Surface Book 3 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Book 3 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Book 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Book 3 is better than Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.

Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q vs. integrated

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Pros

Reasons that Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is better than Surface Book 3.

Newer manufacturing

2021 vs. 2020

Significantly faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-1180G7 inside Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has a 20% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1065G7 inside Surface Book 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Intel Core i7-1180G7
4,474
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Intel Core i7-1160G7
4,238
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Intel Core i5-1130G7
4,079
Surface Book 3 - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Book 3 - Intel Core i5-1035G7
3,691
Supports faster memory

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Book 3. It supports up to 4267MHz versus 3733MHz of system memory on the Surface Book 3.

Memory type and speed
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - LPDDR4X
4,267 MHz
Surface Book 3 - LPDDR4X
3,733 MHz
About 27% lighter

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 weighed 2.49 pounds, 27% lighter than the 3.38 pounds Surface Book 3.

WeightSurface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Pound
3.38 lbs.
2.49 lbs.
Kilogram
1.53 kg
1.13 kg

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Book 3 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.

Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 32GB

Both laptops supports up to 32GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
Surface Book 3
32 GB
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
32 GB

Prices

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

Surface Book 3 Price
Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
By Microsoft
$838.99
New Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
New Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
By Microsoft
$577.99
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5 Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5 Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$798.00
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Price
LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon 9th Gen 9 Intel Core i7-1165G7, FHD Non-Touch Screen,16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, Backlit KYB Fingerprint Reader, Windows Pro
LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon 9th Gen 9 Intel Core i7-1165G7, FHD Non-Touch Screen,16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, Backlit KYB Fingerprint Reader, Windows Pro
By LENOVO
$1,009.77
$1,059.77 5% OFF
Lenovo Gen 9 ThinkPad X1 Carbon Laptop with Intel i7-1165G7 Processor, 14" WUXGA 100%sRGB Anti-Glare Display, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 2.49lbs, Carbon Fiber, Windows11 Pro, and Three Year Premier Warranty
Lenovo Gen 9 ThinkPad X1 Carbon Laptop with Intel i7-1165G7 Processor, 14" WUXGA 100%sRGB Anti-Glare Display, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 2.49lbs, Carbon Fiber, Windows11 Pro, and Three Year Premier Warranty
By Lenovo
$1,129.99
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 20XW004QUS 14" Ultrabook - WUXGA - 1920 x 1200 - Intel Core i5 i5-1135G7 Quad-core (4 Core) 2.40 GHz - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - Black - Windows 10 Pro - Intel Iris
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 20XW004QUS 14" Ultrabook - WUXGA - 1920 x 1200 - Intel Core i5 i5-1135G7 Quad-core (4 Core) 2.40 GHz - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - Black - Windows 10 Pro - Intel Iris
By Lenovo
$659.01
$699.00 6% OFF

Availability

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Released20202021
Release Date
  • Introduced: May 6, 2020
  • Pre-ordered: May 6, 2020
  • Released: May 12, 2020
  • Announced on January 11, 2021 (CES 2021)
  • Available starting February 2021
PricingFor Consumer
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • $1,600 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB | Iris Plus
    • $2,000 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,500 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,700 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1650
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • $2,300 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $2,800 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,000 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,400 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
For Commercial
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • $1,700 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB | Iris Plus
    • $2,100 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,600 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,800 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1650
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • $2,400 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $2,900 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,100 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,500 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,500 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | RTX 3000
    • $3,700 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | RTX 3000
Starting at $1,429

Exterior

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Dimensions
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    12.3” x 9.14” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm)
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    12.3” x 9.14” x 0.59”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    13.5” x 9.87” x 0.568-0.90” (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
12.38” x 8.72” x 0.59” (314.5 x 221.6 x 14.9 mm)
Weight
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    • Total: 3.38 lbs (1,534 g)
    • Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g)
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    • Total: 3.62 lbs (1,642 g)
    • Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g)
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • Total: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g)
    • Tablet: 1.80 lbs (817 g)
Starting at 2.49 lbs (1.13 kg)
Colors
Platinum
Black
Optional woven carbon fiber top cover
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel.
    • Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
  • Spill-resistant, Backlit with white LED lighting keyboard.
  • New FN row F9-F11
  • Trackpad + TrackPoint® pointing device.

Display

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Size13.5 Inches14 Inches
Info
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (6M Pixels)
    • Display Density: 267 PPI
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160 (7M Pixels)
    • Display Density: 260 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1600:1
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • 14" UHD+
    16:10 3840 x 2400 IPS low-power HDR400 with Dolby Vision™ DCI P3 100% 500 nits TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions
  • 14" FHD+
    16:10 1920 x 1200 IPS anti-glare low-power 100% sRGB 400 nits Low-power TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions
  • 14" FHD+ with Touch support 
    16:10 1920 x 1200 IPS anti-glare touchscreen 100% sRGB 400 nits TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions
  • 14" FHD+ with Touch & PrivacyGuard support 
    16:10 1920 x 1200 IPS anti-glare touchscreen 100% sRGB PrivacyGuard 500 nits

Ports

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Surface Book 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 2 x Full-size USB 3.1 Gen 2
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 2 x Surface Connect™
    1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base, both supports charging and docking.
  • 1 x Headset jack
  • 1 x Full-size SDXC card reader
    UHS-II Performance
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Ports
Image Source: Lenovo
Left (4)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
Right (4)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x nanoSIM card slot
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Always On
  • 1 x lock slot
    Kensington Lock

Internal Specs

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1130G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.80 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1160G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1180G7 with vPro™
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.20 → 4.60 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1130G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1160G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
  3. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1180G7 with vPro™
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
Memory
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    8GB 16GB 32GB
    3733 MHz LPDDR4x
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    16GB 32GB
    3733 MHz LPDDR4x
8GB 16GB 32GB
4266 MHz Dual-channel LPDDR4x Memory.
Discrete Graphics
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 with Max-Q
      Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR5, 128-bit, 1020 → 1245 MHz, 1024 CUDA Cores.
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q
      Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6, 192-bit, 1245 → 1425 MHz, 1536 CUDA Cores.
    • NVIDIA® Quadro® RTX™ 3000 with Max-Q
      Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6,  192-bit, 765 → 1305 MHz, 1920 CUDA Cores, 240 Tensor Cores, 30 RT Cores, Real-time ray tracing, AI hardware acceleration, ODE, QNF,
-
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
PCIe SSD
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 SSD (Replaceable).

Connectivity

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
Intel® Wi-Fi 6™ AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2)
Up to 2400 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax.
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
Bluetooth 5.1
More
  • Surface Book 3 15” Only: Xbox Wireless built-in
Optional WWAN: 4x4 MIMO 5G (LTE CAT20) / 4G (LTE CAT12)

Battery

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Size
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    Total: 69Wh
    Clipboard: 18Wh
    Base: 51Wh
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    Total: 75.3Wh
    Clipboard: 18Wh
    Base: 57.3Wh
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    Total: 90Wh
    Clipboard: 23Wh
    Base: 67Wh
57 Wh
Battery Life
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • Up to 15.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • Up to 17.5 hours of typical device usage
Up to 15 hours
Based on MobileMark® 2018 battery-life benchmark test
Power Supply
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    65W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (5W) charging port.
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    102W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (7W) charging port.
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    127W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (7W) charging port.
65 W USB (Type-C) power adapter
Supports Rapid Charge.

Software

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Free upgrade to Windows 11
  • Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial
Lenovo Vantage

Camera & Audio

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
  • Front-facing camera with ThinkShutter privacy shutter
    720p (1280 x 720 HD) camera.
  • Optional: Hybrid Infrared (IR) & HD 720p with ThinkShutter
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®
    • Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones
    • Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones
  • Dolby Atmos™ Speaker System
  • Dolby® Voice®
  • 4 x 360-degree microphones

Misc

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader on the palm rest
  • Optional IR Camera
  • Ambient light sensor
  • NFC
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Power-on Touch Fingerprint Reader
  • Match on Chip Touch Fingerprint Reader
  • dTPM 2.0 chip
  • Webcam privacy shutter
  • HPD sensor with IR Camera
  • ThinkPad PrivacyGuard
  • ThinkPad PrivacyAlert
  • Kensington™ lock slot
In the box
  • Surface Book 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
  • 65W AC adapter
  • 57Wh Internal battery
  • Quick Start Guide
WarrantyOne-year limited hardware warranty1-year Depot or Carry-in
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.
-

Key Features

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
At Glance
Released in
2020
3:2 3.2K
13.5”
2160p 60Hz
Weight
3.38 lb
1.53 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1065G7
4C/8T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,088
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,722
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Book 3 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3000
6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in Early
2021
16:9 4K UHD+
14”
2400p 60Hz
Weight
2.49 lb
1.13 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1180G7
4C/8T, 2.20 → 4.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,364
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,474
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Ports

Comparison Summary

Surface Book 3 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9

Microsoft has released the Surface Book 3, a 13.5-inch machine, in 2020. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.90 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 with 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q.

On the other hand, we have the 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 was introduced by Lenovo about a year later in early-2021. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1180G7 with a boost clock speed up to 4.60 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Book 31
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G71,00273.46%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G71,08879.77%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 91
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1130G71,23890.76%
2
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1160G71,34198.31%
3
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1180G7 with vPro™1,364100.00%
01,364

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Book 31
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G73,69182.50%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G73,72283.19%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 91
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1130G74,07991.17%
2
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1160G74,23894.73%
3
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1180G7 with vPro™4,474100.00%
04,474

The Surface Book 3 has a 13.5-inch display which is slightly smaller than the 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. In addition, the Surface Book 3 weighs 3.38 lbs. about 35% heavier than the 2.49 lbs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. Moreover, measured at 12.3” x 9.14” x 0.9”, the Surface Book 3 is much bulkier than the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 at 12.38” x 8.72” x 0.59”.

Surface Book 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Book 3 supports up to 32GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users.

For Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9, it supports up to 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X memory. Like Surface Book 3, 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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