A new generation of 10-inch Microsoft Surface has arrived. It’s called Microsoft Surface Go, which looks and feels like a shrunk down version of its big brother, the new Surface Pro. Microsoft has confirmed that it has twice the speed of the Surface 3, including more advanced functionalities and more customizable accessories.
If you are using Surface 3, should you like to upgrade to Surface Go? In this article, we have done a comparison between the Surface Go and Surface 3 to find out whether it’s worth the upgrade or not.
Table of contents
- Surface Go vs Surface 3: Overall Specs Comparison
- Surface Go vs Surface 3: Processor Comparison
- Surface Go vs Surface 3: Graphics Comparison
1Surface Go vs Surface 3: Overall Specs Comparison
Key Features | ||
What's new |
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What's missing |
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Availability | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Released | 2018 | 2015 |
Release Info |
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Pricing | Surface Go for Consumer
| Surface 3 Wi-Fi
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Surface Go Price | ||
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New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$303.99 $399.99 24% OFF |
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New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$394.00 $549.99 28% OFF |
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Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$540.97 $629.99 14% OFF |
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Surface 3 Price | ||
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Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$540.97 $629.99 14% OFF |
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Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft
$227.00 |
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Microsoft Surface 3 10.8 FHD (1920x1280) Touchscreen 2-in-1 Education and Business Laptop Tablet (Intel Quad-Core Atom x7-Z8700, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD) Mini DP, WiFi AC, Webcam, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft
$217.43 |
Display | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Size | 10 Inches | 10.8 Inches |
Info |
|
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Exterior | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Size Comparison | ||
Dimensions | 9.6” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm)
Width: 9.6” (245 mm)
Height: 6.9” (175 mm)
Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
| 10.52” x 7.36” x 0.34” (267 mm x 187 mm x 8.7 mm)
Width: 10.52” (267 mm)
Height: 7.36” (187 mm)
Thickness: 0.34” (8.7 mm)
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Weight |
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Colors | Platinum | Silver |
Keyboard and Trackpad |
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Ports |
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Internal Specs | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Processor |
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Integrated Graphics |
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Memory | 4GB 8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 2GB 4GB
1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM. |
Storage |
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Connectivity | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Wi-Fi |
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Bluetooth |
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Optional LTE
| Optional LTE
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Battery | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Size | 26.12 Wh | 27.5 Wh |
Battery Life | Up to 9 hours of video playback | Up to 10 hours of video playback |
Power Supply |
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Software | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
OS |
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Built-in Apps | Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial | 1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal |
Camera & Audio | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Camera |
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Audio |
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Misc | Surface Go | Surface 3 |
Inking | Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
| Supports Surface Pen
256 levels of pressure
N-trig Active Pen technology
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Sensors |
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Security |
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In the box |
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Warranty |
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More |
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Surface Go Price | ||
---|---|---|
![]() |
New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$303.99 $399.99 24% OFF |
|
![]() |
New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$394.00 $549.99 28% OFF |
|
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Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$540.97 $629.99 14% OFF |
|
Surface 3 Price | ||
![]() |
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft
$540.97 $629.99 14% OFF |
|
![]() |
Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft
$227.00 |
|
![]() |
Microsoft Surface 3 10.8 FHD (1920x1280) Touchscreen 2-in-1 Education and Business Laptop Tablet (Intel Quad-Core Atom x7-Z8700, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD) Mini DP, WiFi AC, Webcam, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft
$217.43 |
Popular Comparisons for Surface Go
Here are the most frequently requested comparisons for Surface Go:
Popular Comparisons for Surface 3
Here are the most frequently requested comparisons for Surface 3:
2Surface Go vs Surface 3: Processor Comparison
Surface Go | Surface 3 | |
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![]() | ![]() |
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Processor | 7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Processor 4415Y | Intel® Cherry Trail Quad Core Atom x7-Z8700 |
Launch Date | Q2'2017 | Q1'2015 |
Lithography | 14 nm | |
Base Frequency | 1.60 GHz | 1.60 GHz |
Max Turbo Frequency | Not Supported | 2.40 GHz (Burst Technology) |
TDP | 6 watt | < 4 watt |
Level 1 Cache | 128 KB | 128 KB |
Level 2 Cache | 512 KB | 512 KB |
Level 3 Cache | 2 MB SmartCache | 2 MB |
# of Cores | 2 | 4 |
# of Threads | 4 | 4 |
Bus Speed | 4 GT/s OPI | N/A |
Max Memory Support | 16 GB | 8 GB |
Max Memory Bandwidth | 29.8 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
GEEKBENCH | ||
Single-Core Score | 1,836 | 945 |
Multi-Core Score | 3,823 | 3,138 |
3Surface Go vs Surface 3: Graphics Comparison
Surface Go | Surface 3 | |
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![]() | ![]() |
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Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics 615 | Intel® HD Graphics |
Base Frequency | 300 MHz | 200 MHz |
Max Dynamic Frequency | 850 MHz | 600 MHz |
Graphics Max Memory | 16 GB | 8 GB |
Graphics 4K Support | Yes, at 60Hz | Yes, at 30Hz |
Graphics DirectX | 12 | 11.2 |
Graphics OpenGL | 4.4 | |
# Display Supported | 3 | |
Graphics Technologies | Intel® Quick Sync Video Intel® Clear Video HD Technology Intel® Clear Video Technology | Intel® Wireless Display |
More Surface Go Resources
Make sure to check out our tips and tricks for Microsoft Surface Go here:
- Surface Go Type Cover vs. Surface 3 Type Cover
- How to configure Surface Go UEFI/BIOS settings
- How to manage Surface Go sound effects via Realtek Audio Console app
- How to download the official Surface Go recovery image
- How fast you can charge Surface Go with the original charger
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