Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 vs HP EliteBook 640 G9 Comparison

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Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

12.4 inches | September 2023

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HP EliteBook 640 G9

14 inches | January 2022

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Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 vs HP EliteBook 640 G9 Comparison Overview

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HP EliteBook 640 G9

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Microsoft Surface La...

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HP EliteBook 640 G9

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In this review, we will be comparing Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9, two laptops from Microsoft and HP. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 was introduced to market in September 2023 and HP EliteBook 640 G9 was launched in January 2022. There is 20 months difference between Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9 so it would still give an advantage to younger Surface Laptop Go 3.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Here is a brief look at the main features of Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and HP EliteBook 640 G9 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 Key Specs

Launched in September 2023
12.4" TouchScreen - IPS LCD, 3:2 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i5 1235U
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU)
8GB Ram
278 x 206 x 15.7 mm (10.94 x 8.11 x 0.62 inches)
Weight: 1.13 kg (2.49 lbs)

HP EliteBook 640 G9 Key Specs

Launched in January 2022
14.0" IPS LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i5 1235U
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU)
8GB Ram
321.9 x 213.9 x 19.9 mm (12.67 x 8.42 x 0.78 inches)
Weight: 1.37 kg (3.02 lbs)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9 compares and decide which one is better for you.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 over HP EliteBook 640 G9

Weight	1.13 kg vs 1.37 kg	0.24 kg lighter
Screen-to-Body Ratio	~80% vs ~78.4%	Larger screen area ratio
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Interact with your fingers
Charging Port Position	Left, Right vs Right	Flexible cable positions
RAM Type	LPDDR5 vs DDR4	Faster RAM Type
Dolby Atmos Speakers	Yes vs No	3D Surround Sound Support
Avg. MSRP Price	$400-800 vs $1200-1600	Lower Price (*may change depending on config, seller, location, and time)

Reasons to choose HP EliteBook 640 G9 over Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

Side Bezel Thickness	6 mm vs 7.9 mm	1.9 mm thinner bezels
Display Size	14 inches vs 12.4 inches	Larger Screen Estate
Screen PPI	157 ppi vs 149 ppi	More pixels per inch
Screen Resolution	1920 x 1080 pixels vs 1536 x 1024 pixels	Higher pixel count screen
Screen Type	Matte vs Glossy	potentially less reflections on screen
Upgradable RAM	Yes vs No	More RAM Options
Bluetooth	v5.2 vs v5.1	More advanced Bluetooth connectivity
Number of USB-A Ports	3x USB 3.2 vs 1x USB 3.1	Connect more device at the same time
USB-A Port Type	3.2 vs 3.1	Faster USB-A
USB-C Port Type	v4.0 vs v3.2	Faster USB-C connection
Thunderbolt	v4 vs No	Support audio, data, power and video all through one single port
HDMI Port	1x HDMI 2.0 vs No	Connect to external monitors directly via HDMI cable
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs No	Easily see the keys under low light

Common Strengths of HP EliteBook 640 G9 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

Launch Dates	September 2023 vs January 2022	Both laptops are recent models
Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
USB Power Delivery	Yes vs Yes	Charging via USB port gives flexibility
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	Fast RAM type
Upgradable Storage	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the Storage size
SSD Type	NVMe vs NVMe	Faster Data Transfers
Wi-Fi Standard	v6 vs v6E	Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi Connections
Bluetooth Standard	v5.1 vs v5.2	Fast and Reliable Bluetooth Connections
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 vs HP EliteBook 640 G9: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and the HP EliteBook 640 G9.

Physical Specs
Weight	1.13 kg (2.49 lbs)	1.37 kg (3.02 lbs)
Surface Area	573 cm2 (88.7 inches2)	689 cm2 (106.7 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~80%	~78.4%
Side Bezel Thickness	~7.9 mm	~6 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.09 kg/inch	0.10 kg/inch
	0.198 lbs/inch	0.22 lbs/inch
Colors	Silver, Blue, Green, Yellow	Silver

Comparison of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and the HP EliteBook 640 G9 External Dimensions

Weight

Surface Laptop Go 3 weighs 1.13 kg (2.49 lbs), whereas the EliteBook 640 G9 weighs 1.37 kg (3.02 lbs). There is a notable difference in weight between these two laptops. However, it's important to consider that comparing their weights directly may not provide a complete picture since they also have different display sizes.

Weight Comparison

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 1.13 kg

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 1.11 kg

HP EliteBook 640 G9 1.37 kg

Avg: 14.0-14.9" 1.42 kg

Thickness Comparison

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 15.70 mm

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 14.24 mm

HP EliteBook 640 G9 19.90 mm

Avg: 14.0-14.9" 17.12 mm

Another value that we use for comparing the weights of the laptops is the Weight per Inch of Screen, which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the model with its usable diagonal screen size. This value for the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is 0.09 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the HP EliteBook 640 G9 is 0.10 kg/inch.Here are some of the best performing laptops in this area:

Microsoft Surface Go 4: 0.05 kg/inch
LG Gram SuperSlim 15.6 2023: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus ProArt PZ13 HT5306: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus Zenbook A14 UX3407: 0.06 kg/inch
Dell Latitude 7330: 0.07 kg/inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2022: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2-in-1 2022: 0.07 kg/inch

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 vs HP EliteBook 640 G9: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	Intel Core i5 1235U	Intel Core i5 1235U Intel Core i5 1245U Intel Core i5 1250P Intel Core i7 1255U Intel Core i7 1265U Intel Core i7 1270P
Base Frequency	1.3 GHz	1.3 GHz
Turbo Frequency	4.4 GHz	4.4 GHz
Number of Cores	10	10
Number of Threads	12	12
L3 Cache	12 MB	12 MB
Integrated GPU	Intel Iris Xe Graphics (80EU)	Intel Iris Xe Graphics (80EU)
CPU Fabrication Process	10 nm	10 nm
Geekbench 5 (Single)	1580	1580
Geekbench 5 (Multi)	6333	6333
Cinebench 23 (Single)	1654	1654
Cinebench 23 (Multi)	6618	6618

Above you can see the CPU options and the CineBench and GeekBench test scores for both laptops, which gives an idea about what kind of performance difference you may experience between the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and HP EliteBook 640 G9.

You may also read reviews of latest laptops with the same CPU ( Intel Core i5 1235U ) and compare them:

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU)	Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU)
Base Clock Frequency	300 MHz	300 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1100 MHz	1100 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	15 W	15 W
Type	Integrated	Integrated
FLOPS	1,408 GFLOPS	1,408 GFLOPS
Memory Size	System Shared	System Shared
Memory Type	System Shared	System Shared
Memory Bus	System Shared	System Shared
Memory Speed	System Shared	System Shared
Shading Units Cores	640	640
TMUs	40	40
ROPs	20	20

GPU is as critical as the CPU for graphic heavy applications and the table above gives a picture of how the two GPU compares. FLOPS is a measure of a GPU's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has a FLOPS value of 1.41 TFLOPS whereas the HP EliteBook 640 G9 ' has a FLOPS value of 1.41 TFLOPS.

RAM Comparison

RAM	8GB 16GB	8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB
Memory Bus	2x4 GB	1x8 GB
RAM Clock	5200 MHz	3200 MHz
RAM Type	LPDDR5	DDR4
Upgradable	No	Yes
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)

Both laptops, the Surface Laptop Go 3 and the EliteBook 640 G9, come with similar RAM capacities of 8 GB, providing comparable performance in memory-intensive tasks.

LOCAL LLM Compatibility Evaluation

This quick guide shows what types of large language models (LLMs) each of these laptops could support, based on their respective hardware specifications. It's meant to help you compare their suitability for running AI models locally.

LLM Category	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3	HP EliteBook 640 G9
Small Models(1-3B):Examples: Phi-2, Qwen-1.8B	✔ Run smoothly.	✔ Run smoothly.
Medium Models(7-8B):Examples: Mistral-7B, Qwen-7B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Large Models(13-30B):Examples: Mixtral, Qwen-14B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Extra-Large Models(65B+):Examples: LLaMA2-70B, Qwen1.5-72B	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.

Note: Optimized (e.g., 4-bit) models may run on limited hardware. Performance depends on runtime and setup.

📌 MoE Models: Some models like Mixtral 8x7B and Qwen3-30B-A3B use a Mixture of Experts (MoE) design, activating only part of the model during inference. This means they can often run efficiently on laptops with 12–16 GB of VRAM when quantized.

BATTERY

BATTERY	41 Wh	51 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	No	Yes
USB Power Delivery	Yes	Yes
Charging Port Position	Left, Right	Right
Charge Power	39 W	45 / 65 W
Full Charging Time	1:30 hr

On the other hand, the EliteBook 640 G9 features a higher battery capacity of 51 Wh, delivering longer usage time compared to the Surface Laptop Go 3's 41 Wh.

Battery Comparison

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 41 Wh

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 43.28 Wh

HP EliteBook 640 G9 51 Wh

Avg: 14.0-14.9" 55.79 Wh

STORAGE
The EliteBook 640 G9 offers a larger max storage capacity of 1 TB, providing more room for storing files and data compared to the Surface Laptop Go 3's storage capacity of 256 GB.

Storage Options	256 GB	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	1	2
Storage type	SSD (M2)	SSD (M2)
NVMe	Yes	Yes

If your budget allows, we recommend opting for the largest possible disk size, considering the potential increase in storage capacity needs in the future. However, please keep in mind the question 'What will the laptop be used for?' when making this decision. Of course, you can later upgrade the hard disk capacity by getting a larger disk. However, if your laptop has only one disk slot, it may not be as straightforward as a RAM upgrade, where you simply add or replace a module, as moving or cloning files to a new disk may be necessary.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 vs HP EliteBook 640 G9: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and HP EliteBook 640 G9 since its is the component that you interact the most and significantly impact the experience.

Screen Area and Dimensions

Now let's look at the comparison of the actual display areas of both laptops below, keeping the bezels around the screens out of the equation. Surface Laptop Go 3 has a display size of 12.4".On the other hand, EliteBook 640 G9 has a larger14.0" display.The total usable screen area of the Surface Laptop Go 3 is 458cm² / 71inch² whereas the EliteBook 640 G9's total usable screen area is 540cm² / 84inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Additionally, the EliteBook 640 G9 features a higher pixel density with 157 pixels per inch (PPI), ensuring sharper image details.

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 149 PPI

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 199 PPI

HP EliteBook 640 G9 157 PPI

Avg: 14.0-14.9" 173 PPI

Refresh Rate
Both Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9 offer the same refresh rate of 60 Hz.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 vs HP EliteBook 640 G9 Connectivity Comparison

In terms of connectivity,

Wifi
EliteBook 640 G9 features a more advanced Wi-Fi standard v6E, providing faster and more reliable wireless connections compared to Surface Laptop Go 3 (v6).

Below, you'll find a Wi-Fi Versions Table, along with their release dates and speeds, to provide a brief overview of its development.

Wi-Fi Versions and Speeds

Standard	Speed	Release Date	Network	Frequency Bands (GHz)
Wi-Fi 7	up to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s)	2023	802.11be	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6E	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2020	802.11ax	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2019	802.11ax	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5	up to 6.93 Gbps (866.25 MB/s)	2014	802.11ac	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 4	up to 600 Mbps (75 MB/s)	2009	802.11n	2.4, 5

* Please note that the provided transfer rates are maximum theoretical values, and real-life performance may vary based on environmental factors.

USB
Both Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9 have USB-A ports. Surface Laptop Go 3 has 1x USB 3.1 USB-A ports, while EliteBook 640 G9 has 3x USB 3.2 USB-A ports.
Both Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9 have USB Type-C ports. Surface Laptop Go 3 has 1x USB 3.2 USB Type-C ports, while EliteBook 640 G9 has 1x USB 4.0 USB Type-C ports.

Below, you'll find a table of USB ports, along with their release dates and speeds.
To mitigate the confusion caused by generation names, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) suggests using marketing names like USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and so forth, based on their respective transfer rates.

USB Type and Speeds

USB Type	Version	Speed	Date	Other Features/Explanations
USB4	Gen 4 (2.0)	80 Gbps	2022	Also known as USB 80Gbps
USB4	Gen 3×2	40 Gbps	2019	Also known as USB 40Gbps
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2x2	20 Gbps	2019	Double the data transfer rates of Gen 2
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.1
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.0
USB 3.1	3.1 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2013	Faster data transfer rates
USB 3.0	3.1 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2010	SuperSpeed USB, improved data transfer rates
USB 2.0	2.0	480 Mbps	2000	High-speed data transfer
USB 1.0	1.0	1.5 Mbps	1996	Original USB standard

Thunderbolt
EliteBook 640 G9 is equipped with Thunderbolt 4 port. Surface Laptop Go 3 does not have Thunderbolt port.

HDMI
EliteBook 640 G9 features an HDMI port (1x HDMI 2.0) for connecting to external monitors. Surface Laptop Go 3 does not have an HDMI port.

Below, you'll find a comparison table detailing different HDMI versions, including their bandwidth, color depth, maximum resolution, and release dates. This information can be helpful in understanding the capabilities of each HDMI version and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

HDMI Comparison Table

HDMI Version	Maximum Resolution	Bandwidth (Gbps)	Color Depth (bits)	Release Date
HDMI 2.1-2.1b	7680 x 4320 *(8K)* @ 60p 3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 120p	48.0	48	2017
HDMI 2.0-2.0b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 60p	18.0	48	2013
HDMI 1.4-1.4b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 30p	10.2	48	2009
HDMI 1.3-1.3a	2560 x 1440 @ 60p	10.2	48	2006
HDMI 1.0-1.2a	1920 x 1200 @ 60p	4.95	24	2002

* Please note that the provided resolution values represent the maximum supported resolution, and actual display quality may depend on other factors such as source content and connected devices.

SD Card Reader
Neither Surface Laptop Go 3 nor EliteBook 640 G9 has an SD Card Reader.

Audio Jack
Both Surface Laptop Go 3 and EliteBook 640 G9 are equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, providing seamless connection to headphones and speakers.

To summarize the connectivity and ports details, please refer to the table below to see them listed.

Connectivity and Ports
WiFi Standard (latest: v7)	v6	v6E
Bluetooth (latest: v5.4)	v5.1	v5.2
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	1x USB 3.1	3x USB 3.2
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	1x USB 3.2	1x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt (latest: 4)	No	Thunderbolt 4
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	No	1x HDMI 2.0
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	No
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes	Optional
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Ethernet RJ45	No	No
SD CardReader	No	No
Proprietary Charging Port	Yes	Yes