Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Notice: We've just launched VPNs! To see which ones we recommend, check out our Best VPNs article. If you're interested in their capabilities and limitations, check out our article about privacy. Or, if you want to find out why most VPN kill switches don't work, check out our R&D article.
Notice: Like what we do? We're currently hiring a Staff Writer for Computers. Join our team!
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) vs HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020)
HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021)
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Feb 22, 2024 02:44 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Feb 22, 2024 02:47 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Size10.5"
Operating SystemWindows 10
Size12"
Operating SystemChrome OS
Variants
- Surface Go 2 (STV-00001) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 4425Y/4GB/64GB)
- Surface Go 2 (TGF-00001) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 4425Y/4GB/64GB)
- Surface Go 2 (STV-00003) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 4425Y/4GB/64GB)
- Surface Go 2 (STQ-00001) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 4425Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 2 (STQ-00003) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 4425Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 2 (STR-00001) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 4425Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 2 (TFZ-00001) (Platinum - m3-8100Y with LTE/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 2 (STW-00001) (Platinum - m3-8100Y with LTE/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 2 (RRX-00001) (Platinum - m3-8100Y/4GB/64GB)
- Surface Go 2 (TFZ-00003) (Platinum - m3-8100Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 2 (MHM-00001) (Silver - m3-8100Y/8GB/128GB)
- Chromebook x360 12 (12b-ca0010nr) (Ceramic White - 32GB)
- Chromebook x360 12 (12b-ca0005cl) (Ceramic White - 64GB)
Our Verdict
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020)
HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021)
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) is a Windows device with a detachable keyboard, whereas the HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) is a Chrome OS laptop with a 360-degree hinge. The Surface is the better laptop overall, as it feels significantly better built, it has a sharper, brighter, and more color-accurate display and its keyboard feels much better and less tiring to type on. Also, the Surface has a significantly better webcam and microphone, it's far easier to carry around, and its battery lasts longer when browsing the web. On the other hand, the HP's speakers get much louder, it has a much better selection of ports, and its battery lasts longer when playing back video.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
7.2
6.5
Keyboard
7.8
5.1
Build Quality
8.0
6.0
Ports
2.5
6.5
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
6.5
Portability
9.6
9.0
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Tablet
2 in 1
Build Quality
8.0
6.0
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
6.9
6.4
Hinge Photo
Range
170°
360°
Stability
Good
Decent
One Finger Lift
No
No
Portability
9.6
9.0
Dimensions Photo
Size
10.5"
12"
Thickness
0.5" (1.3 cm)
0.7" (1.8 cm)
Width
9.9" (25.1 cm)
10.8" (27.4 cm)
Depth
7.1" (18.1 cm)
8.5" (21.7 cm)
Volume
35.8 in³ (586.1 cm³)
63.5 in³ (1,040.5 cm³)
Weight
1.2 lbs (0.5 kg)
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
Charger Size
6.0 in³ (98.5 cm³)
6.4 in³ (104.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
Serviceability
0.0
4.8
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
0
7.5
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
0
Replaceable Battery
No
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
Yes
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
1920 x 1280
1366 x 912
Aspect Ratio
3:2
3:2
Pixel Density
220 PPI
136 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
Yes
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
77%
75%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
7.3
7.7
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,282 : 1
1,538 : 1
Brightness
7.8
6.3
Maximum Brightness
368 cd/m²
244 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
6 cd/m²
12 cd/m²
Reflections
6.9
5.8
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
4.798%
6.43%
Indirect Reflections
0.291%
0.55%
Calculated Direct Reflections
4.5%
5.88%
Black Uniformity
7.5
7.1
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.014%
1.228%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
7.2
6.5
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
28°
25°
Color Washout From Right
26°
20°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
60°
53°
Color Shift From Right
60°
41°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
29°
28°
Brightness Loss From Right
28°
22°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
33°
27°
Gamma Shift From Right
32°
19°
Vertical Viewing Angle
7.1
6.4
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
25°
26°
Color Washout From Above
26°
21°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
45°
34°
Color Shift From Above
45°
37°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
29°
28°
Brightness Loss From Above
30°
24°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
29°
26°
Gamma Shift From Above
28°
22°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
8.2
5.7
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
3.15
3.77
Avg. Gamma
2.18
2.19
Avg. Color dE
1.97
5.06
Avg. Color Temperature
6,583 K
6,313 K
Color Gamut
8.6
4.7
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
105.88%
71.41%
sRGB uv
105.34%
58.32%
Adobe RGB xy
77.7%
55.03%
Adobe RGB uv
88.3%
51.29%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
78%
54.77%
DCI P3 uv
83.7%
47.61%
Rec. 2020 xy
56%
39.31%
Rec. 2020 uv
61.13%
34.73%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
7.8
5.1
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
7.5
6.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
No
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
66 gf
56 gf
Actuation Force
43 gf
31 gf
Pre-Travel
0.95 mm
0.82 mm
Total Travel
1.41 mm
1.53 mm
Touchpad
6.3
6.0
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
6.5
6.0
Size
8.2 in² (53.0 cm²)
10.0 in² (64.8 cm²)
Material
Glass
Plastic
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
7.4
8.5
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
70 dB SPL
78 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.5 dB
4.5 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.2
-0.3
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
250 Hz
370 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
13 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.8 dB
0.4 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
6.5
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
6.5
Resolution
1080p
720p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
2.5
6.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
1
USB-C Ports
1
2
Thunderbolt
No
No
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
MicroSD UHS 2
MicroSD UHS 1
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Surface Connect
No
Security Lock
No
Yes
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Intel
Model
Pentium Gold 4425Y
Celeron N4020
Core Count
2
2
Thread Count
4
2
GPU
Brand
Intel
Intel
Model
UHD Graphics 615
UHD Graphics 600
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
4 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
1 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR3
LP-DDR4
Speed
1,866 MHz
2,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
128 GB
32 GB
Usable Capacity
91 GB
20 GB
Drive 1
KBG40ZPZ128G TOSHIBA MEMORY
TB2932
Drive 1 Type
SSD
eMMC
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
2.5
3.0
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
420 points
477 points
CPU Multi-Thread
962 points
867 points
GPU Compute
3,858 points
N/A
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
2.5
0.0
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
385 points
N/A
Multi-Thread
970 points
N/A
Blender (3D Rendering)
0.0
0.0
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
42.3 min
52.0 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
1.6
0.7
Basemark Image
Overall Score
3,603
1,745
Storage Drive Performance
7.9
4.4
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
422.9 MB/s
39.3 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
1,181.1 MB/s
262.2 MB/s
Random Write Speed
32.0 MB/s
2.6 MB/s
Random Read Speed
27.2 MB/s
14.2 MB/s
Battery
6.2
6.0
Capacity
27 Wh
40 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
8.4 hrs
7.0 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
3.9 hrs
4.7 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.6 hrs
3.8 hrs
Charge Time
2.5 hrs
2.3 hrs
Borderlands 3
0.0
0.0
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
N/A
1% Low
N/A
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
N/A
Avg. FPS On Very Low
N/A
N/A
Civilization VI
0.4
0.0
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
3 fps
N/A
1% Low
2 fps
N/A
0.1% Low
2 fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
103 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
107 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Minimum
12 fps
N/A
Avg. Turn Time
28.49 s
N/A
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
2.2
0.0
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
14 fps
N/A
1% Low
3 fps
N/A
0.1% Low
1 fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
323 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
1,744 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
34 fps
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
0.4
0.0
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
3 fps
N/A
1% Low
1 fps
N/A
0.1% Low
1 fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
505 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
1,113 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Lowest
5 fps
N/A
Thermals And Noise
9.9
8.6
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
24 °C (74 °F)
31 °C (87 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
28 °C (82 °F)
44 °C (111 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
7.4
0.0
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
54 °C
N/A
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
N/A
GPU Temp (Heaven)
63 °C
N/A
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
17% loss
N/A
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 10
Chrome OS
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Face Recognition
No
You have 9/10 free reviews left
To access
and
Become an Insider
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
other exclusive site features
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020)
HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021)
Comments
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) vs HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021): Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.