Surface Laptop 3 15” vs. Surface Laptop: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Laptop 3 15” and Surface Laptop specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Laptop 3 15” Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 3 15” is better than Surface Laptop.

Newer manufacturing

2019 vs. 2017

Significantly faster CPU performance

AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition inside Surface Laptop 3 15” has a 37% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-7660U inside Surface Laptop.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Laptop 3 15” - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Laptop 3 15” - Intel Core i5-1035G7
3,691
Surface Laptop 3 15” - AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
2,741
Surface Laptop 3 15” - AMD Ryzen 5-3580U Microsoft Surface Edition
2,438
Surface Laptop - Intel Core i7-7660U
1,992
Surface Laptop - Intel Core i5-7300U
1,777
Surface Laptop - Intel Core m3-7Y30
1,202
Supports larger memory

Surface Laptop 3 15” supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop.

Max system memory size
Surface Laptop 3 15”
32 GB
Surface Laptop
16 GB
Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 3 15” supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Laptop. It supports up to 2400MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Laptop.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 3 15” - DDR4
2,400 MHz
Surface Laptop - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz
11% larger display

Surface Laptop 3 15” has a 15-inch screen size 11% larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop.

Display size
Surface Laptop 3 15”
15-inch
Surface Laptop
13.5-inch

Surface Laptop Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop is better than Surface Laptop 3 15”.

About 19% lighter

Surface Laptop weighed 2.76 pounds, 19% lighter than the 3.40 pounds Surface Laptop 3 15”.

WeightSurface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Pound
3.40 lbs.
2.76 lbs.
Kilogram
1.54 kg
1.25 kg

Prices

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

Surface Laptop 3 15” Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, 15" Touchscreen Notebook, Intel Core i7-1065G7, 16GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Display(2496×1664), CAM, WiFi, Platinum, Windows 10 Pro(Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, 15" Touchscreen Notebook, Intel Core i7-1065G7, 16GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Display(2496×1664), CAM, WiFi, Platinum, Windows 10 Pro(Renewed)
By Microsoft
$458.00
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 Touchscreen Surface Laptop, 2K (2496×1664) Display, Intel i7-1065G7,16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlitkey, DisplayPort, USB Type-C, WiFi, BT Windows 10 Pro(Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 Touchscreen Surface Laptop, 2K (2496×1664) Display, Intel i7-1065G7,16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlitkey, DisplayPort, USB Type-C, WiFi, BT Windows 10 Pro(Renewed)
By Microsoft
$463.00
New Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15in Touch-Screen AMD Ryzen 5 Edition - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive Matte Black (Renewed)
New Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15in Touch-Screen AMD Ryzen 5 Edition - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive Matte Black (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$349.00
$499.99 30% OFF
Surface Laptop Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022), 15" Touch Screen, Thin & Lightweight, Long Battery Life, Fast Intel i7 Processor for Multi-Tasking, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022), 15" Touch Screen, Thin & Lightweight, Long Battery Life, Fast Intel i7 Processor for Multi-Tasking, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum
By Microsoft
$944.80
$1,299.99 27% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15-inch Touchscreen, 1TB i7 32GB RAM with Windows 11 Pro (Wi-Fi, 3.6GHz Ten-Core i7-1265U, Newest Version) Black Metal, RL1-00001
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15-inch Touchscreen, 1TB i7 32GB RAM with Windows 11 Pro (Wi-Fi, 3.6GHz Ten-Core i7-1265U, Newest Version) Black Metal, RL1-00001
By Microsoft
$1,699.99
$2,399.00 29% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (2023) - 12.4" Touchscreen, Thin & Lightweight, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD SSD, with Windows 11, Platinum Color Copilot
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (2023) - 12.4" Touchscreen, Thin & Lightweight, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD SSD, with Windows 11, Platinum Color Copilot
By Microsoft
$653.03
$799.99 18% OFF

Availability

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Released20192017
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event)
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019
  • Released: October 22, 2019
  • Introduced: May 2, 2017
  • Pre-ordered: May 2, 2017
  • Released: June 15, 2017
PricingStarting at 1,199$
Platinum
  • $799 - M3 | 4GB | 128GB
  • $999 - i5 | 4GB | 128GB
  • $1,299 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB
    Graphite Gold Burgundy Cobalt Blue
  • $1,599 - i7 | 8GB | 256GB
  • $2,199 - i7 | 16GB | 512GB
  • $2,699 - i7 | 16GB | 1TB
Generations

Exterior

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Dimensions13.4” x 9.6” x 0.57” (339.5 mm x 244 mm x 14.69 mm)
Width: 13.4” (339.5 mm)
Depth: 9.6” (244 mm)
Height: 0.57” (14.69 mm)
12.13” x 8.79” x 0.39-0.57” (308.02 mm x 223.2 mm x 9.93 mm-14.47 mm)
Width: 12.13” (308.02 mm)
Depth: 8.79” (223.2 mm)
Height: 0.39 - 0.57” (9.93 - 14.47 mm)
Weight3.40 lb (1,542 g)
  • Intel Core i5 › 2.76 lbs (1.26 kg)
  • Intel Core i7 › 2.83 lbs (1.28 kg)
Colors
  • Metal
    Matte Black Platinum
Graphite Gold Platinum Burgundy Cobalt Blue
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the 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.
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.5mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Size15 Inches13.5 Inches
Info
  • 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
  • Display Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 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

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Surface Laptop 3 15” Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Headset jack
Surface Laptop Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
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
  3. AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.10 → 3.70 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W
  4. AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y30
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.00 → 2.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 4.5W
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.50 → 4.00 GHz, 4MB 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
  3. AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    Radeon™ Vega 9 Graphics
    9 Graphics Cores, 1300 MHz
  4. AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics
    11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y30
    Intel® HD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U
    Intel® HD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640
    48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1100 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB 32 GB
2400 MHz DDR4 RAM
4GB 8GB 16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD
  • 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
    SSD
  • 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage with 1-year subscription of Office 365

Connectivity

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 5: 2x2 MIMO IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible
  • Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
  • Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology

Battery

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Size45.8 Wh45.2 Wh
Battery LifeUp to 11.5 hours of typical device usageUp to 14.5 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)
  • 44W proprietary power supply
    USB-A output: 5W
    Surface Connect output: 39W

Software

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Windows 10 S
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial1 year of Microsoft Office 365 personal

Camera & Audio

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium
  • Dual microphones
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Supports Surface Pen with 1024 levels of pressure
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box
  • Surface Laptop 3 15”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • Surface Laptop
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only
Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only

Key Features

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop
At Glance
Released in Late
2019
3:2 2.5K
15”
1664p 60Hz
Weight
3.40 lb
1.54 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
4C/8T, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
721
Single Core
Geekbench 5
2,741
Multi-Core
With integrated
Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics
11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
2400 MHz DDR4
Surface Laptop 3 15” Ports
Released in Mid
2017
3:2 2.2K
13.5”
1504p 60Hz
Weight
2.76 lb
1.25 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-7660U
2C/4T, 2.50 → 4.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
877
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,992
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640
48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Laptop Ports

Comparison Summary

Surface Laptop 3 15” vs. Surface Laptop

Microsoft has released the Surface Laptop 3 15”, a 15-inch machine, in late-2019. It is powered by up to a quad-core AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition with a boost clock speed up to 4.00 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics (11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop was introduced by Microsoft about two years earlier in mid-2017. It comes with up to a dual-core Intel Core i7-7660U with a boost clock speed up to 4.00 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640 (48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1100 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Laptop 3 15”1
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G71,00292.10%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G71,088100.00%
3
AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition70364.61%
4
AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition72166.27%
Surface Laptop1
7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y3056451.84%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U81574.91%
3
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U87780.61%
01,088

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Laptop 3 15”1
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G73,69199.17%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G73,722100.00%
3
AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition2,43865.50%
4
AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition2,74173.64%
Surface Laptop1
7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y301,20232.29%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U1,77747.74%
3
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U1,99253.52%
03,722

The Surface Laptop 3 15” has a 15-inch display which is slightly larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop. In addition, the Surface Laptop 3 15” weighs 3.40 lbs. about 23% heavier than the 2.76 lbs. Surface Laptop. Moreover, measured at 13.4” x 9.6” x 0.57”, the Surface Laptop 3 15” is considerably bulkier than the Surface Laptop at 12.13” x 8.79” x 0.57”.

Surface Laptop 3 15”Surface Laptop

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Laptop 3 15” supports up to 32GB 2400 MHz DDR4 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.

For Surface Laptop, it supports up to 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 memory. Like Surface Laptop 3 15”, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users.

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