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Review: Microsoft Surface Laptop 3: AMD Ryzen 7 vs. Intel Core i7

by Parm Mann on 22 November 2019, 14:01

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), AMD (NYSE:AMD)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaefxm

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Test Methodology

Comparison Laptops - Part One

System Name
Form Factor
14.0
14.0
13.3in
13.3in
14.0in
CPU
Intel Core i7-8565U
Intel Core i7-8550U
Intel Core i7-8550U
Intel Core i7-8650U
AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3500U
CPU Base Frequency
1.8GHz
1.8GHz
1.8GHz
1.9GHz
2.1GHz
CPU Turbo Frequency
4.6GHz
4.0GHz
4.0GHz
4.2GHz
3.7GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
CPU TDP
15W
15W
15W
15W
15W
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD 620
Intel UHD 620
Intel UHD 620
Intel UHD 620
AMD Radeon Vega 8
IGP Max Frequency
1.15GHz
1.15GHz
1.15GHz
1.15GHz
1.20GHz
Dedicated Graphics
Nvidia GeForce MX250
-
-
-
-
Memory
16GB LPDDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB LPDDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB LPDDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB LPDDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR4
Memory Speed
2,133MHz
2,133MHz
2,133MHz
2,133MHz
2,400MHz
Display
14.0in FHD IPS BOE07E9 (1,920x1,080)
14.0in FHD IPS AUO383D (1,920x1,080)
13.3in FHD (1,920x1,080)
13.3in FHD (1,920x1,080)
14.0in FHD IPS (1,920x1,080)
Touchscreen
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Battery Capacity
50Wh
46Wh
52Wh
56Wh
57Wh
Wireless
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Killer 1435 802.11ac
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Intel Wireless-AC 9260
Ethernet
-
-
-
-
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Storage
1TB Samsung PM981 M.2 SSD
512GB Samsung PM961 M.2 SSD
512GB Toshiba XG5 M.2 SSD
512GB Samsung PM981 M.2 SSD
256GB WD PC SN720 M.2 SSD
Power Supply
65W
65W
45W
65W
65W
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Dimensions (W x D x H)
319mm x 199mm x 16.9mm
329mm x 214mm x 12.9mm
309mm x 199mm x 11.6mm
306mm x 205mm x 15.8mm
329mm x 225.8mm x 16.1mm
Weight
1.3kg
1.1kg
1.2kg
1.3kg
1.3kg
Warranty
2 Years
2 Years
1 Year
3 Years
3 Year
Date Reviewed
October 2019
June 2018
June 2018
May 2019
September 2019
Price When Reviewed
£1,500
£1,400
£1,650
£1,800
£1,100

Comparison Laptops - Part Two

System Name
Form Factor
14.0in
13.9in
15.0in
15.0in
13.3in
CPU
Intel Core i7-8550U
Intel Core i5-8250U
AMD Ryzen 7 3780U Surface Edition
Intel Core i7-1065G7
Intel Core i7-8550U
CPU Base Frequency
1.8GHz
1.6GHz
2.3GHz
1.3GHz
1.8GHz
CPU Turbo Frequency
4.0GHz
3.4GHz
4.0GHz
3.9GHz
4.0GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
CPU TDP
15W
15W
15W
15W
15W
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD 620
Intel UHD 620
AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
Intel Iris Plus
Intel UHD 620
Dedicated Graphics
-
-
-
-
-
IGP Max Frequency
1.15GHz
1.10GHz
1.40GHz
1.10GHz
1.15GHz
Memory
16GB LPDDR3 (2x8GB)
8GB DDR4 (2x4GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
16GB LPDDR4X (2x8GB)
16GB LPDDR3 (2x8GB)
Memory Speed
2,133MHz
2,400MHz
2,400MHz
3,733MHz
2,133MHz
Display
14.0in QHD IPS (2,560x1,440)
13.9in FHD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.0in PixelSense IPS (2,496 x 1,664)
15.0in PixelSense IPS (2,496 x 1,664)
13.3in QHD+ (3,200x1,800)
Touchscreen
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Battery Capacity
54Wh
60Wh
46Wh
46Wh
54Wh
Wireless
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Intel Wireless-AC 9260
Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4A
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
Killer Wireless-AC 1535
Ethernet
Intel Gigabit Ethernet
-
-
-
-
Storage
512GB Samsung PM981 M.2 SSD
512GB SK hynix PC401 M.2 SSD
512GB SK hynix BC501 M.2 SSD
512GB SK hynix BC501 M.2 SSD
512GB Samsung PM961 M.2 SSD
Power Supply
65W
65W
65W
65W
65W
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Windows 10
Dimensions (W x D x H)
333mm x 229mm x 17.1mm
322mm x 227mm x 14.5mm
340mm x 244mm x 14.7mm
340mm x 244mm x 14.7mm
321mm x 206mm x 13.8mm
Weight
1.4kg
1.4kg
1.5kg
1.5kg
1.4kg
Warranty
3 Year
1 Year
1 Year
1 Year
1 Year
Date Reviewed
June 2018
March 2019
November 2019
November 2019
March 2018
Price When Reviewed
£2,400
£1,250
£2,049
£2,129
£1,700

CPU Benchmarks

HEXUS PiFast Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU.
Cinebench Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible.
HandBrake Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores.

Memory and Storage Benchmarks

AIDA64 Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency.
CrystalDiskMark Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds.

System Benchmarks

PCMark 10 System-wide examination run using the Standard and Extended presets.
3DMark Graphics benchmark run using the Sky Diver DX11 preset.
Gaming Where applicable, a selection of modern titles are tested at various resolutions.

Miscellaneous Benchmarks

Display Datacolor's Spyder 4 Elite professional monitor analyser is used to return a quantitative assessment of display quality.
Power Consumption Noted for system-wide power draw while running the HandBrake video-transcoding test.
Temperature Average CPU temperature taken across all cores from the last five minutes of the HandBrake video-transcoding test.
Battery Life Measured while looping a high-definition movie clip with 50 per cent screen brightness and flight mode enabled.