Microsoft’s Intel-Based Surface Laptop 5 Gets Worse Battery Life Than AMD’s Laptop 4
big news Microsoft recently updated the Surface Laptop 5 It was that the company ditched AMD-based options (last seen surface laptop 4)going all-in on Intel’s 12th generation silicon ( surface pro 9, available on both Intel-based and Arm-based models). Moving to Intel only on Surface Laptop 5, Thunderbolt 4/ USB4 For the first time, you can connect to your laptop’s only USB-C port. This means you can connect your laptop to up to two of his 4K displays at up to 60Hz (if you bring your own dock).
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But aside from the new Sage (light green) color of the smaller 13.5-inch model, the Surface Laptop 5 is virtually the same looking laptop as the Surface Laptop 4. The keyboard is the same – yes the keyboard is still great it also has a 720p webcam which is not that terrible but late 2022 here he insults laptops starting at $1,299 I feel like The laptop, and our Surface Laptop 5 review unit, both look and feel great.
Surface Laptop 5 Specifications (Tested)
| Surface Laptop 5 | Surface Laptop 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-1255U | AMD Ryzen 7 4980U (Microsoft Surface Edition) |
| graphic | Intel Iris Xe | AMD Radeon Vega Graphics (Integrated) |
| memory | 16GB LPDDR5x | 16GB LPDDR4-4266 |
| depository | 512GB SSD PCIe NVMe SSD | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| screen | 15-inch, 2496 x 1664 touchscreen | 15-inch, 2496 x 1664 touchscreen |
| networking | Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 and Bluetooth 5.2 | Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 200 and Bluetooth 5 |
| port | Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, Microsoft Surface Connect port | USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, Microsoft Surface Connect port |
| camera | 720p infrared | 720p infrared |
| battery | 47.4Whr | 47.4Whr |
| power adapter | 65W | 65W |
| operating system | windows 11 home | windows 10 home |
| Dimensions (width x depth x height) | 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.58 inch/339.5 x 244 x 14.7mm | 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.58 inch/339.5 x 244 x 14.7mm |
| weight | 3.4 lbs, 1.54 kg | 3.4 lbs, 1.54 kg |
| Price (when set) | $1,799.99 | $1,699.99 |
I haven’t had a chance to put the review unit through normal testing yet. Because of the release she arrived in less than a day. However, our sibling site Tom’s Guide was able to do most of its normal testing with the Surface Laptop 5. One thing is battery life. Testing an AMD-powered Surface Laptop 4 (running a Ryzen 7 4980U CPU) in Spring 2021, web browsing, video streaming, and OpenGL worked fine with the display set to 150 nits and the laptop connected to Wi-Fi. and test.
The Surface Laptop 5 tested by Tom’s Guide, powered by an Intel Core i7-1255U (using the same battery test we used), lasted 9 hours and 50 minutes in the same test. So the latest generation AMD-powered Surface Laptop 4 lasted 2 hours and 14 minutes longer than the Intel-powered Surface Laptop 5. In fairness to Intel (and Microsoft), Tom’s Guide only had time to test the laptop’s battery life. One run instead of the three running averages that are usually reported. We’re waiting for more battery tests later this week, and will do our own testing (using a slightly higher-end Core i7-1265U) to confirm battery life numbers for the new model. But after one test, it looks like Microsoft has ditched AMD for new Intel silicon with the Surface Laptop 5, sacrificing battery life. Two generations ago now.
That said, we don’t want to underestimate the performance offered by Intel’s i7-1255U in the Surface Laptop 5. Its Cinebench 5.4 scores of 1,674 (single-core) and 8,709 (multi-core) are significantly higher than the AMD-powered Surface. 4 laptops (1,173 single, 6748 multi). But in the Handbrake test transcoding a 4K test video to 1080p, the older AMD-powered Surface Pro 4 finished in 8 minutes and 21 seconds. A brand new Intel-powered Surface Laptop 5 finished the same test with an average time of 8:46 over three runs. It’s not a big difference, but it’s another test that the new model can’t beat the old one.
Again, we’ll need to spend some more time testing to confirm battery life numbers and other benchmarks for the Surface Laptop 5. This week, we’ll be working on a more thorough review of the laptop. Hmm. This is especially true considering the new model sells for $1,799 with the same RAM (16GB). and storage (512GB) are the same as the Surface Laptop 4 at launch ($1,699).Microsoft itself Surface Laptop 4 with the same configuration for $1,399 (opens in new tab).
