Microsoft Surface Book 2 13" and 14" quad cores imminent

[413x]

What do you want it for? by that I mean the need for the GPU?

I discounted the 13in version as gpu isn't good enough(for me) for spending that much.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Sell the Clevo and get the 15 inch.

 

[gradyhawks]

Important EDIT: Just managed to snag the 13.5 version on an "rainforest used" deal, but was "like new" and still in the packaging for £1,400.... meaning the 1060 version is now far more expensive anyway. Still you get 30 days to try it and can send it back if not, so will see how it feels

What do you want it for? by that I mean the need for the GPU?

I discounted the 13in version as gpu isn't good enough(for me) for spending that much.

I will be playing games on the thing, no doubt about that, but I was already pretty happy with the performance of the 960m in the Clevo so figured a 1050 is a step up anyway. Plus I have a 1080 at home for actual games.

The main use of the thing is to get out of the house (self employed, work from home) and do a bit more work in coffee shops and stuff instead of sitting in my office 16 hours a day. Need to do a little graphical work, some photoshop, some 3D modelling etc. Want it as a 2 in 1 as I also do D&D (as part of my business) for stores and tablets are super useful for that.

Sell the Clevo and get the 15 inch.

15 inch is too big I find, 13 inch is the perfect size I find for portability. I went to curries to have a look at them both in the flesh but they only had the 13 inch version.... I worry that the 15 inch will just be too big then I'll have spend £2k on something im not perfectly happy with.... although a 1060 would be fantastic.

EDIT: I just wish I realised that the surface book 2 (15) could well have been a total desktop replacement when I got WC and a 1080 for my desktop. Looking at all the specs, it really could have been the all in 1! Too late now though....

 

[413x]

Important EDIT: Just managed to snag the 13.5 version on an "rainforest used" deal, but was "like new" and still in the packaging for £1,400.... meaning the 1060 version is now far more expensive anyway. Still you get 30 days to try it and can send it back if not, so will see how it feels



I will be playing games on the thing, no doubt about that, but I was already pretty happy with the performance of the 960m in the Clevo so figured a 1050 is a step up anyway. Plus I have a 1080 at home for actual games.

The main use of the thing is to get out of the house (self employed, work from home) and do a bit more work in coffee shops and stuff instead of sitting in my office 16 hours a day. Need to do a little graphical work, some photoshop, some 3D modelling etc. Want it as a 2 in 1 as I also do D&D (as part of my business) for stores and tablets are super useful for that.




15 inch is too big I find, 13 inch is the perfect size I find for portability. I went to curries to have a look at them both in the flesh but they only had the 13 inch version.... I worry that the 15 inch will just be too big then I'll have spend £2k on something im not perfectly happy with.... although a 1060 would be fantastic.

EDIT: I just wish I realised that the surface book 2 (15) could well have been a total desktop replacement when I got WC and a 1080 for my desktop. Looking at all the specs, it really could have been the all in 1! Too late now though....

Ah, if you already have a desktop then yes I can see why you don't need the 15.
It is big. I like and dislike the size. It's good for doing my photography (wouldn't want smaller) but the tablet is huge! I think I prefer that as I use the laptop much more. It is a shame you don't get many 'apps' like on android tablet.
But then I can play civilization on it!

But because I'm selling my desktop,i needed the 1060.
I have a Dock by the living room TV that is a single plug to connect to TV via hdmi , xbox wireless dongle, wireless mouse, and Ethernet. That I find is one of my favourite features

If you were near I'd be happy to show you mine.

 

[gradyhawks]

Stuff

So just arrived yesterday, opened it up and first impressions was "oh, its pretty chunky" but... I was using a really thin HP before hand. After 12 hours of use, I think the 15 would have been far too big, this is just on the limits of what I want size wise and screen wise feels like im working on a 15 inch anyway.

The keyboard is utterly amazing, I'm typing about as fast as I do on my mechanical on my desktop. Going to load up some games on it later and see how the 1050 manages (it just needs to beat my 960m and I'm "Okay" with it).

Real test for it is next week where I am going to be in a different coffee shop each day to trial it out (with the coffee cup WELL away from the laptop...!).

Are there any cases that protect the thing at all? I don't want to scratch it ....

 

[413x]

So just arrived yesterday, opened it up and first impressions was "oh, its pretty chunky" but... I was using a really thin HP before hand. After 12 hours of use, I think the 15 would have been far too big, this is just on the limits of what I want size wise and screen wise feels like im working on a 15 inch anyway.

The keyboard is utterly amazing, I'm typing about as fast as I do on my mechanical on my desktop. Going to load up some games on it later and see how the 1050 manages (it just needs to beat my 960m and I'm "Okay" with it).

Real test for it is next week where I am going to be in a different coffee shop each day to trial it out (with the coffee cup WELL away from the laptop...!).

Are there any cases that protect the thing at all? I don't want to scratch it ....

yeah the fulcrum hinge makes it big, and even without it isnt thin, but theres a GPU in there so all is forgiven!. it isnt elite book territory thats for sure. mines quite heavy. probably quite a bit more than yours id expect.
yes the keyboard is amazing.

i bought a generic but nice third party leather bag for mine, the bag is also quite heavy!
i always make sure i have the laptop in laptop form when packed away so nothing can touch the screen!

if you want a good powerbank then i use the ravpower PD 26k mAh one. it will probably give you another 100% battery boost. i think it can charge mine 70%ish

i dont use mine much as a tablet, but i o use it in reverse mode quite a bit.

i think the only reason i would have wanted the smaller one is for a smaller tablet, but i think i would miss the screen size for games and design work.

 

[aoaaron]

what are the speakers like compared to a mbp?

 

[gradyhawks]

yeah the fulcrum hinge makes it big, and even without it isnt thin, but theres a GPU in there so all is forgiven!. it isnt elite book territory thats for sure. mines quite heavy. probably quite a bit more than yours id expect.
yes the keyboard is amazing.

i bought a generic but nice third party leather bag for mine, the bag is also quite heavy!
i always make sure i have the laptop in laptop form when packed away so nothing can touch the screen!

if you want a good powerbank then i use the ravpower PD 26k mAh one. it will probably give you another 100% battery boost. i think it can charge mine 70%ish

i dont use mine much as a tablet, but i o use it in reverse mode quite a bit.

i think the only reason i would have wanted the smaller one is for a smaller tablet, but i think i would miss the screen size for games and design work.

That powerbank is a good shout, means I can stop at lunch time and have a bit of a game and STILL not need to bring the charger out. I've kept the HP pen that came with the HP laptop, the microsoft one seems ultra expensive....

Will have a look at that sleeve, certainly need one. I have to take better care of this laptop than I ever have before of anything else as my misses will skin me alive if it gets damaged.

Does anyone rate the D-Brand skins at all?

Thanks 413, you've been a big help!

 

[413x]

That powerbank is a good shout, means I can stop at lunch time and have a bit of a game and STILL not need to bring the charger out. I've kept the HP pen that came with the HP laptop, the microsoft one seems ultra expensive....

Will have a look at that sleeve, certainly need one. I have to take better care of this laptop than I ever have before of anything else as my misses will skin me alive if it gets damaged.

Does anyone rate the D-Brand skins at all?

Thanks 413, you've been a big help!

yeah its an expensive thing! i sometimes hold it in one hand forgetting it cost more than a lot of peoples cars.
i dont really use the pen to its full potential but i wanted to get the matching pen (lol)

no worries, doesnt seem many people have them so glad to help

 

[manic111]

Looking at picking up the base level SB2 today; my 2011 MBP has just died, and the current deal at £1150 sends too good to miss. I don't need the extra power of the dedicated GPU. However, I'm concerned about storage. How well does a micro SD work? If I get a quick one, is it ok to run programs from?

Aldi, while I won't be gaming much on this, I may play some football manager and civ6 occasionally. Does the i5 have enough grunt for those?

Thanks

 

[413x]

I found the sd card import not that quick if I'm honest. Wouldn't want to use it for anything other than media.

I have no idea about civ 6 specs but I don't think it would be a nice experience in the base model. But I have no idea. I play civ 5 on the 15in model

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

So you guys who've owned the SB2 for a while, what are your thoughts?

I'm seriously considering one as I could replace my current laptop and tablet (Dell XPS and iPad Pro respectively), as well as allowing me to get rid of my ancient gaming desktop (dual core CPU & GTX 480). The high price (especially for the 15 inch model) is a little off-putting, but I could offset a chunk of that by selling the iPad and XPS. And the idea of having one sleek machine to do the lot is hugely appealing.

So what are your overall thoughts? More specifically, how is it for typing? What's it like working with the Surface Pen? And what kind of gaming are you doing on it?

 

[413x]

It doesn't replace a tablet I've found. It's just too big.
I actually don't know if I would get another one. I don't use it away from its keyboard as much as I thought I would. I also would like a bit more cpu grunt. Anything that pushes the cpu is going to be a chore.

I do flip it around quite a lot though. And it can play all my current games fine.

The device itself is nice. Keyboard is great, track pad is fine too. Screen is amazing.

But yeah, not sure I'd buy it again, and definitely not a tablet replacement. Windows sucks for tablets.

If I was being something again I think I'd save a bit and drop it on a 15 inch gaming thin laptop.

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

Thanks @413x, that's something I hadn't considered. I could go for the 13" model, but then I'd be losing significant gaming grunt. At the moment, I'm using my iPad for taking notes in uni (annotating lecture slides etc), watching Netflix in bed, and some sketching, so maybe the size would be fine for my needs. And flipped would work fine for all these too (it's the ability to hand-write that makes me want a tablet, rather than the portability). And I don't really need iOS to do those tasks either. Basically, I'm using both my laptop and tablet a lot in uni, but it's a pain carrying both (and two sets of accessories, chargers etc).

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback. I'll have a further ponder taking it into consideration!

 

[413x]

I think I mentioned in the thread somewhere that I would definitely not go for the 13. I could not game on a screen. I already feel impact on moving from my TV to the surface screen. Especially as it isn't 16:9 but 3:2. So a 13in screen would really be more like a 11 or 12!

I'e n really needed a tablet. And still don't feel I do. The battery life is amazing by the way for productivity tasks. The gpu will decimate it obviously.

The screen is fantastic for media.. Except for the black bars.

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

Yeah, I think my XPS 13 has the same screen size and aspect ratio, and it's too small really. Haven't gamed much on it, but productivity is certainly hampered - trying to have two programs open side by side in split screen mode is nigh on useless.

So as someone who already uses a tablet every day, I might appreciate the SB2 screen more than yourself, as you weren't a tablet user before? Thanks again by the way.

 

[413x]

Yeah, I think my XPS 13 has the same screen size and aspect ratio, and it's too small really. Haven't gamed much on it, but productivity is certainly hampered - trying to have two programs open side by side in split screen mode is nigh on useless.

So as someone who already uses a tablet every day, I might appreciate the SB2 screen more than yourself, as you weren't a tablet user before? Thanks again by the way.

I can't imagine what would make a tablet user want one. It's too big to hold I think. I use it as a tablet in reverse mode as base acts like a nice stand (and the battery life is obviously miles better!
But for me Windows is terrible in tablet form. Apps never work. The apps are few and far between. Keyboard doesn't seem to behave like android. I dunno if it's just me. But I don' tthink Windows 10 is a nice tablet experience.

I think I'd rather get a chrome book with all the useful apps. If it didn't have a gpu (ie games) I think I'd be looking at hp chrome book 2 myself

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

Cheers. I'll think on it some more after reading more feedback.

 

[413x]

Cheers. I'll think on it some more after reading more feedback.

If you can somehow find one to try out it may be quite helpful. I never saw one in the flesh.
Is a great device don't get me wrong, but for a tablet.. Not so sure.

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

If you can somehow find one to try out it may be quite helpful. I never saw one in the flesh.
Is a great device don't get me wrong, but for a tablet.. Not so sure.

Thanks, I'll see if any of my local stores are carrying it and try it in the flesh!