2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE vs. Surface Laptop 4 13.5”: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE and Surface Laptop 4 13.5” specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE Pros

Reasons that 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE is better than Surface Laptop 4 13.5”.

Much faster CPU performance

AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX inside 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE has a 57% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1185G7 inside Surface Laptop 4 13.5”.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE - AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
7,663
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE - AMD Ryzen 7-5800H
7,098
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” - AMD Ryzen 7-4980U Microsoft Surface Edition
6,365
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” - Intel Core i7-1185G7
4,864
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” - AMD Ryzen 5-4680U Microsoft Surface Edition
4,614
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” - Intel Core i5-1145G7
4,450
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” - Intel Core i5-1135G7
3,980
Supports larger memory

The 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop 4 13.5”. It supports up to 48GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop 4 13.5”.

Max system memory size
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE
48 GB
Surface Laptop 4 13.5”
32 GB
Upgradable memory

The 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE comes with one SODIMM slot that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the Surface Laptop 4 13.5” since it has onboard memory.

Memory2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Slots
x1
Onboard
TypeDDR4LPDDR4X
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6 115W TGP vs. integrated

15% larger display

The 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE has a 15.6-inch screen size 15% larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 13.5”.

Display size
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE
15.6-inch
Surface Laptop 4 13.5”
13.5-inch

Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 4 13.5” is better than 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE.

Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 4 13.5” supports a faster memory speed than the 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE. It supports up to 4267MHz versus 3200MHz of system memory on the 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” - LPDDR4X
4,267 MHz
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE - DDR4
3,200 MHz
About 49% lighter

Surface Laptop 4 13.5” weighed 2.79 pounds, 49% lighter than the 5.47 pounds 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE.

Weight2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Pound
5.47 lbs.
2.79 lbs.
Kilogram
2.48 kg
1.27 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE Price
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo SE 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 300Hz FHD IPS Type Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 32GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe SSD, Per-Key RGB Keyboard, Windows 10 Pro, GX551QS-XS98
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo SE 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 300Hz FHD IPS Type Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 32GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe SSD, Per-Key RGB Keyboard, Windows 10 Pro, GX551QS-XS98
By ASUS
$2,199.99
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 16” 165Hz IPS Type WUXGA 16:10 Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, GX650RM-ES74
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 16” 165Hz IPS Type WUXGA 16:10 Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, GX650RM-ES74
By ASUS
$2,009.99
$2,499.99 20% OFF
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 16” 165Hz ROG Nebula HDR QHD 16:10 Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, GX650RW-XS96,Black
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 16” 165Hz ROG Nebula HDR QHD 16:10 Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, GX650RW-XS96,Black
By ASUS
$2,199.00
$3,499.99 37% OFF
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB - 512GB Solid State Drive - Matte Black
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB - 512GB Solid State Drive - Matte Black
By Microsoft
$985.00
$1,699.99 42% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5-inch Touch-Screen – AMD Ryzen 5 Surface Edition - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5-inch Touch-Screen – AMD Ryzen 5 Surface Edition - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$398.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Touch-Screen – AMD Ryzen 5 Surface Edition - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Platinum
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Touch-Screen – AMD Ryzen 5 Surface Edition - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Platinum
By Microsoft
$543.99

Availability

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Released20212021
Release DateAnnounced on February 1, 2021
  • Introduced: April 13, 2021
  • Released: April 13, 2021
Pricing-
  • $999.99
    AMD Ryzen 5 8GB 256GB Platinum Only
  • $1,199.99
    AMD Ryzen 5 16GB 256GB Platinum Only
  • $1,299.99
    Intel Core i5 8GB 512GB
  • $1,499.99
    Intel Core i5 16GB 512GB
  • $1,699.99
    Intel Core i7 16GB 512GB
  • $2,299.99
    Intel Core i7 32GB 1TB Matte Black Only
Generations

Exterior

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Dimensions14.17 x 10.55 x 0.82” (360 x 268 x 20.9 mm)12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57” (308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm)
Weight5.47 lbs (2.48 kg)
  • 2.84 lb (1,288 g)
    Sandstone and Matte Black
  • 2.79 lb (1,265 g)
    Cobalt Blue and Platinum
Colors
Black
  • Metal
    Matte Black Sandstone
  • Alcantara
    Ice Blue Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Full-size Backlit Chiclet Keyboard Per-Key RGB
  • Supports ASUS AURA Sync
  • 1.4mm key travel
  • N-KEY rollover
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Size15.6 Inches13.5 Inches
InfoMain Screen
  • 15.6” 4K UHD 120Hz
    16:9 3840 x 2160 120Hz 3ms 132.7% sRGB 100% Adobe RGB Non-touch IPS Level Anti-Glare FreeSync Pantone Validated
  • 15.6” FHD 300Hz
    16:9 1920 x 1080 300Hz 3ms 100% sRGB 75.35% Adobe RGB Non-touch IPS Level Anti-Glare Adaptive-Sync Pantone Validated
ScreenPad™ Plus
  • 14.1” UHD 60Hz
    3840 x 1100 60Hz 72% NTSC touchscreen IPS Level Anti-Glare
  • 14.1” FHD 60Hz
    1920x550 60Hz 72% NTSC touchscreen IPS Level Anti-Glare
 
  • Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (201 PPI)
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated

Ports

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE Ports
Image Source: ASUS
  • 1 x USB Type-C™
    Supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort 1.4, PD input 20 V/5A;output 5 V/3A
  • 3 x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0b
  • 1 x Audio combo jack
  • 1 x RJ45
  • 1 x MicroSD card reader
    Supports MicroSD 4.0, with Bus Speed 312MB/s
  • 1 x DC-in
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.2 Gen 2
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 1 x Surface Connect™ +
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Processor
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 3.20 → 4.40 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 16MB L3 Cache, 45W
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
    8 cores, 16 threads, 3.30 → 4.60 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 16MB L3 Cache, 45W
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 5 4680U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.10 → 4.00 GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 8MB L3 Cache, 15W
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 7 4980U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.00 → 4.40 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 8MB L3 Cache, 15W
  3. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.40 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W
  4. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.60 → 4.40 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W
  5. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 3.00 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 28W
Integrated Graphics
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores, 2000 MHz
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores, 2100 MHz
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 5 4680U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    7 Graphics Cores,
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 7 4980U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores,
  3. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
  4. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
  5. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
Memory
16GB 32GB 48GB
Dual-Channel LPDDR4 3200MHz Memory.
1 x 16GB Onboard Memory and 1 x SODIMM slot
8GB 16GB 32GB
4266 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    6GB GDDR6 VRAM, with ROG Boost up to 1802MHz at 115W (130W with Dynamic Boost).
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070
    8GB GDDR6 VRAM, with ROG Boost up to 1660MHz at 115W (130W with Dynamic Boost).
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080
    16GB GDDR6 VRAM, with ROG Boost up to 1645MHz at 115W (130W with Dynamic Boost).
-
Storage
512GB 1TB 2TB
M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0.
2 x M.2 SSD slots, supports RAID-0.
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD

Connectivity

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Wi-FiIntel® Wi-Fi 6 with Gig+ performance (802.11ax)Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
BluetoothBluetooth 5.1Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
Ethernet Gigabit LAN
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
-

Battery

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Size90 Wh (4-cell lithium-ion)45.8 Wh
Battery Life-
  • Up to 19 hours of typical device usage
    AMD™ Ryzen™ 5 models.
  • Up to 17 hours of typical device usage
    Intel® Core™ i5 models.
Power Supply
240W 280W
  ø6.0 mm power adapter.
Supports USB-C™ Power Delivery 3.0 up to 100W
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)

Software

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
OS
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
Armoury Crate Screen Xpert Aura Creator 1M Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
CameraNo built-in webcam.
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
Audio
  • 2 x 4W speaker with Smart Amp Technology.
  • 2 x 2W tweeter.
  • Supports Dolby Atmos.
  • Built-in array microphone
  • Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®

Misc

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
Inking-Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Sensors-
  • Ambient light sensor
Security-
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Secured-Core PC
    For Surface Laptop 4 powered by AMD RyzenTM Microsoft Surface Edition
  • Windows enhanced hardware security
    For Surface Laptop 4 powered by 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processors
In the box-
  • Surface Laptop 4 13.5”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty-
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Surface for Business customers: Includes Advanced Exchange, an expedited replacement service, at no additional cost
More-Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only

Key Features

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”
At Glance
Released in Early
2021
16:9 4K 120Hz
15.6”
w/ ScreenPad+
Weight
5.47 lb
2.48 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
8C/16T, 3.30 → 4.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,416
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,663
Multi-Core
With integrated
AMD Radeon™ Graphics
8 Graphics Cores, 2100 MHz
Upgradable up to
48GB
3200 MHz DDR4
2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3080
16GB GDDR6 115W TGP
Released in Early
2021
3:2 2.2K
13.5”
1504p 60Hz
Weight
2.79 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1185G7
4C/8T, 3.00 → 4.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,404
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,864
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Laptop 4 13.5” Ports

Comparison Summary

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE vs. Surface Laptop 4 13.5”

ASUS has released the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE, a 15.6-inch machine, in early-2021. It is powered by up to an octa-core AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX with a boost clock speed up to 4.60 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 with 16GB GDDR6 115W TGP.

On the other hand, we have the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 13.5” was introduced by Microsoft around the same time in early-2021. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7 with a boost clock speed up to 4.80 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE1
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H1,33494.21%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX1,416100.00%
Surface Laptop 4 13.5”1
AMD Ryzen™ 5 4680U Microsoft Surface® Edition87661.86%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 7 4980U Microsoft Surface® Edition1,09076.98%
3
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G71,19584.39%
4
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G71,31392.73%
5
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G71,40499.15%
01,416

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE1
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H7,09892.63%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX7,663100.00%
Surface Laptop 4 13.5”1
AMD Ryzen™ 5 4680U Microsoft Surface® Edition4,61460.21%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 7 4980U Microsoft Surface® Edition6,36583.06%
3
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G73,98051.94%
4
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G74,45058.07%
5
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G74,86463.47%
07,663

The 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE has a 15.6-inch display which is considerably larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 13.5”. In addition, the 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE weighs 5.47 lbs. about 96% heavier than the 2.79 lbs. Surface Laptop 4 13.5”. Moreover, measured at 14.17” x 10.55” x 0.82”, the 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE is much bulkier than the Surface Laptop 4 13.5” at 12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57”.

2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SESurface Laptop 4 13.5”

Moving over to upgradability, ASUS claims that the 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE supports up to 48GB 3200 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with memory module slots on the motherboard. It also comes with two M.2 slots that users can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

For Surface Laptop 4 13.5”, it supports up to 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X memory. Unlike 2021 ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Luckily, it has a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace or upgrade when needed.

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