Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5 vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12
42
out of 100
VS
50
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5
- 24% sharper screen – 201 versus 162 pixels per inch (PPI)
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12
- Around 2.9x better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- Easier to carry: weighs 190 grams less (around 0.42 lbs)
- Can run popular games at about 71-97% higher FPS
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 2 versus 1
- Thinner bezels and 7% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Features a bigger (~20%) battery – 57 against 47.4 watt-hours
- Better webcam recording quality
- High-speed PCI Express Gen 4 interface
- Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 1.28 kg (2.82 lbs) | 1.09 kg (2.4 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 308 x 223 x 14.5 mm 12.13 x 8.78 x 0.57 inches |
312.8 x 214.75 x 14.96 mm 12.31 x 8.45 x 0.59 inches |
| Area | 687 cm2 (106.5 inches2) | 672 cm2 (104 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~79% | ~84.6% |
| Side bezels | 11.3 mm | 5.7 mm |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Gray, Blue | Black |
| Material | Aluminum | Top: Carbon fiber Middle: Aluminum Bottom: Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | - | 180° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | No | No |
| Liquid metal | - | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
| Noise level (max. load) | 40 dB | 37.8 dB |
Display
| Size | 13.5 inches | 14 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | - | No |
| PPI | 201 ppi | 162 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 2256 x 1504 pixels | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Sync technology | No | No |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Coating | Glossy | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
Screen space comparison
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12
14″ (16:10 ratio) = 88.1 in2
Surface Laptop 4 13.5
13.5″ (3:2 ratio) = 84.1 in2
~4% more screen space
| Contrast | 1424:1 | - |
| sRGB color space | 97.2% | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | 66.8% | - |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 64.7% | - |
| Response time | 50 ms | - |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | - | 2:00 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes | Yes |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | Left |
| Charge power | 65 W | 45 / 65 W |
| Weight of AC adapter | 306 grams | 252 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 0.9-2.4 GHz | 1.2 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 4.2 GHz | 4.5 GHz |
| Cores | 4 | 14 (4P + 10E) |
| Threads | 8 | 18 |
| L3 Cache | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| Integrated GPU | Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EU | Arc Graphics (7-Cores) |
| Fabrication process | 10 nm | 7 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 15 W | 28 W |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 10 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 300 MHz | 300 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 1300 MHz | 2200 MHz |
| FLOPS | 1.7 TFLOPS | 3.9 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory speed | 4.27 Gbps | 6.4 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 640 | 896 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 40 | 56 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 20 | 24 |
| GPU performance | 1.7 TFLOPS | 3.9 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x4 GB | 2x8 GB |
| Clock | 4266 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5X |
| Upgradable | No | No |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x) | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x256 GB | 1x256 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 1 | 1 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Audio chip | - | Realtek ALC3306 |
| Speakers | 2.0 | 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | - | 2x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | ~78.4 dB | ~86 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 4 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6 | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5 | v5.4 |
| Fingerprint | No | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | Yes | Optional |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 1x USB 3.2 | 2x USB 3.2 |
| USB Type-C | 1x USB 3.2 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | No | Thunderbolt 4 |
| HDMI | No | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
| SD card reader | No | No |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | No |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | 1.3 mm | 1.5 mm |
| Size | 11.4 x 7.6 cm | 12.0 x 5.7 cm |
| Surface | Glass | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | Yes |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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