Microsoft Surface Book?

[nayaminfenrir]

Good morning BG. I've been waiting some time for a laptop to come out that rivals the build quality of a MacBook Pro. Based on the initial reviews it seems that the Surface Book is that laptop. The price for the top model seems to be slightly more expensive than the 13" MBP however it does have a dedicated video card. Anyone pre-order? Thoughts? Concerns?

[The Stig]

Aside from the price I think it's highly desirable.

If money is a concern to you, Dell XPS 13 (2015) is more aligned price and competition wise.

Annoyingly the GPU on the Surface Book is not known yet. I estimate it to fall into the GeForce GTX 950m quadrant at the very least, but if I were you I'd wait for that piece of detail to come out first. It's quite crucial.

It's not the first time the "custom Nvidia GPU" tagline is used -- on the Alienware Alpha, a mini desktop PC, the custom Nvidia GPU used there was found to be a GTX 860m.

[Hellfury]

I'm just trying to figure out how to tell the boss i Need to replace my i7 Surface 3 Pro with a shiney new Surface Book, or if the GPU is weak, just a shiney new SF4Pro.

[Dantrag]

Yeah, me too The Surface team is supposed to be doing an AMA on Reddit sometime this week I think.

[Hellfury]

The Boss has been convinced! *victory dance* Now I just need them to release my new toy!

edit: of course, calling our hardware supplier, they tell us the rumours are that the Book will be a very very long wait in Norway :/ Meh, Pro 4 it is then

[Dantrag]

Don't do it! Wait for the book!

[Hellfury]

Maybe I'll hand off the Pro 3 to someone temporarily, so I have a good excuse when the book gets there, but.. so far away in time!

[The Stig]

For free?

My dad lives in Norway at the moment (Stavanger) ... if you're close by and need someone to adopt it ...

(he moves back to the UK next month)

[Hellfury]

Haha sorry, I am "passing it on" in the organization Only way to get away with it

[Katlan]

I'm torn between a Pro 4 and a Surface Book also. Anybody have any additional input?

Neither has a comfortable tablet form for everyday practical use, but the Pro 4 is more portable for sure. The Book's battery life is pretty amazing though and its lighter (by .1 in tablet form) but feels lighter overall because the bigger screens allows a better weight distribution. While I wouldn't be using the book for gaming, it is nice that I can play XIV on low settings if needed or other games for brief times while traveling.. though the GPU is like a 940M and since its a custom chip it wont be getting the regular updates and isn't geoforce experience enabled. Thus the GPU is kinda a PoS, but still better than the Pro 4. Also, the price between the two (i7 models) is only a like 300$ when all is said and done... so the book seems better to justify spending all that money.

So I'm torn. curious what people's opinions are now that more info is out about them and the release is tomorrow

[Hellfury]

I'm thinking the book will be easier to use when you don't have a steady surface yet still need to do a lot of typing, but the Pro 4 will be easier when you have little room and don't _need_ a lot of typing, I never saw a downside to the Pro 3s size when it comes to the tablet aspect, I like the bigger screen.

The Book will be pretty light, so they'll both be easy to haul around. I'm still pretty torn, the different review sites seem to love the new type cover.

I'm loving the detachable screen thing to the Book, but I read a review (on a different computer, don't have the link here, I don't sync, paranoid, even use the Blackphone 2!) that commented on some challenges with the hinge, it didn't always respond or register right. So I'm a little concerned about that, at the same time this is a prestige project for MS, so I would hope they would remedy this (though very little would surprise me these days with negligence from providers).

I'm not loving the new docking solution, I know you can still use the old dock with an inlay, and I might just, my desk tends to be a mess of hardware and documentation, so I worry a little about knocking the Pro 4 over without a proper dock.

It's probably a win-win, but the Book is shinier, and while detachable screens is nothing new, it is a new shiney toy, and the allure of that is pretty big. I think I might go for the Pro 4 though, the Book in any interesting configuration will be pretty expensive, and outside of the battery time, the most interesting component for my use is the dGPU, which it seems won't really be that powerful. The Book is big and shiney and sexy, and I really want one, but I'm not sure it's worth it just yet.

[Dantrag]

I hope the Pro 4's battery is better than the 3's. Mine is shit(I love the device but omfg the battery sucks). The book would be fucking amazing for what I'm doing now with all the travel.

[Katlan]

Pro4's battery is supposed to be 9ish hours... so really 7ish lol.

I think I'm gonna go w/ the book. Really just because of the slow dGPU sadly. While this isnt a gaming machine by any means, it is nice to be able to play XIV, ect... while traveling even if on med/low settings. and the abiulity to flip the screen around and use it as a stand for the tablet portion is kinda sexy. It's also in backorder for 6-7 weeks so I have time to change my mind after I pre-order

[Fiye]

http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-surface...tch-1737680767

If you get one of the higher end models the keyboard ends up housing the graphics card.

Also is the surface gets hot (Which it will). It'll throttle itself pretty bad. Hope you enjoy it though. I had a Surface Pro 1 and its a fantastic solution.

[Katlan]

I went into the store this weekend and messed around with both. The salesperson said the dGPU is watercooled so it won't throttle itself. And it seems like the pro 4 fixed the overheating/slow down issue so I would assume that fix would also be in the first gen book since they are basically the same thing w/a few differences.

[The Stig]

Wait, the surface book has a water cooling system inside? O_o

edit: oh... it's not pure water cooling haha:



I was thinking of a fridge unit of some sort merged into the Surface.

[Hellfury]

ngh, I do kinda want that book with a dGPU :/ no idea when it'll release in my part of the world though. I should be responsible and settle or the Pro4.. but..

[Katlan]

ngh, I do kinda want that book with a dGPU :/ no idea when it'll release in my part of the world though. I should be responsible and settle or the Pro4.. but..

I'm 100% in the same boat. I want the Pro 4, but I want the book for the dGPU even if its only "meh" its still gonna mean I can play games on better settings when I do want to on the go... even though its mainly my work laptop. I also want a tablet though.... I think my best bet is to get the i7 book and an iPad Air 2 for my tablet needs.. so much money

My only real reason to not get the pro 4 is the i7 512 GB is only like 400$ cheaper than the book when all is said and done, and still, a 1.6lb tablet isnt convenient in the long run (talking about the pro 4) for pure tablet needs.

[Azull]

Any of you end up taking the plunge? Thinking of a Pro4 myself but wondering how it is.

[Melena]

I ordered one for my agency director with the dock so it will hook up to his dual monitor setup when he's actually in the office. I'll obviously get to play around a bit with it to get it set up, I'll post how it goes.