PC World - USA (2020-11)

66 PCWorld NOVEMBER 2020

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP GO

The Surface Laptop Go finishes surprisingly far

down in this basic measure of CPU performance.

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R9YN (Ryzen 7 4700U)

Walmart Motile M142 (Ryzen 5 3500U)

Lenovo Yoga C940-14 (Core i7-1065G7)

Lenovo C740-14IML (Core i5-10210U)

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Ryzen 5 3580U SE)

Acer Spin 3 (Core i5-1035G1)

Acer Swift 5(Core i7-1065G7)

Acer Swift 3 SF314-57-57BN (Core i5-1035G1)

Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56-VK (Core i5-1035G1)

HP Pavilion x360 Convertible 14 dw0097nr Core i5-1035G1

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (Core i5-1035G1)

Lenovo YogaC640-13IML(Core i3-10110U)

Acer Aspire A515-54-30BQ (Core i3-8145U)

Microsoft Surface Go 2 (Core m3-8100Y)

688

1,0 61

670

678

634

662

562

598

439

541

351

414

245

300

Cinebench R15.037

All threads

Again, this test proves that the Surface Laptop Go

is not a computing powerhouse.

SHORTER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R9YN (Ryzen 7 4700U)

Walmart Motile M142 (Ryzen 5 3500U)

Acer Spin 3 (Core i5-1035G1)

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Ryzen 5 3580U SE)

Lenovo Yoga C940-14 (Core i7-1065G7)

Acer Swift 5(Core i7-1065G7)

Lenovo C740-14IML (Core i5-10210U)

Acer Swift 3 SF314-57-57BN (Core i5-1035G1)

Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56-VK (Core i5-1035G1)

HP Pavilion x360 Convertible 14 dw0097nr(Core i5-1035G1)

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (Core i5-1035G1)

Lenovo Yoga C640-13IML(Core i3-10110U)

Acer Aspire A515-54-30BQ (Core i3-8145U)

Microsoft Surface Go 2 (Core m3-8100Y)

3,236

3,498

3,490

4,027

3,706

4,183

4,128

4,524

4,415

6,153

5,027

8,682

7,673

HandBrake Encode 0.99.0

H.265 (X264)

1,876

process of transcoding a Hollywood movie

executes over time—more than an hour, in this

case —providing a view of how the laptop

handles prolonged loads. Processing power

matters here, but also how cool the laptop

remains while it’s working. Our score is the

time, in seconds, the conversion needs to

complete, and shorter is better. The Surface

Laptop Go brought up the rear of the middle,

adequate but not outstanding.

Numerous 3DMark benchmarks exist to

test the graphics capabilities of laptops and

their (in this case) integrated GPUs. We use

the Sky Diver benchmark, specifically

designed for integrated graphics. The Surface

Laptop Go’s UHD graphics isn’t up for much,

so the midrange score is actually good.

Finally, there’s battery life. We loop a 4K

video over and over until the laptop’s battery

expires. It should be noted that Microsoft’s

own battery-life tests assume a screen

brightness of 150 nits, far lower than what we

consider to be adequate brightness levels.

For its size, the Surface Laptop Go