Notes/Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | 9 | 8 | Both the Surface Book and Surface Laptop designs are simply fantastic. They both also feel incredibly sturdy. Other than for the Surface Book’s functionality design, I would have given the same score to both laptops in this design review. |
| Processor (CPU) | 7 | 8 | The Surface Laptop undeniably has this round. Even though both laptops had nearly equal real-world performance capabilities, the Surface Laptop outperformed the Surface Book in all the benchmark test aspects. |
| Memory (RAM) | 7 | 8 | While both laptops aced the real-world performance test, the Surface Laptop was clearly superior in the benchmark test. |
| Storage | 8 | 7 | With their performance result, we can clearly say that the Surface Book is the superior laptop in this storage performance aspect. |
| Graphics Card | 8 | 7 | The Surface Book is no doubt the better performer in this aspect. It outperformed the Surface Laptop in every aspect under the graphics performance review section. |
| Battery Life | 8 | 7 | From the test results, we can conclude that the Surface Book has a longer battery life compared to the Surface Laptop. |
| Our Average Rating | 8.5 | 8.2 | On average, the Surface Book is a better laptop. |
Frequently Asked Questions
As of the time of writing this article (28th of September, 2021), the latest Surface Book version is the Surface Book 3.
No, they aren’t the same laptop. While the Surface Laptop is more of a regular laptop, the Surface Book can be used as a tablet, a 2-in-1 convertible, or a tablet. Besides, both laptops are under different Microsoft Surface lineups.
No, it doesn’t. The Surface Laptop 4 doesn’t have a fingerprint reader.
The Surface Book can serve both the purposes of a tablet and a laptop. Thanks to its detachable fulcrum hinge, you can detach the display to use it as a full tablet. The Surface Book has its hardware components fitted into its lid that’s why it can function as a tablet.
Yes, it is. The Surface Laptop 4’s PixelSense Display has a 10 point multi-touch feature that allows you to use it as a touchscreen laptop.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, these two Microsoft products seem to be targeted towards different consumers. While the Surface Laptop will appeal to the larger audience who are in need of a traditional laptop with a lot of power, the Surface Book will appeal mostly to creatives.
Although the Surface Book comes at a higher price, it offers more all-round power. It is a laptop that creatives and professionals will find as the perfect companion.
If you want to get yourself a convertible or detachable laptop with an incredible amount of power, then look no further beyond the Surface Book. Even with its functionality feature, the laptop has sufficient capabilities to satisfy your regular laptop and tablet needs.
However, if you want to get a more traditional laptop with adequate capabilities, then you can consider the Surface Laptop. Besides, it is a bit less expensive compared to the Surface Book.
Hence, based on our comprehensive comparison of the Surface Book vs Surface Laptop, we recommend:
If you want to cut costs, then you should go for the Surface Laptop.
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