ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA Black 2026
ASUS
72 Overall Score
vs
Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition Black 2025
Microsoft
75 Overall Score
Choose ASUS TUF Gaming if...
Pick the ASUS TUF Gaming A14 if you're a gamer or creator who needs a discrete GPU that actually performs, plus a faster 165Hz display and more ports.
Choose Microsoft Surface Laptop if...
Pick the Surface Laptop 7th Edition if you're a student, business user, or developer who wants a premium build, long battery life, and tons of RAM for heavy multitasking without caring about gaming.
Key Differences
- GPU performance is not even close: the ASUS scores 16,770 on benchmarks vs 59 for the Surface, making the ASUS the obvious choice for gaming or any GPU-heavy work.
- RAM is a huge Surface win at 64GB vs 16GB on the ASUS, so heavy multitaskers and developers running VMs or large datasets will feel the difference immediately.
- The Surface has 12 cores at 3.4 GHz vs 10 cores at 2.0 GHz on the ASUS, giving it a real edge in CPU-bound tasks despite losing the GPU battle.
- Display trade-off: the ASUS has a slightly higher resolution (2560 vs 2496) and a faster 165Hz refresh rate vs 120Hz, which matters for fast-paced games.
- Surface owners consistently praise the build quality, trackpad, screen brightness, and battery life, with only a minor printer connectivity gripe showing up in reviews.
What Buyers Say
ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA Black 2026
No customer feedback yet
Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition Black 2025
85 out of 100 low confidence 5 reviews
Users are very satisfied with this Surface Laptop, praising its build quality, smooth trackpad, excellent screen brightness, and long battery life. One reviewer noted a printer connectivity issue, but overall sentiment is highly positive.
Pros
- Excellent screen brightness
- Smooth trackpad
- Great battery life
- Solid build quality
- Magnetic charging port
Cons
- Printer connectivity issue
Build quality 3
Trackpad 2
Screen brightness 2
Battery life 2
Charging port 1
Printer connectivity 1
Scores
Gaming
Developer
Student
Compact
Business
Creator
Entertainment
Ai Llm
Specifications
| ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA | Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | ||
| CPU | AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 |
| Cores | 10 | 12★ |
| Frequency | 2.0 GHz | 3.4 GHz★ |
| L3 Cache | 16 MB★ | 6 MB |
| Graphics | ||
| GPU* | 5060★ | Qualcomm Adreno GPU |
| GPU Benchmark Score | ||
| Type | discrete | integrated★ |
| VRAM | 8 GB★ | — |
| VRAM Type | GDDR7 | Shared |
| Memory & Storage | ||
| RAM | 16 GB | 64 GB★ |
| RAM Generation | DDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Storage 1 | 1 TB | 1 TB |
| Storage 1 Type | NVMe SSD | NVMe SSD |
| Display | ||
| Size | 14" | 15" |
| Resolution | 2560 px★ | 2496 px |
| Panel | IPS | IPS |
| Refresh Rate | 165 Hz★ | 120 Hz |
| Brightness | — | 600 nits★ |
| Color Gamut | 100% sRGB | sRGB |
| Connectivity | ||
| USB-C Ports | 3★ | 2 |
| USB Ports | 2★ | 1 |
| Thunderbolt | USB 4 | USB4 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL | — |
| Wi-Fi | WiFi 6E | Wi-Fi 7★ |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 5.4★ |
| Physical | ||
| Weight | 1.46 kg★ | 1.66 kg |
| Battery | 73 Wh★ | 66 Wh |
| OS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Pro |
Pros & Cons
ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA Black 2026
- Strong port selection (97th percentile)97th %ile
- Strong screen (88th percentile)88th %ile
- Strong cpu (87th percentile)87th %ile
- Strong gpu (83rd percentile)83rd %ile
Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition Black 2025
- Strong cpu (99th percentile)99th %ile
- Strong ram (99th percentile)99th %ile
- Strong screen (91st percentile)91st %ile
- Strong reliability (81st percentile)81st %ile
- Below average gpu (28th percentile)
Pricing
ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA Black 20260.026score per dollar
vs
Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition Black 20250.022score per dollar
ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA Black 2026 offers 1.2x better value for money
ASUS TUF Gaming 14" A14 FA401GM-DS96-CA Black 2026
Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition Black 2025
Verdict
Winner: Microsoft Surface Laptop 15" 7th Edition
Scores 75 overall, wins 3 of 8 usage categories and 7 of 28 specs.
