Surface Laptop 4 15” vs. MSI Modern 14 (B4SX): Full specs comparison

The following is a comprehensive comparison of the Surface Laptop 4 15” and MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) specifications, including details on CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Surface Laptop 4 15” Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 4 15” is better than MSI Modern 14 (B4SX).

Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 4 15” supports a faster memory speed than the MSI Modern 14 (B4SX). It supports up to 4267MHz versus 3200MHz of system memory on the MSI Modern 14 (B4SX).

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 4 15” - LPDDR4X
4,267 MHz
MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) - DDR4
3,200 MHz
7% larger display

Surface Laptop 4 15” has a 15-inch screen size 7% larger than the 14-inch MSI Modern 14 (B4SX).

Display size
Surface Laptop 4 15”
15-inch
MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
14-inch

MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) Pros

Reasons that MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) is better than Surface Laptop 4 15”.

Supports larger memory

MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop 4 15”. It supports up to 64GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop 4 15”.

Max system memory size
MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
64 GB
Surface Laptop 4 15”
32 GB
Upgradable memory

MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) comes with two SODIMM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the Surface Laptop 4 15” since it has onboard memory.

MemorySurface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeLPDDR4XDDR4
About 23% lighter

MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) weighed 2.62 pounds, 23% lighter than the 3.40 pounds Surface Laptop 4 15”.

WeightSurface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Pound
3.40 lbs.
2.62 lbs.
Kilogram
1.54 kg
1.19 kg

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Laptop 4 15” and MSI Modern 14 (B4SX).

Similar CPU performance

Both laptops has a similar multi-core CPU performance score.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Laptop 4 15” - AMD Ryzen 7-4980U Microsoft Surface Edition
6,365
Surface Laptop 4 15” - Intel Core i7-1185G7
4,864
MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) - AMD Ryzen 7 4700U
4,691
MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) - AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
3,785

Prices

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

Surface Laptop 4 15” Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15” Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 32GB - 1TB Solid State Drive - Matte Black
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15” Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 32GB - 1TB Solid State Drive - Matte Black
By Microsoft
$969.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15in Touch AMD Ryzen 7 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Win 10 Pro
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15in Touch AMD Ryzen 7 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Win 10 Pro
By Microsoft
$599.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15" PixelSense Touchscreen Notebook, AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, AMD Radeon Graphics, Windows 10 Pro, Platinum (5VB-00001) (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15" PixelSense Touchscreen Notebook, AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, AMD Radeon Graphics, Windows 10 Pro, Platinum (5VB-00001) (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$420.99
$448.00 6% OFF
MSI Modern 14 (B4SX) Price
MSI Modern 14 14" Laptop: Intel Core i7-1195G7, Intel Iris Xe, 8GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, 180-Degree Lay-Flat, USB Type-C, MicroSD Card Reader, Win 11 Pro: Classic Black C11M-064US
MSI Modern 14 14" Laptop: Intel Core i7-1195G7, Intel Iris Xe, 8GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, 180-Degree Lay-Flat, USB Type-C, MicroSD Card Reader, Win 11 Pro: Classic Black C11M-064US
By MSI
$519.00
$799.00 35% OFF
MSI Modern 14 Laptop: Intel Core i3-1215U, UHD Graphics, 14" FHD, 8GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, 180-Degree Lay-Flat, Type C, Win 11 Home: Classic Black C12M-495US
MSI Modern 14 Laptop: Intel Core i3-1215U, UHD Graphics, 14" FHD, 8GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, 180-Degree Lay-Flat, Type C, Win 11 Home: Classic Black C12M-495US
By MSI
$449.00
$499.00 10% OFF
Msi Modern14C7M-048US Nb Msi Modern 14 C7m-048us R
Msi Modern14C7M-048US Nb Msi Modern 14 C7m-048us R
By MSI
$509.49

Availability

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Released20212020
Release Date
  • Introduced: April 13, 2021
  • Released: April 13, 2021
-
Pricing
  • $1,299.99
    AMD Ryzen 7 8GB 256GB Platium Only
  • $1,499.99
    AMD Ryzen 7 8GB 512GB
  • $1,699.99
    AMD Ryzen 7 16GB 512GB
  • $1,799.99
    Intel Core i7 16GB 512GB Matte Black Only
  • $2,399.99
    Intel Core i7 32GB 1TB Matte Black Only
-
Generations-

Exterior

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Dimensions13.4” x 9.6” x 0.57” (339.5 mm x 244 mm x 14.69 mm)
  • 12.56” x 8.67” x 0.66” (319 x 220.2 x 16.9 mm)
    MSI Modern 14 B4M
  • 12.68” x 8.74” x 0.63” (322 x 222 x 15.9 mm)
    MSI Modern 14 B4MW
Weight3.40 lb (1,542 g)
  • 2.87 lbs (1.3 kg)
    MSI Modern 14 B4M
  • 2.62 lbs (1.19 kg)
    MSI Modern 14 B4MW
ColorsMetal
Matte Black Platinum
  • Carbon Gray Beige Mousse Bluestone
    MSI Modern 14 B4M
  • Aluminum Black
    MSI Modern 14 B4MW
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • 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.
  • Keyboard
    • Backlight Keyboard (Single-Color, White)
    • 1.5mm key travel
  • Touchpad
    • Precision touchpad support multitouch gestures and intuitive response.

Display

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Size15 Inches14 Inches
Info
  • Resolution: 2496 x 1664 (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
14.0" FHD (1920x1080), IPS-Level, Wide View Angle, Thin Bezel.

Ports

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Surface Laptop 4 15” 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
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1
  • 2 x USB Type-A 2.0
  • 1 x MicroSD Card Reader
  • 1 x HDMI (4K @ 30Hz)
  • 1 x Mic-in/Headphone-out Combo Jack
  • 1 x DC-in

Internal Specs

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Processor
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 4980U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.00 → 4.40 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 8MB L3 Cache, 15W
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 3.00 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 28W
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 5 4500U
    6 cores, 6 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB Cache, 15W
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 7 4700U
    8 cores, 8 threads, 2.00 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB Cache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 4980U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores,
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 5 4500U
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    6 Graphics Cores, 1500 MHz
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 7 4700U
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    7 Graphics Cores, 1600 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB 32GB
4266 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
  • DDR4-3200 Memory Type
  • 2 Slots Number of SO-DIMM Slot
  • Max 64GB Max Capacity
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD
1 x M.2 SSD Combo slot (NVMe PCIe Gen3 / SATA)

Connectivity

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • 802.11 AC Wi-Fi 5
  • 802.11 AX Wi-Fi 6
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Bluetooth 5.1

Battery

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Size45.8 Wh52 Wh (3-cell Li-Polymer battery)
Battery Life
  • Up to 17.5 hours of typical device usage
    AMD™ Ryzen™ 7 models.
  • Up to 16.5 hours of typical device usage
    Intel® Core™ i7 models.
-
Power Supply
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)
65W compact power adapter

Software

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial
  • MSI Center for Business & Productivity

Camera & Audio

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
Front-facing camera
720p (1280 x 720 HD) top mounted camera.
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®
  • 2 x 2W Speaker
  • Nahimic 3
  • High-Resolution Audio ready

Misc

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
InkingSupports 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 15”
  • 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
1-year Limited Warranty (Include 1 Year Global)
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only
-

Key Features

Surface Laptop 4 15”MSI Modern 14 (B4SX)
At Glance
Released in Early
2021
3:2 2.5K
15”
1664p 60Hz
Weight
3.40 lb
1.54 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 15” Ports
Released in
2020
16:9 FHD
14”
1080p 60Hz
Weight
2.62 lb
1.19 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 7 4700U
8C/8T, 2.00 → 4.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
968
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,691
Multi-Core
With integrated
AMD Radeon™ Graphics
7 Graphics Cores, 1600 MHz
Upgradable up to
64GB
3200 MHz DDR4

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