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MagyarMicrosoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Review: Is AMD's Ryzen held back on purpose?
We have already reviewed the Surface Laptop 4 13.5 with the new Tiger Lake processor, and now we have a look at the new Ryzen model. Similar to the bigger Surface Laptop 4, Microsoft uses a special AMD chip, which uses a slightly modified iGPU. While private customers can choose between plenty of configurations with Intel CPUs, Microsoft places the AMD model in the entry-level segment for 1129 Euros with the Ryzen 5, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD storage. Only business customers can get additional models (R7 CPU, more RAM and/or more storage). We do not think this limitation makes sense, and you have to get a more expensive Intel configuration (starting at 1449 Euros) if you want more memory.
We want to test how the Ryzen processor performance and find the differences compared to the Intel SKU. The screen, the speakers, and the input devices are identical, so please see our review of the Surface Laptop 4 13.5 Intel for more information on these sections. More information about the optional Ryzen 7 processor is available in our review of the larger Surface Laptop 4 15 AMD:
Possible Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85.2 % | 05/2021 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 R5 4680U, Vega 7 | 1.3 kg | 14 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
| 84.7 % | 05/2021 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 i7-1185G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 14.5 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
| 87.7 % | 05/2021 | Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.2 kg | 16 mm | 13.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87.6 % | 03/2021 | Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 975 g | 15 mm | 13.30" | 2560x1600 | |
| 91.1 % | 12/2020 | Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry M1, M1 7-Core GPU | 1.3 kg | 16.1 mm | 13.30" | 2560x1600 |
Case & Connectivity
While the Intel model is available in four different colors and you can choose between a palm rest made of metal or Alcantara, private customers interested in the AMD model are limited to the color Platinum and Alcantara. The surface is nice to touch, but the base unit of the Alcantara version is not quite as sturdy and you pressure on the center of the keyboard area is more noticeable compared to the metal version.
The Wi-Fi module (Intel AX200 instead of AX201 on the Intel SKU) supports the fast Wi-Fi 6 standard and the transfer rates are good. Microsoft does not equip the Intel model with Thunderbolt, so there are no differences in terms of the port selection.
Performance - Surface Laptop 4 with 6 cores and PCIe-SSD
The memory equipment with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD storage is currently more than sufficient for casual users and the Ryzen processor will not be a bottleneck in the next couple of years, either. Considering the high multi-core performance, the processor could also handle more challenging workloads, but the RAM will probably be the limiting factor here.
Note: Microsoft offers a Ryzen 5 SKU with 16 GB RAM in its U.S. store for $1199.
Processor - Ryzen 5 4680U
Just like the modified Ryzen 7 processor in the larger Surface Laptop 4 15, the CPU section of the Ryzen 5 4680U seems to be identical to the familiar Ryzen 5 4600U. You get 6 cores (12 threads) that can run at up to 4 GHz. More information about the processor is available in our tech section.
We can only compare the CPU performance with the Core i7-1185G7 in the high-end spec, but the actual rival for the Ryzen 5 4680U is the Core i5-1135G7. As expected, the single-core performance is lower compared to the Intel models, but even the more expensive i7 does not stand a chance in multi-core benchmarks. However, you must know that you are basically getting an old processor, and there are already laptops with the successor and better performance.
Looking at the benchmark results we notice that the TDP settings are pretty much identical to the Intel model, which means there is no noteworthy difference to the larger Surface Laptop 4 AMD, either. Business customers interested in the Surface Laptop 4 13.5 with the Ryzen 7 CPU can expect similar results. The consumption will level off at 30 Watts for the first couple of minutes and the drop to 23 Watts, which can be maintained.
There is still one difference to the Intel model, because the Ryzen processor is much slower on battery power (up to ~12W multi-core & 5W single-core) and you have to expect a performance deficit of about 50%.
Cinebench R20: CPU (Single Core) | CPU (Multi Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (598 - 1934, n=68, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (2485 - 16201, n=68, last 2 years) | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (216 - 738, n=64, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (810 - 6314, n=64, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (91.8 - 280, n=62, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (514 - 2581, n=70, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (201 - 1600, n=66, last 2 years) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (2197 - 6403, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (16223 - 67444, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (672 - 2350, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (4274 - 12580, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (1.5 - 19.4, n=56, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (40.1 - 120.5, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 4680U () | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (0.4397 - 1.236, n=57, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The subjective performance impression and there is no noticeable difference to the Intel model. All inputs are quickly executed without any perceptible delays. The AMD model also performs very well in the synthetic benchmarks and there are no bottlenecks.
| PCMark 10 Score | 4700 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latency
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Like the Intel model, our test unit is equipped with a compact M.2-2230 PCIe-SSD from Samsung. The PM991 has a storage capacity of 256 GB and you can use 197 GB after the initial set-up. The performance of the drive is pretty average, but it is still completely sufficient in practice. You could replace the drive in theory, but this is not really an option for most users due to the extremely poor maintainability.
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 Samsung PM991 MZ9LQ256HBJQ | Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 Samsung PM991 MZ9LQ512HALU | Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD Samsung PM9A1 MZVL2512HCJQ | Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ | Average Samsung PM991 MZ9LQ256HBJQ | Average of class Subnotebook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 19% | 52% | 92% | 16% | 142% | |
| Write 4K | 78.8 | 118.2 50% | 136.9 74% | 139.5 77% | 122.1 ? 55% | 154.9 ? 97% |
| Read 4K | 27.88 | 37.54 35% | 47.34 70% | 36.38 30% | 35.4 ? 27% | 65.7 ? 136% |
| Write Seq | 742 | 1017 37% | 1150 55% | 1977 166% | 849 ? 14% | 2466 ? 232% |
| Read Seq | 841 | 926 10% | 2052 144% | 2207 162% | 854 ? 2% | 2627 ? 212% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 363.5 | 354.2 -3% | 433 19% | 510 40% | 394 ? 8% | 401 ? 10% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 317.6 | 352.6 11% | 293 -8% | 387.8 22% | 398 ? 25% | 483 ? 52% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 1057 | 1174 11% | 1148 9% | 2986 182% | 1059 ? 0% | 3908 ? 270% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 2256 | 2261 0% | 3427 52% | 3540 57% | 2254 ? 0% | 5174 ? 129% |
| AS SSD | 16% | 61% | 86% | 3% | 86% | |
| Seq Read | 1687 | 1821 8% | 2629 56% | 2861 70% | 1706 ? 1% | 3827 ? 127% |
| Seq Write | 675 | 794 18% | 1270 88% | 1321 96% | 803 ? 19% | 2355 ? 249% |
| 4K Read | 40.1 | 47.54 19% | 65.2 63% | 52.5 31% | 45.1 ? 12% | 59.4 ? 48% |
| 4K Write | 110.3 | 141.6 28% | 182.5 65% | 196.7 78% | 123.6 ? 12% | 173.2 ? 57% |
| 4K-64 Read | 676 | 782 16% | 1032 53% | 1153 71% | 773 ? 14% | 1022 ? 51% |
| 4K-64 Write | 680 | 766 13% | 1257 85% | 1807 166% | 721 ? 6% | 1873 ? 175% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.179 | 0.191 -7% | 0.07 61% | 0.064 64% | 0.229 ? -28% | 0.06214 ? 65% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.035 | 0.027 23% | 0.023 34% | 0.018 49% | 0.0315 ? 10% | 0.07618 ? -118% |
| Score Read | 885 | 1012 14% | 1360 54% | 1491 68% | 989 ? 12% | 1464 ? 65% |
| Score Write | 858 | 987 15% | 1567 83% | 2136 149% | 925 ? 8% | 2285 ? 166% |
| Score Total | 2155 | 2477 15% | 3573 66% | 4322 101% | 2386 ? 11% | 4437 ? 106% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 996 | 1243 25% | 1430 44% | 1085 ? 9% | 2089 ? 110% | |
| Copy Program MB/s | 515 | 628 22% | 782 52% | 389 ? -24% | 616 ? 20% | |
| Copy Game MB/s | 811 | 976 20% | 1177 45% | 687 ? -15% | 1461 ? 80% | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 18% /
17% | 57% /
57% | 89% /
88% | 10% /
8% | 114% /
106% |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance - Vega 7 with more efficient video decoder
All the graphics calculations are handled by the integrated Radeon RX Vega 7 of the processor. Intel's Xe Graphics G7 (both with 80 as well as 96 EUs) offers similar performance.
A real optimization on the GPU side seems to be the video decoder, because the GPU is more efficient during video playback. A good example is 4K video playback. While the GPU load of a Vega 6 is around 60% for this task (Intel Xe Graphics G7 ~30%), the Vega 7 of the Surface Laptop only shows 7% load.
The performance is also pretty stable. Our sample does not pass the 3DMark stress test (Night Raid) at 95%, but you will hardly notice the 5% performance drop during gaming. Contrary to the processor, the graphics performance is not reduced on battery power.
Looking at the actual gaming performance, the Vega 7 is behind the current integrated GPUs from Intel. The Witcher 3, for example, only runs smoothly on medium settings, while you get playable fps numbers with the high preset on the Surface Laptop 4 13 with the i7 processor.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 5159 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 2761 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1006 points | |
Help | ||
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 59.6 | 37.3 | 17.1 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 90.6 | 75.2 | 46.6 | 42.5 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 37.9 | 30.2 | 26.6 |
Emissions & Energy
System Noise
The fan noise is comparable to the Intel model, but it takes even more time before it starts spinning on the Intel model. During our stress test, for example, it took around one minute before the fan was audible. This means you will probably enjoy a silent device in everyday scenarios. The fan speed will seamlessly increase during gaming or high CPU loads until it reaches its maximum volume at around 40 dB(A), which is obviously clearly audible, but the murmur is not annoying. We did not notice any other electronic sounds, either.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 24.6 / 24.6 / 24.6 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 39.5 / 39.5 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 24.6 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
Overall, the surface temperatures are a bit lower compared to the Intel SKU and the palm rest made of Alcantara is subjectively not as hot as the metal version. But we still recommend you do not put the device on your lap under high load. There are no limitations during lighter workloads though.
During the stress test, we notice that the power consumption drops to around 17W after a while and the larger Surface Laptop 4 15 AMD also leveled off at a comparatively low value of 20W, while the Intel model of the smaller 13.5-inch model maintains 23W. Since both the fan speeds and the surface temperatures are comparable, we can conclude that the Ryzen processor with the Vega 7 iGPU seems to produce more heat than the Intel chip with the Xe Graphics G7.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45.8 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 45.5 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.3 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(-) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 39.3 °C / 103 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (33.1 °C / 91.6 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.3 °C / 82.9 F (-4.8 °C / -8.7 F).
Speaker
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 10.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.6% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (9.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 3% of all tested devices in this class were better, 3% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 97% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 7.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.2% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (8.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 2% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 98% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 2% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 98% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Power Consumption
The AMD and Intel model are almost identical in terms of power consumption and there are no surprises. The maximum consumption of 64W drops after a couple of seconds (like the TDP) to ~50W at first and later to 32W. The included 65W power adapter is completely sufficient.
| Off / Standby | 0.28 / 0.44 Watt |
| Idle | 3.4 / 6.3 / 8.1 Watt |
| Load |
36.2 / 64.1 Watt |
   
| |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 Vega 7, R5 4680U, Samsung PM991 MZ9LQ256HBJQ | Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1185G7, Samsung PM991 MZ9LQ512HALU | Dell XPS 13 9305 Core i5 FHD Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1135G7, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL2512HCJQ | Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ | Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry M1 7-Core GPU, M1, Apple SSD AP0256Q | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 3% | -2% | -14% | 28% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 3.4 | 2.6 24% | 3.2 6% | 4.3 -26% | 1.9 44% |
| Idle Average * | 6.3 | 6 5% | 6.7 -6% | 7.1 -13% | 6.4 -2% |
| Idle Maximum * | 8.1 | 8.2 -1% | 10.5 -30% | 9.8 -21% | 7 14% |
| Load Average * | 36.2 | 41.4 -14% | 28.5 21% | 41.8 -15% | 25 31% |
| Load Maximum * | 64.1 | 64.1 -0% | 64 -0% | 60.9 5% | 30.3 53% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 28.5 | 41 |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Runtime
The battery capacity is identical (47.4 Wh) and the power consumption on battery is comparable, but the AMD model still manages much longer runtimes in our tests. The Wi-Fi test at 150 nits runs for almost 11 hours (Intel model ~7.5 hours) and still 7 hours at the maximum brightness (Intel model about 6 hours). This is mainly the effect of the reduced performance of the AMD processor on battery power.
Note: We usually perform the Wi-Fi test with the Windows performance setting "Better Performance". However, the Surface Laptop 4 adjusts the brightness automatically on battery in this setting (and the more efficient ones). You can usually adjust this setting in Intel’s and AMD’s graphics drivers, but the Surface Laptop 4 AMD is not equipped with the usual Radeon drivers and you cannot install it manually, either. To ensure a steady brightness in our runtime tests, we performed them with the performance setting "Best Performance".
Pros
Cons
Verdict - AMD model of the Surface Laptop 4 is actually better
The AMD model of the Surface Laptop 4 13.5 is an interesting alternative to the Intel SKU and there are some advantages: The device is more affordable, the battery runtime is better, and the multi-core performance is superior to the most expensive Intel option, even on the entry-level Ryzen 5.
The two devices are identical in many sections including the chassis, the input devices, the screen, and the speakers. Even the ports are identical, because Microsoft does not equip the Intel version with Thunderbolt, either, and still uses its proprietary Surface Connect port instead.
The entry-level version of the Surface Laptop 4 has a much better price-performance ratio and sufficient performance for everyday tasks. We do not understand the limitations of the configurations though.
The AMD model is more than 300 Euros less expensive compared to the Intel SKU with the Core i5, 8 GB RAM, and 512 GB storage (there is no Intel model with 256 GB storage) for 1449 Euros. We cannot understand why only business customers can access other AMD models with the even faster Ryzen 7 CPU and more RAM/storage.
If you compare the Surface Laptop 4 with other rivals, you should know that you are basically getting a last generation Ryzen processor. The integrated GPU was slightly modified (more efficient video decoder), but the new Ryzen 5000 CPUs offer more performance. Microsoft’s starting price of 1129 Euros is also right in the ballpark of the Apple MacBook Air. Depending on your usage scenario, we think the Surface Laptop 4 only offers the advantage of the 3:2 aspect ratio (with touch functionality), but if you are not bound to Microsoft Windows, the current MacBook Air M1 offers the superior overall package.
Price and Availability
Our test model is available on Amazon.com for $989.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5
-
05/27/2021 v7
Andreas Osthoff
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