Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15-inch Intel Core vs. AMD Ryzen: There is No Wrong Option

As of this writing, the 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD can be found for $1800 USD if configured with the Intel Core i7-1065G7 or $1700 if configured with the AMD Ryzen 5 3580U. One would expect the Intel version to perform faster than the AMD version based on the small price difference alone, but are there any other differences under the hood?

Our benchmarks below directly compare the Core i7 and Ryzen 5 versions of the Surface Laptop 3 15 and the Intel SKU will indeed outperform the Ryzen 5 SKU in nearly all tests ranging from PCMark to CineBench and the browser-based Jetstream. The differences aren't exceptionally substantial, but they occur consistently enough in Intel's favor to safely dub it the faster model.

3DMark results are the few instances where the Ryzen 5 SKU is favored ever so slightly. Nonetheless, real-world games will still run faster on the Intel Core i7 version. Keep in mind that our Ryzen 5 test unit comes equipped with just 8 GB of RAM compared to 16 GB on the Intel.

Outside of raw processor performance, the Intel system benefits from faster Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, a faster SSD, and a slightly better calibrated display based on our two examples. Our Intel unit ships with the AX201 and Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G compared to the slower Qualcomm QCA6174 and SK Hynix BC501 on the AMD.

When considering that Microsoft is offering the Core i7 SKU for just $100 more than the Ryzen 5 SKU at the moment, it's definitely worth the small extra investment for an overall better experience with the Surface Laptop 3 15. However, the performance differences between them are generally small enough that you likely wouldn't be able to tell them apart if your workloads consist mostly of web browsing, video streaming, word processing, or other light office tasks.

Surface Laptop 3 15 Core i7 on sale now at Amazon
Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 7 on sale now at Amazon