JANUARY 2020 PCWorld 77system specs and basic configuration options
for the Surface Pen (sold separately), it would
be great to see something a bit more
comprehensive.
PERFORMANCE:
EXEMPLARY
Reviewing the Core i7 version of the Surface
Laptop 3 helps us complete a circle--compare
it against its Ryzen-based cousins. This is the
first time Microsoft has featured an AMD
processor inside one of its laptops, and not
only was it a mobile Ryzen, but a custom
mobile Ryzen. Even better, we had were able
to test both the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 versions,
and therefore make an apples-to-apples
comparison: Ryzen 7 versus Core i7.
The Intel Core
i7-1065G7 (go.pcworld.
com/i7g7) micro-
processor in our unit is a
quad-core chip that runs
at a base frequency of
1.3GHz and throttles up
to 3.9GHz when
needed. Intel, finally
rolling on its 10th-gen,
10nm Ice Lake
architecture, also claims
its integrated graphics is
better than AMD’s
own—an area that’s
traditionally been one of
AMD’s strong suits. On
paper, Intel probably has an edge. Or does it?
We’ve compared the Intel-powered
Surface Laptop 3 to both Ryzen-driven
Surface Laptop 3s. We’ve included the
Surface Laptop 2 for a generational
comparison, as well as competitive notebook
PCs from third-party manufacturers.
Visually, we’ve used Intel blue to highlight
the Ice Lake-powered Surface Laptop 3, and
shades of red to show off the Ryzen-powered
machines.
The Surface Laptop 3 that Microsoft
shipped us maximized battery life and
minimized performance using the power/
performance slider available via the Windows
taskbar, even plugged in. We thought that
was odd until we saw the anemic battery lifeWe tested the Surface Laptop 3 using the default settings (shown here),
but also adjusted the performance to see what effect it might have.