Microsoft Surface Book Review, Price, Specs | ProoWix
An amazing laptop that does even more as a tablet
Pros
- All-day battery life
- Futuristic design
- Powerful graphics processor
- Dual 1080p cameras
- Great keyboard, trackpad, and display
Cons
- Major updates are still in tow
- No Thunderbolt 3 support
- Pricey
Microsoft Surface Book Review
The Microsoft Surface Book is one of the best Windows 10 devices we've ever seen and tasted, and one of the most impressive. Thanks to its powerful components, stunning 3,000 x 2,000 display, and tastefully designed dynamic fulcrum hinge, it's certainly more than earned its place in the history of portables.
In fact, it has had a huge impact on the 2-in-1 laptop scene and has redefined what to expect from a hybrid laptop since its release in 2015. And, with the constant flow of updates released by Microsoft, the Microsoft Surface Book will remain relevant for some time to come. Especially with the new Surface Book 2 is priced slightly higher, this basic model is still a great option for potential users.
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Microsoft Surface Book Price and availability
The Surface Book 2 is starting out less expensive than it was when it first arrived, setting you back $1,199 (£1,149, AU$2,199). Still, the original Surface Book is even more affordable. You won't find it sealed on store shelves anymore, but you can find a refurbished Surface Book for $749 (£849, about AU$1,035). And, a refurb Surface Book is still a Surface Book.
But, it goes deeper than the Spec Sheet says—the Surface Book's convertible design is still appealing in 2019. While the Huawei MateBook X Pro can win you over with its bezel-free display, the Surface Book can boast versatility with a detachable screen and native. Stylus support is what makes it such an attractive device.
But, because the Surface Book has been out for a few years, you can save quite a bit of cash on the Originals. On Amazon, you'll be able to save hundreds of dollars on the Surface Book compared to the Surface Book 2, without losing much in the way of performance.
Microsoft Surface Book Design
If a tear suddenly bursts in the space-time continuum, two things fall the Terminator and then the Surface Book quickly falls behind it to Earth. Right up to the snake-like hinge, flat design, and even the laptop's washed-in silver color, everything about it feels like it came from the future.
Consisting of two solid blocks of magnesium, the Surface Book feels sturdy and has a minimalist style.
Along with the chiseled edges, you'll find two flat edges that start at the top of the display and end at the palm end. This is not the only seamless transition.
Unlike most other convertible devices, the screen and base sections share roughly the same thickness and weight. Without the foreknowledge that the display could actually be different, the Surface Book looks like a continuous device, thanks to the hinge.
From the keyboard deck to the palm rest, the Surface Book is a flat piece of metal, except for the glass touchpad, obviously. Even the Surface Book's display is a continuous piece of magnesium, with the only design being the mirror-finish Windows logo in the center and the rear-facing camera.
Microsoft Surface Book: Mind the gap
At the midpoint of the Surface Book, there's a piece of connective tissue that Microsoft calls the Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge. Rather than just linking the screen and keyboard base together, it's the key piece that makes the Surface Book work.
The dynamic fulcrum hinge, instead of folding flat like a typical laptop, coils into itself, leaving a noticeable gap when the screen and keyboard are closed. When opened, this same hinge rolls up and actually extends the base of the laptop, which in turn helps increase the support base for the Surface Book's tablet section—a section that Microsoft calls the Clipboard.
While a traditional notebook display may weigh a maximum of half a pound, the top portion of the Surface Book weighs 1.6-pounds, as it has all the necessary parts to function as a standalone tablet. As such, the hinge has been strengthened and includes additional mechanisms, not unlike the Lenovo Yoga 900's watchband-style hinge to hold it in place.
And, because the Surface Book is solid as a rock, you can even lift it off the display and move it around, without worrying about the whole thing falling all over the place. And, on a flat surface, the display is held steady in its place and remains there when you lay it on your lap.
We only got the screen shaking when we tried to poke the Surface Book with the Surface Pen, but that actually comes from trying to operate the touchscreen on the laptop. Fortunately, the hinges on the Surface Book 2 are sturdier — but again, it's a lot more expensive. Also, a surprisingly similar design follows on to the Surface Book sequel.
To ease some concerns about the lag between systems - yes, there is a large open space in the middle when closed. No, unless you're a particularly messy person, bits of dust and other dirt won't slip into the interior any better than a standard laptop. After a week of using the Surface Book day-to-day, we were able to run our fingers against the inside hinge and didn't find a single speck of dust.
Another plus side of having a laptop that doesn't go completely flush is that you don't have to worry about the oily outline of the keyboard showing on the screen. It's a design element that also eliminates the need for the keyboard to sit in a blank area. Rather, the keys stand in focus above the keyboard deck.
The keyboard itself offers a whopping 1.6mm of travel that snaps off with a satisfying poke when you press the keys down. The trackpad is equally pleasing with its glass-laminated surface. For the first time ever, we found ourselves using three-finger multi-gestures to move around through Windows and reveal the desktop.
While it's a small element of the Surface Book, few - if any - other Windows notebooks on the market today offer such a tight tracking experience.
Microsoft Surface Book: Mobilizing the desktop
The other trademark feature of the Surface Book is the screen, which can close the base with the tap of a button. Now, Microsoft was technically late to the 2-in-1 laptop game, with other devices capable of performing similar tasks, including the Acer Switch family, Toshiba's Click notebook, some HP devices - the list goes on.
However, Microsoft was the first to make systems as intuitive as the Surface Book.
Undocking and attaching the clipboard is almost as intuitive as the Surface Book's design. After pressing the eject button on the keyboard or the virtual button in the taskbar, the screen will blink for a second and then notify you that it is safe to detach the screen with a quick tug.
It's fast and simple, however, it takes a while to get used to. After you're prompted to detach the screen, you'll need to wait about half a second before you can actually lift the display off its base.
Another unique feature of this notebook is that it is the first to integrate a discrete graphics processor, or GPU, into a hybrid system. Hidden under the keyboard is a customized Nvidia GeForce GPU that makes this laptop a bit more capable with media production and gaming.
We've seen this kind of GPU docking technology before in machines like the MSI GS30 Shadow with GamingDock and Alienware's GPU Amplifier solution. Microsoft has improved dockable graphics, as the Surface Book requires just a short time to remove the extra parts, while both the Alienware and MSI solutions require a complete reboot of the laptop.
This is a cool feature that allows us to easily show off something cool to a friend or when we want to read a digital comic book without carrying around the whole laptop. However, it didn't really click with us until we realized it was a great way to relocate our entire PC without having to disconnect our external monitors, keyboard, mouse, Xbox controller, and all of our other peripherals at home. allows.
This is the best mechanic since the Enterprise-D broke away from the saucer. What's more, it opens a door for expansion. Because the Clipboard is compatible with all Surface Book keyboard bases, not just the one that shipped with it, Microsoft could theoretically come out with a future upgrade that could be done via the new bases. (Or maybe even a desktop rig that interfaces with the display? We can dream.)
Microsoft Surface Book Specifications and value
With a starting weight of 3.34 pounds (1.51 kg), the Surface Book is one of the heaviest 13-inch laptops out there. And that's without the optional, discrete GPU, which ends up adding a few extra ounces and bumping up this laptop's overall weight to 3.48 pounds (1.58 kg). While that might sound like a lot on paper for an Ultrabook-class device, consider the 13-inch MacBook Pro, it doesn't weigh as much despite packing a smaller screen, no dedicated GPU, and less battery. For a closer look at how the two devices compare, check out our Microsoft Surface Book vs Apple MacBook Pro vs.
If you're looking for discrete GPU power in an Apple device, you'll have to go all the way up to the higher-end 15-inch MacBook Pro. And it's a fairly heavy machine (4.49 lb or 2.04 kg) and large (14.13 x 9.73 x 0.71 inches or 359 x 247 x 18 mm).
With its 3:2 aspect ratio and 13.5-inch screen, the Surface Book is much taller than your average 13-inch laptop. Despite its peculiar 12.3 x 9.14 x 0.51-0.90 inches or 312 232 x 13-22.8 mm (W x D x H) dimensions, I had no problem slipping this laptop into a bag designed to hold a traditional 13.3-inch laptop. was not.
The Dell XPS 13 contrasts the Surface Book in its mission to be the smallest 13-inch laptop in the world, which weighs 2.8 pounds (1.27 kg) while measuring 11.98 x 7.88 x 0.6 inches (304 mm x 200 x 15 mm). )
Microsoft Surface Book Specs
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With a $1,899 or AU$2,949 (about £1,239) price tag for the above configuration, the Surface Book asks for a pretty penny that's usually reserved for high-end gaming notebooks. And that also applies to the price of $1,499 or AU$2,299 (about £978) tied to its most basic configuration, which is essentially a more expensive Surface Pro 4.
Not just a joke, Microsoft's two Surface devices share very similar standard specs, including the same processor, storage space, and memory allocation. However, there are several important differences, as the first laptops from Microsoft have a bigger screen and a completely different design. It is for this reason, it makes sense to throw in a few extra dollars to either get the $1,699, US-only unit with discrete graphics and 128GB of storage space.
If you want to go all-in on Microsoft's hybrid, you can also pick up a 1TB configuration that comes with an Intel Core i7 CPU, a discrete GPU, and 16GB of RAM for $3,199 — but again, unfortunately, There is a US-only configuration.
The well-equipped, Skylake-powered Dell XPS 13 can be purchased for $1,649 (£1,149, $2,499). While it doesn't come with a discrete graphics chip, the XPS 13 has a 3,200 x 1,800 resolution display on the Surface Book and a 2.5Ghz Intel Core i7-6500U processor.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is the most expensive machine ever, priced at $2,499 (£1,999, AU$3,799). However, for this handsome amount, it comes with double the RAM and SSD storage space, an AMD Radeon R9 M370X GPU, and it's the only one with a quad-core processor. Unfortunately, it has the lowest resolution display, pushing only 2,880 by 1,800 pixels.
If you're looking for something to meet your basic mobile computing needs, the Dell XPS 13 is your smartest and most affordable choice. However, if you're looking for something a little more appealing and can do more, the Surface Book is your ticket. For those who need a production workhorse, the 15-inch MacBook Pro still wins this race against Microsoft.
Microsoft Surface Book Performance and features
With a dedicated GPU, naturally, the first ones we tested were gaming ones. The clipboard and its Skylake processor have enough power to blow up Hearthstone even at full resolution. Plugging the display into the keyboard base unlocks even more performance from the dedicated GPU. With a discrete graphics chip, the Surface Book can run Rocket League at 30 frames per second (fps) in full screen and medium settings.
For more 'hardcore' games like Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, we were able to get it to run between 24 and 29 fps, but only after stepping down to 1080p and turning down practically every setting. Microsoft's first laptop won't replace the best gaming PC any time soon, but it's surprising how well this machine does with just 1GB of VRAM.
Of course, all this power makes the Surface Book a productivity beast that easily takes on one task after another. Lightroom runs incredibly fast on this 13-inch laptop, thanks to the added power of Nvidia graphics. What's more amazing is that we're able to edit photos fast while streaming video to a browser full of 10 tabs and a connected monitor.
Microsoft Surface Book Benchmarks
The Surface Book has broken all kinds of benchmark speed records thanks to its hot new Intel Skylake and Nvidia GeForce chipsets. In terms of processing power alone, its 301-point Cinebench score is a significant leap forward compared to the Dell XPS 13, which ran with the previous generation Broadwell Intel Core i5 chip.
Thanks to the extra boost from the discrete graphics chip, the Surface Book has more than twice the performance for gaming. This is evidenced by its Fire Strike score of 1,868 points compared to Dell's 739-point performance.
The only statistic we can draw to compare this machine to the 15-inch MacBook Pro is the Geekbench score. In the multi-core test, Microsoft's laptop finished with 6,635 points, while two outlets noted that Apple's steely 15-inch steed completed the test with an average of 14,258—a surprising result, considering the MacBook Pro's processor cores. twice the number.
Microsoft Surface Book Pixels to please
With 3,000 x 2,000 pixels under its belt, the Surface Book 4K sits in a happy middle ground of being sharper than most other laptops (including every MacBook in existence) without the troubles that plague the screen. You will never notice the separation between the pixels, as they are so tiny, and Windows 10 scales beautifully at 200%.
While most applications, including Origin, Steam, and Battle.net Launcher, will look smaller on a 4K screen, these windows look smaller on the Surface Book, but not uncomfortably.
We also like the 3:2 aspect ratio. The ability to read more lines of text and not have a Lightroom window that isn't stacked together more than makes up for the thick black bars you see when watching movies. Microsoft models its displays after A4 paper, which makes the clipboard feel like a natural tool for writing and artwork.
Within five minutes of handing the Surface Book to an artistic friend who works as a designer in the fashion industry, she was already drinking Kool-Aid. According to him, the Surface Pen is incredibly accurate to use, and the screen is tight enough to the point where it emulates the feeling of painting and drawing on real paper.
Now that Microsoft has started patenting new versions of the Surface Pen, complete with haptic feedback functionality and a touch-sensitive retention clip, we're curious how the company plans to improve its winning stylus in the future. has been, For the time being, however, we've been satisfied with the recent Surface Pen's 4,096 pressure sensitivity levels. Should it get better, it will only be icing on an already delicious cake.
Sadly, the speakers don't make that big of an impact and really only sound good enough for some casual listening. While they avoid the problem of being tinny, as do most laptop speakers, they lack any depth with barely any bass. If you want to settle down for a movie or a quick game, you'll want to plug in a pair of headphones.
Microsoft Surface Book Battery life
Battery life on the Surface Book is both pretty good and surprisingly disappointing. While Microsoft promises 12 hours of continuous use and other outlets to report getting even more juice out of the machine, our best time for the device was 7 hours and 39 minutes. As for the clipboard, the tablet can last up to 4 hours.
While these are more than respectable numbers considering all the hardware inside the Surface Book, we honestly expected them to last a lot longer. The good news is that this notebook quickly recharges from zero to 100% charge in less than two hours.
This could be largely due to some problems that early Surface Book owners are running into. Our unit appears to be among this group of victim models. Just a few major bugs include the system not starting up properly when connected to the dock and displaying driver failures. Due to which the battery life drops dramatically to three or more hours.
Microsoft has said that it is "aware of scenarios where the Surface Book's display driver can give an error and which we will address through fixes released via Windows Update within a few weeks of launch."
By comparison, the older-generation Dell XPS 13 lasted 7 hours and 40 minutes, while many outlets were able to increase their usage of the recent 15-inch MacBook Pro to an average of 9 hours and change. Then again, the Surface Book's battery life isn't terrible by any means, but it could get a lot better with future updates.
Microsoft Surface Book: Decision
Has Microsoft made the best laptop? And the answer isn't quite there -- or, at least, not yet. The Surface Book still has some growing pains, and its size may not be enough to keep up with everyone. It's a great first crack, however, and it made the concept of a 2-in-1 laptop look and sound more reliable than anyone else.
Up to this point, most hybrid laptops have followed the back-flipping model established by Lenovo's Yoga series. It's big because models with detaching screens were clunky and chunky, but Microsoft has perfected the concept by splitting the laptop in half.
All the essentials for a Windows 10 tablet are packed into the clipboard, which can be used as a Surface tablet. But then the Slate marries it perfectly with its other half which consists of an extra battery and a dedicated GPU.
Microsoft Surface Book: We liked
The Surface Book's design isn't for everyone, but I just fell in love with its futuristic look. Whether it sounds odd or right ahead of the curve will depend on your approach, but you can't deny that Microsoft has taken a bold step with its dynamic base. 2-in-1 laptops -- and especially the detachable variety -- have had their ugly duck moments. This is no such moment for Redmond.
Beyond looks, every design element of this laptop is full of purpose, from the rolling hinge to how quickly you can detach the clipboard. The Surface Pen and display work together beautifully to produce art that I'll never understand other than jotting down my notes in Chicken Scratch. And then there's the Surface Book's unwavering performance that just won't let up whether you're working on spreadsheets, editing photos, or even enjoying some light gaming.
Microsoft Surface Book: We didn't like
While we praise this hybrid for its incredible performance, there are huge limits on how many games it can play with only one gigabyte of video memory. Early bugs are also something I can't ignore, but they are to be expected from the first run of the first laptop Microsoft made.
While some small parts of the Surface Book experience are boring as of this writing, you can bet Microsoft won't be resting on its laurels. Updates will keep coming quickly one after the other and in a week, we've already received two software patches that fixed some of my initial problems with the device.
Microsoft Surface Book, A final call
If you take away the detachability of the clipboard, the dullness factor of the Surface Pen, dynamic fulcrum hinge, and everything else that makes the Surface Book unique, you'll still have a great laptop. That's what we love most about this device. Beneath all the extra stuff, the Surface Book is a solid laptop in terms of ergonomics, performance, and, yes, even battery life despite promises.
The ability to move with the clipboard, the Surface Pen's incredible accuracy, and Hinge's engineering exploits—all incorporation of extras—all serve to enhance the experience, rather than it. Over time, Microsoft will smooth out all the rough edges of its first round. Both the Dell XPS 13 and the 15-inch MacBook Pro are worth buying on their own. But if you want an excellent laptop that does a little more, the Surface Book is your ticket.
Article Idea Credit: TechRadar
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