• Gaming Rankings
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Apex Legends
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for ARK: Survival Evolved
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Battlefield 5
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Borderlands 3
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Cyberpunk 2077
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Darksiders Genesis
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for DOOM Eternal
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Dota 2
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Far Cry 5
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Far Cry New Dawn
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for FIFA 21
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for For Honor
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Fortnite
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Gears 5
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for GTA V
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Halo: Reach
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Hearthstone
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for League of Legends
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Metro Exodus
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Minecraft
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Need For Speed Heat
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Overwatch
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for PES 2021
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for PUBG
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Red Dead Redemption 2
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Resident Evil 2
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Rise of the Tomb Raider
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Rocket League
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Shadow of the Tomb Raider
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Team Fortress 2
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for The Witcher 3
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for Warframe
    • Top 100 Best Laptops for World of Tanks
  • Display Profiles
  • Laptop Rankings
    • Top Laptop CPU Ranking
    • Top Laptop Graphics Ranking
    • Top 100 Best Gaming Laptop Deals (Price/Performance)
    • Top 100 Most Powerful Gaming Laptops
  • M.2 SSDs
    • Laptop M.2 Compatibility List
    • Top M.2 SSDs Performance Rankings

Choose country...

  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • India
  • Italia
  • Deutschland
  • France
  • Canada
  • España
  • Australia
  • България
  • 中国
  • 日本
USA ($)

LaptopMedia.com

  • Home
  • Laptops Specs
  • Laptop Series
  • Reviews
  • Comparisons
  • All Laptops
  • Acer
  • ASUS
  • Apple
  • Alienware
  • AORUS
  • Dell
  • Gigabyte
  • HP
  • Huawei
  • Lenovo
  • LG
  • Microsoft
  • MSI
  • Razer
  • Samsung
  • Toshiba

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) review – an excellent 3:2 display, custom AMD processors and extremely tight form factor

    LaptopMedia.comReviewsMicrosoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) review - an excellent 3:2 display, custom AMD processors and extremely tight form factor

    From: Alex Iliev & Kroum Nikolov 26 June 2020 / 09:22 | 0

    PLEASE WHITELIST US. If it weren’t for the ads, LaptopMedia wouldn’t be running.
    Our articles are free to read but the equipment in our Labs isn’t. We want to be as objective and unbiased as possible, and you can help us keep our jobs by whitelisting our media in your adblocker.

    We were finally able to snatch a retail unit of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15). For those who know little about it, Microsoft is trying to implement the Apple technique and sells their own, branded laptop computers. Only a tiny part of the full range of Microsoft products, the Surface Laptop 3 (15), is aimed at students, office workers, and people who need a device for their daily productivity tasks like word processing, Office 365-related work or just browsing the Web.

    Inside the impressive package, we can find a 3:2 15-inch display with a resolution of 2496 x 1664p, a 10-point multi-touch sensor, and a Surface Pen support. Paired with that we have a sleek all-aluminum body, with a compact NumberPad-less keyboard and a ton of unused space on the base.

    Some people don’t really fancy the narrow aspect ratio, because most of the video content out there is going towards wider ratios – 16:9, and even 18:9 and 21:9 on rare occasions. Nevertheless, the 3:2 one has its own advantages, especially, if you are a developer or you are mostly browsing the Web. Additionally, the device comes in a “regular” and “business” variants, where the former comes with custom AMD Ryzen processors, while the latter is equipped with the more popular, but also more expensive Intel Ice Lake CPUs.

    You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/microsoft-surface-laptop-3-15-0/

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 128GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $880.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1066.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1129.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    #CommissionsEarned
    View more laptops...

    Contents

    1. Specs Sheet
    2. What’s in the box?
    3. Design and construction
    4. Display quality
    5. Health impact – PWM / Blue Light
    6. Buy our profiles
    7. Sound
    8. Drivers
    9. Battery
    10. CPU options
    11. GPU options
    12. Gaming tests
    13. Temperatures and comfort
    14. Verdict

    Specs Sheet

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0″) - Specs

    CPU
    Intel Core i7-1065G7 70 Intel Core i5-1035G7 77 AMD Ryzen 7 3780U 67 AMD Ryzen 5 3580U 71
    GPU
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 133 AMD Radeon Vega 9 124AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
    Display
    15”, (2496 x 1664), IPS
    HDD/SSD
    up to 1000GB SSD
    RAM
    up to 32GB
    OS
    Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows OS
    Dimensions
    339.5 x 244 x 14.7 mm (13.37" x 9.61" x 0.58")
    Weight
    1.54 kg (3.4 lbs)
    Ports and connectivity
    • 1x USB Type-C
    • 1x USB Type-A
    • Wi-Fi 802.11ax
    • Bluetooth 5.0
    • Audio jack 3.5 mm combo
    • Surface Connect Port
    Features
    • Fingerprint reader
    • Web camera HD
    • Backlit keyboard optional
    • Microphone Dual Far-Field Studio
    • Speakers Omnisonic Speakers, Dolby Atmos
    • Optical drive

    All Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0″) configurations

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0128GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $880.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1066.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1129.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1249.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1289.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1289.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (VGZ-00001)
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1309.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (VGZ-00022)
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1309.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    • Intel Core i5-1035G7
    • Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1402.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (VPN-00022)
    • Intel Core i5-1035G7
    • Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1468.54
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    • AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
    • 0512GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1569.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    • AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
    • 0512GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1598.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (VFL-00001)
    • AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    • AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
    • 0512GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1719.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (VFL-00022)
    • AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    • AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
    • 0512GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1809.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (PLZ-00022)
    • Intel Core i7-1065G7
    • Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    • 0256GB SSD
    • 16GB RAM
    $1891.96
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (VFP-00001)
    • AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    • AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
    • 01000GB SSD
    • 32GB RAM
    $2529.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (QVQ-00001)
    • Intel Core i7-1065G7
    • Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    • 01000GB SSD
    • 32GB RAM
    $2899.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    #CommissionsEarned
    See all Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) review – an excellent 3:2 display, custom AMD processors and extremely tight form factor configurations

    What’s in the box?

    As a typical premium notebook, you will receive it in a good quality branded box. Inside, you’ll find the laptop itself, and two compartments – one containing the paper manuals, and one holding the 65W charger.

    Design and construction

    Man, this device is built nicely. It is extremely simple, weighs only 1.542 kg (pretty specific info from Microsoft by the way), and has a profile of 14.7mm, making it comfortably one of the most portable notebooks on the market. Additionally, it reacts to stress without breaking a sweat. If you remember, the 13.5″ version of the Surface Laptop 3 offered an aluminum base, as well as an Alcantara one. However, this iteration fo the device comes only in aluminum.

    Expectedly, the lid can be opened with a single hand and the hinges seem very balanced throughout their entire travel. Apart from the weird 3:2 aspect ratio, you get a glass cover with bezels that look a bit thick in 2020.

    Furthermore, you have a NumberPad-less keyboard with slightly smaller keycaps than what we’re used to. In terms of experience, it feels solid and homogenous all around, and while the feedback is clicky-enough, we think that the travel is short. Despite that, it is still a far more comfortable unit than the Butterfly nonsense of Apple.

    And while the touchpad has a glass surface, amazing gliding and tracking experience, and obviously – Windows Precision drivers, we feel that it is too small, compared to some of its direct competitors, and moreover – the free space around the palm-rest area.

    So, you turn the laptop upside down, and you see… nothing? Well, that’s because the speakers are hidden beneath the keyboard, and actually, here, the keyboard acts as a grill.

    Ports

    Sadly, the premium devices in 2020 come with a very limited set of ports. Here, we have a single USB Type-C port, a USB Type-A port, and a headphone jack. This is all located on the left, while on the right, you can find the proprietary magnetic charging plug.

    Display quality

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) is equipped with an IPS screen, model number Sharp LQP1JXP1 SHP14B1. Its diagonal is 15.0″ (38.1 cm), and the resolution – 2496 x 1664. Additionally, the screen ratio is 3:2, the pixel density – 200 ppi, their pitch – 0.127 x 0.127 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 40 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

    Its viewing angles are comfortable. We have provided images at 45 degrees to evaluate quality.

    The maximum measured brightness is 410 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 393 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of only 3%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6770K (average) – slightly colder than the 6500K optimum for sRGB.
    In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 61% Brightness (White level = 143 cd/m2, Black level = 0.11 cd/m2).
    Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is very good – 1250:1 (1130:1 after profiling).

    To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

    Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people in HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

    Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

    The yellow dotted line shows Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15)’s color gamut coverage.

    Its display covers 96% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, which provides a vibrant and punchy image.

    Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

    We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

    Below you can compare the scores of Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

    The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

    Response time (Gaming capabilities)

    We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

    We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 30 ms

    Health impact – PWM / Blue Light

    PWM (Screen flickering)

    Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15)’s display doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment. This makes it comfortable for long working periods, without being harmful to your eyes in this aspect.

    Blue light emissions

    Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

    Conclusions

    Undoubtedly, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15)’s strongest point is its touchscreen display. With its high-resolution IPS panel, comfortable viewing angles, great contrast ratio, and 96% sRGB coverage, viewing it is a real candy to the eye. Moreover, it doesn’t flicker and it can be used for color-sensitive work when our Gaming and Web design profile is present.

    Buy our profiles

    Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) configurations with 15.0″ Sharp LQP1JKP1 SHP14B4 (2496×1664) IPS.

    *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected]

    Read more about the profiles HERE.

    In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

    Office Work - screen profile

    Office Work

    Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

    $4.96
    Buy Now Checkout Added to cart
    Design and Gaming - screen profile

    Design and Gaming

    This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

    $4.97
    Buy Now Checkout Added to cart
    Health-Guard - screen profile

    Health-Guard

    Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

    $4.98
    Buy Now Checkout Added to cart
    All
    $9.99
    Buy Now Checkout Added to cart

    Sound

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15)’s speakers produce a very good sound for a Windows machine. Its maximum volume is high and the quality is on point.

    Drivers

    All of the drivers and utilities for the Surface Laptop 3 with Intel CPUs can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=100429
    And these for the Surface Laptop 3 with AMD processors can be downloaded from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=100428

    Battery

    Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This device has a 45.8 Wh battery, which looks kind of disappointing. However, we got well over 10 hours of Web browsing and watching videos on a loop set us back at 8 hours.

    • Web surfing
    • Video playback
    In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    640 min.
    battery
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    70Wh, 4-cell
    1247 min.+94.8%
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    60.7Wh
    900 min.+40.6%
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    71Wh, 8-cell
    $1599
    783 min.+22.3%
    For every test like this, we use the same video in HD.
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    484 min.
    battery
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    70Wh, 4-cell
    943 min.+94.8%
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    60.7Wh
    886 min.+83.1%
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    71Wh, 8-cell
    $1599
    654 min.+35.1%
    We use F1 2017’s built-in benchmark on loop in order to simulate real-life gaming.
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    battery
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    70Wh, 4-cell
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    60.7Wh
    150 min.
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    71Wh, 8-cell
    $1599

    CPU options

    In terms of processors, you have two options from each AMD and Intel. The former includes the specially designed Ryzen 5 3580U and the Ryzen 7 3780U. However, the so-called “Business” version of the notebook comes with the Intel Core i5-1035G7 and the Core i7-1065G7 Ice Lake CPUs.

    • 3D Rendering
    • Adobe Photoshop
    Results are from the Cinebench 20 CPU test (the higher the score, the better)
    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    1529.00
    performance
    Intel Core i5-10210U
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    1345.00-12%
    AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    2409.00+57.6%
    Intel Core i7-8565U
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    1619.00+5.9%
    Results are from the Fritz chess benchmark (the higher the score, the better)
    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    0.00
    performance
    Intel Core i5-10210U
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    0.00
    AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    0.00
    Intel Core i7-8565U
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    0.00
    Results are from our Photoshop benchmark test (the lower the score, the better)
    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    13.34
    performance
    Intel Core i5-10210U
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    8.31-37.7%
    AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    7.62-42.9%
    Intel Core i7-8565U
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    10.37-22.3%

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0") CPU variants

    Here you can see an approximate comparison between the CPUs that can be found in the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0") models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0") model is the best bang for your buck.

    Note: The chart shows the cheapest different CPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / CPU.

    • 3D Rendering
    • Adobe Photoshop
    Results are from the Cinebench 20 CPU test (the higher the score, the better)
    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    1529
    performance
    Intel Core i5-1035G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    1467-4.1%
    AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $1569.99+78%
    1580+3.3%
    Intel Core i7-1065G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (PLZ-00022)
    $1891.96+115%
    1482-3.1%
    Results are from the Fritz chess benchmark (the higher the score, the better)
    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    performance
    Intel Core i5-1035G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $1569.99+78%
    Intel Core i7-1065G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (PLZ-00022)
    $1891.96+115%
    Results are from our Photoshop benchmark test (the lower the score, the better)
    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    13.34
    performance
    Intel Core i5-1035G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    8.04-39.7%
    AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $1569.99+78%
    Intel Core i7-1065G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (PLZ-00022)
    $1891.96+115%
    7.92-40.6%

    GPU options

    Respectively, the AMD options feature the Radeon Vega 9 and the RX Vega 11 integrated solution, whereas the Intel CPUs offer the Iris Plus Graphics G7 with both the processors.

    • 3DMark Fire Strike (G)
    • Unigine Heaven 3.0
    • Unigine Heaven 4.0
    • Unigine Superposition
    Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    2763.00
    performance
    Intel UHD Graphics
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    1309.00-52.6%
    AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000, 15W)
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    3051.00+10.4%
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    7581.00+174.4%
    Results are from the Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    604.00
    performance
    Intel UHD Graphics
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    372.00-38.4%
    AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000, 15W)
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    776.00+28.5%
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    2390.00+295.7%
    Results are from the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    453.00
    performance
    Intel UHD Graphics
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    296.00-34.7%
    AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000, 15W)
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    607.00+34%
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    1784.00+293.8%
    Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    price
    495.00
    performance
    Intel UHD Graphics
    Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
    276.00-44.2%
    AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000, 15W)
    Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14
    549.00+10.9%
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
    Asus ZenBook 15 UX534
    $1599.00
    1578.00+218.8%

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0") GPU variants

    Here you can see an approximate comparison between the GPUs that can be found in the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0") models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15.0") model is the best bang for your buck.

    Note: The chart shows the cheapest different GPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / GPU.

    • 3DMark Fire Strike (G)
    • Unigine Heaven 3.0
    • Unigine Heaven 4.0
    • Unigine Superposition
    Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    2763
    performance
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    2222-19.6%
    Results are from the Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    604
    performance
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    636+5.3%
    Results are from the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    453
    performance
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    412-9.1%
    Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
    AMD Radeon Vega 9
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    $880.00
    price
    495
    performance
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
    $1402.00+59%
    443-10.5%

    Gaming tests

    DOTA 2 HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
    Average FPS 94 fps 55 fps 30 fps

    Temperatures and comfort

    Max CPU load

    In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

    Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

    AMD Ryzen 5 3580U (15W TDP) 0:02 – 0:10 sec 0:15 – 0:30 sec 10:00 – 15:00 min
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15) 3.16 GHz (B+50%) @ 59°C 3.15 GHz (B+50%) @ 66°C 2.79 GHz (B+33%) @ 69°C

    If we concentrate on the numbers only, we can see a very, very cool processor, that delivers impressively high clock speeds, despite its 15W TDP.

    Comfort during full load

    Even under heavy load, the laptop remains rather quiet, while the temperature on the keyboard deck reaches around 40-41C.

    Verdict

    Now, drawing a conclusion with this device is quite difficult. Although it feels extremely good using it, we just can’t forget its price tag. With that said, we must start the last part of this review with something disappointing. Our unit (and from what we saw on the Web, many others), had an issue. As soon as we apply a heavy load (for example with Cinebench R20), the laptop runs for a couple of seconds, and then it shuts itself off. Without any indications of what the error could be – no blue screen of death, no pop-up dialogue. Nothing. However, we found something interesting. Unlike many other laptops that come through our hands, the Surface Laptop 3 (15) has the Better Battery Life set as Recommended under the Power Mode menu. And, as soon as we switched from the Best Performance to this mode, all the issues were resolved.

    No accidental shutdowns, screen turn-offs, or anything. Just like this never happened. What we think happened here, is that Microsoft found a quick solution to this problem, and never tried to actually resolve it. On the other side, we didn’t see a mindblowing difference in the performance of the notebook between the Better Battery Life mode and the Best Performance one.

    Next, there is the 45.8Wh battery. Well, this looks pretty modest, doesn’t it? Especially if you compare it to the 100Wh battery of the 16-inch MacBook Pro. However, it comfortably lasts an entire workday away from the plug with its 10 hours and 40 minutes of Web browsing and 8 hours of video playback.

    Sadly, instead of opposing Apple, Microsoft copied their limited I/O. Instead of giving you a couple of USB Type-C ports and calling it a day, the fellas from Redmont decided to give you a single USB Type-A port and a headphone jack. How generous of them… At least you can upgrade your storage with an M.2 NVMe drive, although Microsoft is clearly saying it is not user-removable, and also it has a weird size – 2230, in contrast to the more popular 2242 and 2280.

    Undoubtedly, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15)’s strongest point is its touchscreen display. With its high-resolution IPS panel (Sharp LQP1JXP1), comfortable viewing angles, great contrast ratio, and 96% sRGB coverage, viewing it is a real candy to the eye. Moreover, it doesn’t flicker and it can be used for color-sensitive work when our Gaming and Web design profile is present.

    So guys, the Surface Laptop 3 (15) is exactly what Microsoft states it is – a laptop that will guide you with your Office 365 work, word processing, countless hours of Web browsing, and in our view, photo and light video editing. If you are genuinely unpretentious, you have no problem buying a separate dongle and money is not a problem for you, go for it, this device has some quality. Just remember the drill – keep the Power Mode setting down at “Better Battery Mode” and you shouldn’t have any problems.

    Pros

    • An all-aluminum chassis with great quality of build
    • Covers 96% of sRGB and our Gaming and Web design profile helps it to an Average dE of 1.5 (Sharp LQP1JXP1)
    • Good contrast ratio and comfortable viewing angles (Sharp LQP1JXP1)
    • Doesn’t use PWM to adjust its brightness (Sharp LQP1JXP1)
    • Nice-sounding speakers and 410 nits of maximum brightness

    Cons

    • Extremely modest I/O
    • Poor upgradability

    You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/microsoft-surface-laptop-3-15-0/

    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 128GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $880.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1066.99
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15
    • AMD Ryzen 5 3580U
    • AMD Radeon Vega 9
    • 256GB SSD
    • 8GB RAM
    $1129.00
    More Info Buy from Amazon
    #CommissionsEarned
    View more laptops...
    Subscribe
    Notify of
    guest
    The comment form collects your name, email, and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
    guest
    The comment form collects your name, email, and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments

    Top 100 Laptops



    Top Laptop Ratings

    • Top Laptop CPU Ranking
    • Top Laptop Graphics Ranking
    • Laptop M.2 SSD Compatibility List
    • Top Laptop PWM Ranking
    • LaptopMedia Profiles Supported Laptops List
    • Top Laptopsby Battery Life
    • Top M.2 SSDs Performance Rankings

    Reviews View more

    Acer Aspire 3 (A315-22) review – when you no longer have a choice 1 March 2021
    MSI GP76 Leopard review – new design and RTX 3000 graphics cards on board 28 February 2021
    HP 250 G8 review – thinner bezels and a smaller body but a familiar story overall 26 February 2021
    Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga review – stylish business-class convertible 25 February 2021
    ASUS ROG Strix G15 G513 review – a possible best seller for 2021 23 February 2021

    Highlights View more

    Top 5 reasons to BUY or NOT to buy the MSI Bravo 15 1 March 2021
    [Specs, Info, and Prices] Lenovo’s ThinkPad T15 Gen 2 is ready to become your new business partner 1 March 2021
    Top 5 reasons to BUY or NOT to buy the Dell Inspiron 14 5406 2-in-1 28 February 2021
    [Specs, Info, and Prices] When performance meets portability: The ThinkPad P14s Gen 2 and P15s Gen 2 – Lenovo’s newest mobile workstations 28 February 2021
    [Specs, Info, and Prices] The ThinkPad X13 and X13 Yoga Gen 2 bring produtivity and performance thanks to 16:10 screens and Tiger Lake 28 February 2021

    Follow us

    2007 - 2021 Some rights reserved - LaptopMedia.com
    Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
    As an Amazon Associate LaptopMedia earns from qualifying purchases.

    wpDiscuz