Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) vs ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024): Which Laptop Is Better?

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) are both great ultraportables that deliver a good user experience. There are pros and cons to each, but the most important thing to know is that the Zenbook uses an x86 processor, while the Surface uses an ARM-based SoC. The latter is more power-efficient, leading to longer battery life, but many programs don't run on an ARM chip, which means you might come across apps that run poorly through emulation or not at all.

Variants

Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYT-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHH-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHQ-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHI-00001) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/32GB/1TB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYT-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYU-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHG-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHQ-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHP-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHH-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)

Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-S16.R3651TB) (Scandinavian White - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 365/24GB/1TB)
Zenbook S 16 (UM5606KA-PS77T) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 7 350/24GB/1TB)
Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-DB71T-CB) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 365/24GB/1TB)
Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-PB99T) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 HX 370/32GB/1TB)
Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-BB91T-CB) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 HX 370/32GB/1TB)

Review

See Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) Review

See ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024) Review

Check Price

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our laptops test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

School

8.4

No major differences between these laptops for school. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

School

8.4

General Productivity

8.5

8.2

Multimedia

8.6

8.5

Gaming

5.4

7.5

Workstation

6.0

8.3

Design

Style

Style Photo

Form Factor

Traditional (Clamshell)

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Build Quality

9.5

9.0

Build Quality Photo

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Hinge

9.1

Hinge Photo

Range

135°

Stability

Good

One Finger Lift

Yes

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Portability

8.3

Dimensions Photo

Size

15"

16"

Thickness

0.7" (1.8 cm)

0.8" (1.9 cm)

Width

13.0" (33.1 cm)

14.0" (35.5 cm)

Depth

9.4" (24.0 cm)

9.6" (24.4 cm)

Volume

87.3 in³ (1,429.9 cm³)

101.0 in³ (1,654.4 cm³)

Weight

3.6 lbs (1.6 kg)

3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)

Charger Size

7.1 in³ (116.0 cm³)

7.2 in³ (118.8 cm³)

Charger Weight

0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)

0.5 lbs (0.2 kg)

Serviceability

5.8

5.5

Internals Photo

Ease Of Access

7.5

7.0

RAM Slots

Storage Slots

Replaceable Battery

Yes

Replaceable Wireless Adapter

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In The Box

In The Box Photo

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Display

Screen Specs

Display Photo

Resolution

2496 x 1664

2880 x 1800

Aspect Ratio

3:2

16:10

Pixel Density

200 PPI

212 PPI

Panel Type

IPS

OLED

Touch Screen

Yes

Screen-To-Body Ratio

88%

89%

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Refresh Rate

8.7

Motion Blur

Refresh Rate

120 Hz

Variable Refresh Rate

Dynamic Refresh Rate

FreeSync

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Contrast

7.5

Contrast Photo

Native Contrast

1,404 : 1

33,253 : 1

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Brightness

9.1

7.5

Maximum Brightness

601 cd/m²

345 cd/m²

Minimum Brightness

3 cd/m²

4 cd/m²

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Reflections

6.3

7.0

Reflections Photo Off

Reflections Photo Max

Screen Finish

Glossy

Total Reflections

5.79%

5.23%

Indirect Reflections

0.53%

2.02%

Calculated Direct Reflections

5.26%

3.21%

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Black Uniformity

8.0

Black Uniformity Photo

Uniformity (Std. Dev.)

0.864%

0.278%

Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy

8.7

8.1

White Balance Screencap

Gamma Curve Screencap

Color Screencap

Avg. White Balance dE

2.81

1.1

Avg. Gamma

2.14

2.2

Avg. Color dE

1.58

4.08

Avg. Color Temperature

6,411.9 K

6,453.4 K

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Color Gamut

8.3

9.7

Gamut SDR

sRGB xy

98.35%

150.05%

sRGB uv

98.9%

143.03%

Adobe RGB xy

72.95%

94.69%

Adobe RGB uv

84.98%

98.05%

Gamut HDR

DCI-P3 xy

73.15%

99.99%

DCI-P3 uv

79.9%

99.99%

Rec. 2020 xy

52.48%

79.22%

Rec. 2020 uv

58.23%

82.33%

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Flicker

7.2

Flicker Graph

Flicker-Free

Yes

Flicker Frequency

No Flicker

480 Hz

Flicker Active Below

100%

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Interface

Keyboard

8.5

8.0

Keyboard Photo

Typing Quality

8.5

8.0

Numpad

Backlighting

Adjustable

Key Switch Actuation Graph

See details

Operating Force

64 gf

61 gf

Actuation Force

31 gf

Pre-Travel

0.96 mm

0.74 mm

Total Travel

1.37 mm

1.04 mm

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Touchpad

8.8

8.9

Touchpad Photo

Tracking Quality

9.0

8.5

Size

14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)

23.2 in² (149.6 cm²)

Material

Glass

Dedicated Buttons

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Speakers

8.7

7.8

Frequency Response Plot

See details

Max Volume

82 dB SPL

77 dB SPL

Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)

5.0 dB

6.3 dB

Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)

-1.4

2.5

Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)

334 Hz

143 Hz

Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)

16 kHz

13 kHz

Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.

0.7 dB

1.2 dB

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Webcam & Microphone

8.7

7.4

Webcam Video Sample

Video Quality

9.0

7.5

Resolution

1080p

Position

Top Center

Privacy Cover

Face Unlock

Yes

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Connectivity

Ports

6.5

8.5

Ports Photo

USB-A Ports

USB-C Ports

Thunderbolt

USB-C Charging

Yes

USB-C Display Out

Yes

HDMI

2.1

DisplayPort

3.5mm Jack

Combo mic/headphone

Card Reader

MicroSD UHS 2

SD UHS 2

Ethernet

Proprietary Port

Surface Connect

Security Lock

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Wireless Communication

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)

Bluetooth

5.4

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Configuration

CPU

Brand

Qualcomm

AMD

Model

Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100

Ryzen AI 9 365

Core Count

Thread Count

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GPU

Brand

Qualcomm

AMD

Model

Adreno GPU X1E80100

Radeon 880M

Dedicated/Integrated

Integrated

VRAM Size

N/A

GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)

N/A

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RAM

Capacity

16 GB

24 GB

Modules

1 (Soldered)

4 (Soldered)

Type

LP-DDR5x

Speed

8,448 MHz

7,500 MHz

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Storage

Advertised Capacity

512 GB

1,000 GB

Usable Capacity

452 GB

944 GB

Drive 1

WD SDDPTQD-512G-1124

Micron MTFDKBA1T0QFM-1BD1AABGB

Drive 1 Type

SSD

Drive 2

No 2nd Drive

Drive 2 Type

No 2nd Drive

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Performance

Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)

9.4

Geekbench Image

CPU Single-Thread

2,055 points

CPU Multi-Thread

11,766 points

GPU Compute

34,549 points

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CPU/RAM Performance

7.8

Cinebench 2024 - Single Core

126 points

Cinebench 2024 - Multi Core

939 points

Geekbench 6 - Single Core

2,778

Geekbench 6 - Multi Core

14,239

Blender - CPU (Avg)

90 samples/min

PassMark PT - CPU Mark

26,637

PassMark PT - Memory Mark

4,301

PassMark PT - Memory Mark (Android)

N/A

Mozilla Kraken

398 ms

Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)

9.9

Cinebench R23 Photo

Single-Thread

1,957 points

Multi-Thread

14,558 points

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Low Tier Graphics

7.4

Geekbench 6 - GPU Compute

27,488

Basemark Web 3.0

1,746

PassMark PT - 2D Mark

424

PassMark PT - 2D Mark (Android)

N/A

PassMark PT - 3D Mark

3,519

PassMark PT - 3D Mark (Android)

N/A

Novabench 5 - GPU

164.0

mprep - Stress My GPU

23,046

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Blender (3D Rendering)

8.8

Blender Image

CPU Render Time

2.6 min

GPU Render Time

2.6 min

GPU Render Time (Optix)

N/A

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High Tier Graphics

4.5

3DMark - Steel Nomad (DX12)

499

3DMark - Steel Nomad (Vulkan/Metal)

447

Basemark GPU (DX12)

30,820

Basemark GPU (Vulkan/Metal)

N/A

GFXBench - High Level Test (Vulkan/Metal)

3,637 Frames

Basemark GPU (Game Scene)

6.3

Basemark Image

Overall Score

28,414

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Professional 3D (GPU Accelerated)

0.0

Blender - GPU (Avg)

N/A

Cinebench 2024 - GPU

N/A

CPU-Intensive Game Performance

4.3

Civilization VII - AI

N/A

Civilization VII - Graphics (Avg)

N/A

Civilization VII - Graphics (1% Low)

N/A

Total War: Warhammer III (Avg)

14.5 fps

Baldur's Gate 3 (Avg)

21.9 fps

Baldur's Gate 3 (1% Low)

14.0 fps

Previous Methodology Score

4.0

Previous Methodology Score Converted

3.5

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GPU-Intensive Game Performance

2.5

Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)

12.3 fps

Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)

9.9 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)

N/A

Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)

N/A

GTA V (Avg)

26.4 fps

GTA V (1% Low)

17.8 fps

Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)

5 fps

Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)

5 fps

Resident Evil 4 (Avg)

12.1 fps

Resident Evil 4 (1% Low)

9.7 fps

Previous Methodology Score

3.4

Previous Methodology Score Converted

1.3

Borderlands 3

5.5

Borderlands 3 Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

32 fps

1% Low

24 fps

0.1% Low

15 fps

1% Low Delta

11 ms

0.1% Low Delta

35 ms

Avg. FPS On Very Low

60 fps

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Ray Tracing Performance

0.0

Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)

N/A

Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)

N/A

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)

N/A

Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)

N/A

Civilization VI

6.9

Civilization VI Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

55 fps

1% Low

35 fps

0.1% Low

34 fps

1% Low Delta

11 ms

0.1% Low Delta

11 ms

Avg. FPS On Minimum

188 fps

Avg. Turn Time

6.68 s

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Storage Drive Performance

9.0

9.3

Storage Performance Image

Sequential Write Speed

1,363.6 MB/s

1,367.2 MB/s

Sequential Read Speed

2,680.7 MB/s

3,260.6 MB/s

Random Write Speed

78.0 MB/s

106.2 MB/s

Random Read Speed

39.6 MB/s

46.5 MB/s

Battery

9.7

8.6

Capacity

66 Wh

78 Wh

Battery Life (Web Browsing)

17.0 hrs

10.4 hrs

Battery Life (Video Playback)

16.4 hrs

12.6 hrs

Battery Life (Gaming)

3.5 hrs

2.0 hrs

Charge Time

2.1 hrs

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Counter-Strike 2

6.5

CS2 Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

67fps

1% Low

35fps

0.1% Low

31fps

1% Low Delta

14 ms

0.1% Low Delta

17 ms

Avg. FPS On Low

79fps

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Thermals And Noise

7.4

6.7

Keyboard Temps Picture

Keyboard Temp While Idle

29 °C (84 °F)

36 °C (96 °F)

Keyboard Temp Under Load

49 °C (121 °F)

48 °C (119 °F)

Fan Noise While Idle

25.0 dBA

Fan Noise Under Load

39.5 dBA

47.7 dBA

Power & Fan Control App

Yes

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Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

6.0

SOTTR Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

42 fps

1% Low

30 fps

0.1% Low

19 fps

1% Low Delta

9 ms

0.1% Low Delta

29 ms

Avg. FPS On Lowest

68 fps

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Performance Over Time

0.0

8.6

Performance Over Time Graph

See details

CPU Temp (Cinebench)

N/A

79 °C

CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)

N/A

9% loss

GPU Temp (Heaven)

N/A

70 °C

GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)

N/A

0% loss

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Additional Features And Software

Software

Operating System

Windows 11

Additional Software

None

Yes

Show Text

Extra Features

Biometrics

Face Recognition

RGB Illumination

Touch Pen Support

No Stylus Support

MPP 2.0

Secondary Display

Show Text

Check Price

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)

ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024)

Comments

Comparison

• Posted 3 months ago

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) vs ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024): Main Discussion

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) vs ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024)

Which Laptop Is Better?

Products

Our Verdict

Variants

Review

Check Price

Main Differences for School

Threshold

School

Full Comparison

School

General Productivity

Multimedia

Gaming

Workstation

Style

Style Photo

Form Factor

Build Quality

Build Quality Photo

Hinge

Hinge Photo

Range

Stability

One Finger Lift

Portability

Dimensions Photo

Size

Thickness

Width

Depth

Volume

Weight

Charger Size

Charger Weight

Serviceability

Internals Photo

Ease Of Access

RAM Slots

Storage Slots

Replaceable Battery

Replaceable Wireless Adapter

In The Box

In The Box Photo

Screen Specs

Display Photo

Resolution

Aspect Ratio

Pixel Density

Panel Type

Touch Screen

Screen-To-Body Ratio

Refresh Rate

Motion Blur

Refresh Rate

Variable Refresh Rate

Contrast

Contrast Photo

Native Contrast

Brightness

Maximum Brightness

Minimum Brightness

Reflections

Reflections Photo Off

Reflections Photo Max

Screen Finish

Total Reflections

Indirect Reflections

Calculated Direct Reflections

Black Uniformity

Black Uniformity Photo

Uniformity (Std. Dev.)

Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy

White Balance Screencap

Gamma Curve Screencap

Color Screencap

Avg. White Balance dE

Avg. Gamma

Avg. Color dE

Main Differences for

School