Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15" 2021, Ryzen 7, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Black

The Surface Laptop 4's reliability score is a standout at the 81st percentile, but the CPU sits in the 32nd percentile and the GPU in the 14th. Gaming is a non-starter with an 8.1 out of 100 best-for score. It's a dependable office machine, just not a fast one.

The Ryzen 7 here is a custom Microsoft Surface Edition chip, and it lands in the 32nd percentile for CPU performance among laptops in our database. That's below average, and it shows when you push this thing. The integrated GPU is even rougher, sitting in the 14th percentile. Gaming is basically off the table, our best-for score there is an 8.1 out of 100. The 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD both sit in the 37th percentile, which is fine for office work and browsing but nothing to write home about. This is a machine built for spreadsheets and video calls, not rendering or gaming.

Stacked against the competition, this thing struggles. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max absolutely destroys it in CPU and GPU performance, though that's an unfair fight given the price difference. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Lenovo Legion Pro 7i both offer dramatically better graphics and screens for gaming and creative work. Even the HP OMEN Transcend 14 and MSI Raider outclass the Surface Laptop 4 in raw performance. Where the Surface wins is portability and that clean, minimalist design, but the 15-inch model isn't even that compact, landing in the 56th percentile.

Pricing is a bit of a mystery here since no price was listed, but the value story is hard to spin. The CPU, GPU, screen, and port selection all rank in the bottom third of our database. If you're paying anything close to what a modern ultrabook costs, you're getting shortchanged. The reliability score is the one bright spot, but reliability alone doesn't justify a premium price when the performance ceiling is this low.

The Surface Laptop 4 sits in a weird spot in our database. Its reliability score lands in the 81st percentile, which is genuinely strong, but almost everything else about the hardware feels a generation behind. You get an AMD Ryzen 7, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD in a 15-inch touchscreen chassis. That's a perfectly reasonable spec sheet for everyday work, but the benchmarks tell a more complicated story.

Gamers and creative professionals should look elsewhere. The GPU in the 14th percentile and gaming score of 8.1 out of 100 make this a poor fit for anything graphics-intensive. Power users who need strong CPU performance will also be frustrated by the 32nd percentile ranking. And if you rely on lots of peripherals, the port selection in the 11th percentile will have you living that dongle life.

The Surface Laptop 4 is a reliable machine with a lovely design and solid video call chops, but the performance numbers are hard to ignore. A CPU in the 32nd percentile and a GPU in the 14th percentile mean this laptop will feel sluggish compared to similarly priced alternatives. If you just need a dependable machine for email, documents, and meetings, it'll do the job. But our data says you can get a lot more horsepower for your money elsewhere.