Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.5" 3

The Surface Laptop 3 lands in the 90th percentile for compactness, making it an ultra-light 1.31kg machine with a gorgeous 13.5-inch screen for just $243. But the i5-1035G7 CPU and 8GB of RAM sit in the bottom 20% of our database, so performance is strictly for basic tasks. Buy it for the design and display, not the horsepower.

Let's be real about what this chip can do. The i5-1035G7 is a 10th-gen Ice Lake part that was mid-range when it launched and now sits in the 19th percentile for CPU performance in our database. That puts it firmly in the 'disappointing' camp for raw compute. You're looking at roughly half the multi-core grunt of a modern budget laptop. The integrated Iris Plus graphics are actually the bright spot here, landing at the 52nd percentile, which is about average. You won't game on it (our gaming score is a brutal 6.6 out of 100), but it handles 4K video playback and light photo viewing without stuttering. The 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM is the real bottleneck, ranking in the bottom 14%. Keep more than a dozen browser tabs open and you'll feel the slowdown as Windows starts swapping to that 256GB SSD.

For the intended use case, it's adequate. Office apps, Slack, and Netflix all run fine. The SSD, while small, delivers snappy boot times. Just don't expect to edit a 4K video or compile a large project. This is a premium Chromebook competitor in terms of performance, wrapped in a much nicer chassis. The screen's 78th percentile ranking means what you're looking at is far more impressive than what's powering it.

Stacked against the competition, the Surface Laptop 3 carves out a weird niche. The Apple MacBook Pro MWP72LL/A will demolish it in performance and battery life but costs significantly more, even used. The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 and Lenovo Yoga 7 83JR0001US both offer convertible form factors and newer, faster chips with better integrated graphics, making them far more versatile. The ASUS Zenbook UX3407QA-X1P512 and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge are in a different league entirely for CPU and GPU performance. Where the Surface wins is sheer portability and screen quality at this ultra-low price. It's lighter than all of them and its 3:2 display is better for documents than the typical 16:9 panels. You're trading every performance metric for a premium, featherweight design.

At $243 refurbished, the value proposition hinges entirely on what you need. You're getting a 90th-percentile portable chassis with a top-tier screen for less than a new budget Chromebook. The build quality alone would cost you double in a new machine. But you're also getting bottom-quartile CPU and RAM performance. If your daily workflow lives entirely in a web browser and Microsoft Word, this is a steal. If you ever need to run demanding software, that $243 is better put toward a used ThinkPad with 16GB of RAM. The Newegg refurb listing promises fast shipping and solid service, which sweetens the deal for a no-hassle buy.

The Surface Laptop 3 still nails the basics if portability is your top priority. It lands in the 90th percentile for compactness in our database, which means at 1.31kg with a 13.5-inch screen, it's one of the most travel-friendly laptops you can grab for $243. The 2256x1504 display is a standout too, sitting well above average for sharpness and color in this price bracket. But the specs under the hood tell a different story. The quad-core i5-1035G7 and 8GB of RAM put it in the bottom 20% of all laptops we track, so this is strictly a light-duty machine. Think web browsing, document editing, and streaming, not photo editing or heavy multitasking.

That performance gap is the trade-off for the sleek aluminum build and excellent 3:2 aspect ratio screen. The 256GB SSD is also on the small side, ranking in the 19th percentile, so you'll lean on cloud storage. Port selection is limited to one USB-C and one USB-A, which is disappointing but expected for this thin chassis. If you need a gorgeous, featherweight Windows machine for basic tasks and don't mind it being refurbished, the value is hard to ignore. Just know you're buying the design and screen, not the horsepower.

Anyone who needs to run demanding software should look elsewhere. The CPU and RAM rankings in the bottom 20% of our database mean video editing, programming, or even heavy Excel work will be a sluggish headache. Gamers should absolutely skip, given the 6.6 out of 100 gaming score. If you need more than 256GB of local storage, the 19th percentile capacity will frustrate you. And if you rely on multiple external monitors or peripherals, the limited port selection will require a dongle life you might not want.

The Surface Laptop 3 is a one-trick pony, but it's a really good trick. It's one of the most portable and well-built laptops we've seen at this price, with a screen that punches far above its $243 refurbished tag. The data is clear: buy this only if your workload is light and your bag is heavy. For anyone who needs to run more than a browser and Office, the bottom-tier CPU and RAM rankings make it a frustrating choice. As a secondary machine for travel or a dedicated writing laptop, it's a gem. As a primary computer, it's a compromise you'll feel daily.