Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

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BEST RATING
Portability:
4.8
GENERAL USE: Good7.2/10
GAMING/AI: Fair6.1/10
ENG/DESIGN: Fair6.8/10
SOFTWARE DEV: Good7.1/10
CONTENT CREATION: Good7.3/10
PORTABILITY: Excellent9.2/10
BATTERY: Good7.6/10
OVERALL SCREEN QUALITY: Fair6.8/10
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: Fair6.9/10
SIZE: 12.4"








Evaluation

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Pros
  • Lightweight and easily portable
  • Solid build quality
  • Good general use performance
  • Touchscreen with decent colors
  • Windows 11 Home included
Cons
  • Limited storage and memory
  • Average battery life
  • Limited ports available
  • Not for high-end gaming

Ratings by Category

Portability:
4.8
PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.
Build Quality:
4.3
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, chassis rigidity, and overall reliability. Our assessment of build quality includes many details that are difficult to quantify. Our laptop experts use their best judgment to produce the final score.
Battery Life:
4.2
PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.
Operating Noise:
4.2
PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.
General Use:
4.1
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is fair for general use primarily because it offers a balance of performance with its decent CPU and sufficient RAM for everyday tasks, and excellent portability due to its compact size and light weight. However, its average battery life and limited high-end performance for demanding applications might not satisfy users who require extended usage or run intensive software..
Software Development:
4.1
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software development. In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Content Creation:
4.1
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, and video editing work. In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
General Use Screen Quality:
4.0
The general use screen score is based on the screen technology, contrast ratio, resolution, brightness, color gamut and color accuracy. This score does not take into account specialized display features for specific use cases, such as high refresh rate for gaming.
Keyboard Quality:
4.0
The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.
Engineering & Design:
3.8
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is deemed fair for engineering and design use mainly because it offers moderate performance with its Intel i5 processor and integrated Iris Xe graphics, which could limit running complex engineering simulations and rendering tasks efficiently. Additionally, while its screen quality is adequate with good color coverage and resolution, professionals in engineering and design might seek larger screens with higher resolutions for detailed work, although its portability and build quality are favorable for on-the-go usage.
Gaming & AI:
3.2
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is equipped with an Iris Xe GPU and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which means it can handle some lighter gaming and less demanding 3D applications, but may struggle with high-end gaming and intensive 3D tasks due to the moderate graphical processing power and the standard refresh rate, which is not optimized for fast-paced gaming scenarios.

Full Specs

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GENERAL

Price
$788
Release Date
October 1, 2023
Overall Dimensions
11'' x 8.1'' x 0.62''
Weight
2.49 lbs
Width
10.95"
Depth
8.12"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i5-1235U
RAM
8 GB
DDR Memory Version
5
RAM Slots
0
Storage
256 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
8 Hours
Battery Capacity
41 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
12.4"
Display Technology
IPS
Resolution
1536 x 1024
Refresh Rate
60Hz
Display Brightness
337 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
PerfectRec logo
7.8/10
Portability Score
PerfectRec logo
9.3/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
No
Premium Business Laptop
No
Fan Noise Score
PerfectRec logo
7.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
PerfectRec logo
7/10
Speaker Quality Score
PerfectRec logo
8.4/10
Webcam
720p
Fingerprint Reader
Yes
Backlit Keyboard
No
Number Pad
No

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
1
USB-C ports
1
USB-C Charging
No
Display Outputs
1
Thunderbolt Ports
0

Shopping

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Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Joe Osborne | October 2023
"When it comes to affordably priced laptops, the numbers after the dollar sign are crucially important—more so than in any other price category. By increasing the starting price of its Laptop Go line by $200 and not changing much else, Microsoft irrevocably altered the calculus surrounding the decision of whether to buy the Surface Laptop Go 3. Sure, it has a newer processor and longer battery life, but don’t think for a second you’re not paying dearly for that extra RAM and SSD capacity at that new price."

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Why trust us

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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
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
101,895
Recommendations made
22,078
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.

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