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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) vs Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021)
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Feb 22, 2024 02:44 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Feb 16, 2024 05:04 PM
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Amazon.com
Size10.5"
Operating SystemWindows 10
Size10.5"
Operating SystemWindows 11
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)
- Surface Go 3 (8VA-00016) (Matte Black - Pentium Gold 6500Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 3 (8VC-00016) (Matte Black - i3-10100Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 3 (8VH-00015) (Matte Black - i3-10100Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 3 (8V6-00001) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 6500Y/4GB/64GB)
- Surface Go 3 (8VA-00001) (Platinum - Pentium Gold 6500Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 3 (8VC-00001) (Platinum - i3-10100Y/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Go 3 (8VH-00001) (Platinum - i3-10100Y/8GB/128GB)
Our Verdict
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021)
The Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021) is a newer version of the Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020). They're nearly identical in most aspects; however, the Go 3 is available in a new matte black finish and with more powerful CPUs. The only other notable differences are that the Go 3 has shorter battery life, and its backlight flickers when you set the brightness below 100%, which can cause eye strain for some people.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
7.2
7.3
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Tablet
Tablet
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
6.9
6.9
Hinge Photo
Range
170°
170°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
No
No
Portability
9.6
9.6
Dimensions Photo
Size
10.5"
10.5"
Thickness
0.5" (1.3 cm)
0.5" (1.3 cm)
Width
9.9" (25.1 cm)
9.8" (25.0 cm)
Depth
7.1" (18.1 cm)
7.2" (18.2 cm)
Volume
35.8 in³ (586.1 cm³)
36.1 in³ (591.5 cm³)
Weight
1.2 lbs (0.5 kg)
1.7 lbs (0.8 kg)
Charger Size
6.0 in³ (98.5 cm³)
5.3 in³ (87.0 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.3 lbs (0.1 kg)
Serviceability
0.0
0.0
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
0
0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
0
Replaceable Battery
No
No
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
1920 x 1280
1920 x 1280
Aspect Ratio
3:2
3:2
Pixel Density
220 PPI
220 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
Yes
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
77%
76%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
7.3
7.4
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,282 : 1
1,388 : 1
Brightness
7.8
7.6
Maximum Brightness
368 cd/m²
349 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
6 cd/m²
4 cd/m²
Reflections
6.9
7.1
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
4.798%
4.54%
Indirect Reflections
0.291%
0.59%
Calculated Direct Reflections
4.5%
3.96%
Black Uniformity
7.5
9.5
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.014%
0.551%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
7.2
6.5
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
28°
24°
Color Washout From Right
26°
27°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
60°
28°
Color Shift From Right
60°
35°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
29°
27°
Brightness Loss From Right
28°
29°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
33°
26°
Gamma Shift From Right
32°
28°
Vertical Viewing Angle
7.1
7.2
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
25°
25°
Color Washout From Above
26°
29°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
45°
45°
Color Shift From Above
45°
45°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
29°
29°
Brightness Loss From Above
30°
32°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
29°
25°
Gamma Shift From Above
28°
30°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
8.2
7.2
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
3.15
3.85
Avg. Gamma
2.18
2.22
Avg. Color dE
1.97
2.64
Avg. Color Temperature
6,583 K
6,328 K
Color Gamut
8.6
8.5
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
105.88%
99.84%
sRGB uv
105.34%
99.66%
Adobe RGB xy
77.7%
75.53%
Adobe RGB uv
88.3%
86.08%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
78%
76.78%
DCI P3 uv
83.7%
83.31%
Rec. 2020 xy
56%
55.1%
Rec. 2020 uv
61.13%
60.76%
Flicker
10
4.5
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
No
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
200Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
99%
Interface
Keyboard
7.8
7.7
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
7.5
7.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
66 gf
68 gf
Actuation Force
43 gf
49 gf
Pre-Travel
0.95 mm
0.90 mm
Total Travel
1.41 mm
1.22 mm
Touchpad
6.3
7.0
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
6.5
7.5
Size
8.2 in² (53.0 cm²)
8.4 in² (54.4 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
7.4
7.4
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
70 dB SPL
69 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.5 dB
4.8 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.2
1.0
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
250 Hz
233 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
13 kHz
11 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.8 dB
0.8 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
2.5
2.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
1
1
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 2
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Surface Connect
Surface Connect
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Intel
Model
Pentium Gold 4425Y
Core i3-10100Y
Core Count
2
2
Thread Count
4
4
GPU
Brand
Intel
Intel
Model
UHD Graphics 615
UHD Graphics 615
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
8 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
2 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR3
LP-DDR3
Speed
1,866 MHz
1,866 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
128 GB
128 GB
Usable Capacity
91 GB
86 GB
Drive 1
KBG40ZPZ128G TOSHIBA MEMORY
KBG40ZPZ128G TOSHIBA MEMORY
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
2.5
4.5
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
420 points
876 points
CPU Multi-Thread
962 points
1,448 points
GPU Compute
3,858 points
3,799 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
2.5
3.9
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
385 points
650 points
Multi-Thread
970 points
1,249 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
0.0
0.0
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
42.3 min
28.9 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
1.6
1.6
Basemark Image
Overall Score
3,603
3,522
Storage Drive Performance
7.9
8.3
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
422.9 MB/s
497.8 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
1,181.1 MB/s
1,335.0 MB/s
Random Write Speed
32.0 MB/s
41.4 MB/s
Random Read Speed
27.2 MB/s
34.0 MB/s
Battery
6.2
5.8
Capacity
27 Wh
27 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
8.4 hrs
7.2 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
3.9 hrs
3.6 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.6 hrs
1.8 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
5 fps
Civilization VI
0.4
0.4
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
3 fps
3 fps
1% Low
2 fps
2 fps
0.1% Low
2 fps
2 fps
1% Low Delta
103 ms
134 ms
0.1% Low Delta
107 ms
198 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
12 fps
14 fps
Avg. Turn Time
28.49 s
28.34 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
2.2
2.1
Avg. FPS
14 fps
13 fps
1% Low
3 fps
3 fps
0.1% Low
1 fps
1 fps
1% Low Delta
323 ms
246 ms
0.1% Low Delta
1,744 ms
941 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
34 fps
23 fps
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
9.7
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
24 °C (74 °F)
29 °C (83 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
28 °C (82 °F)
29 °C (83 °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
7.4
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
54 °C
68 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
1% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
63 °C
64 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
17% loss
17% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 10
Windows 11
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Face Recognition
Face Recognition
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Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021)
Comments
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) vs Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021): Main Discussion
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