{"id":52887,"date":"2017-11-17T05:48:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T05:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=52887"},"modified":"2017-11-17T05:48:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T05:48:36","slug":"hands-on-with-microsofts-high-end-surface-book-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/technology\/pc\/hands-on-with-microsofts-high-end-surface-book-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Hands-on with Microsoft’s high-end Surface Book 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hands-on with Microsoft\u2019s high-end Surface Book 2<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Hands-on with Microsoft’s high-end Surface Book 2:- Microsoft\u2019s Surface Book 2 is the most powerful mobile Surface device yet. It easily blows away the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop and, of course, the old Surface Book. It\u2019s also one of the odder devices in the lineup, though. It\u2019s not just a Surface Pro with a rigid keyboard. It\u2019s a relatively heavy base with a powerful processor and graphics card and a big battery \u2014 and it has a surprisingly light removable screen that turns it into a tablet and that features a less powerful processor and graphics chip.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft shipped me a top-of-the-line 15-inch Surface Book 2 review unit with the latest Intel Core i7-8650U CPU clocked at 1.9 GHz, a discrete Nvidia 1060 GPU with 6GB of RAM, 16GB of memory and a terabyte SSD. That\u2019s $3,299 worth of Surface Book, though at the low-end, you can also get a 13-inch machine for $1,499 with an i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and an integrated Intel GPU. In between, there are a number of other 15-inch models with Nvidia 1050 GPUs and varying numbers for RAM and disk space.<\/span><\/p>\n

There surely a world of difference between the performance of these low-end and high-end machines, so you get what you pay for. But Microsoft\u2019s message here is pretty clear: the Surface Book 2 is basically a mobile workstation for those who want to edit videos and photos, play games on the road or just need a really powerful mobile machine to crunch numbers or compile a Linux kernel or two. It\u2019s Microsoft\u2019s challenger to the MacBook Pro and it\u2019s not shying away from the comparison.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve only had the Surface Book 2 on my desk for just over 24 hours, so this isn\u2019t a definitive review (I have barely been able to run the battery down once in that time, after all). We\u2019ll do that in a week or so, after I\u2019ve had some more real-world experience with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even after a short time with the new Surface Book, I\u2019ve come away impressed (anything else at this price would be quite a disappointment, of course).<\/span><\/p>\n

We can argue about its design \u2014 that rounded hinge that leaves quite a gap even when the laptop is closed wasn\u2019t everyone\u2019s cup of tea when the first version launched and while Microsoft has tweaked the hinge, the gap is still as prominent as ever. You may even call it ugly. But it sure makes it stand out in this crowded laptop market.<\/span><\/p>\n

What you can\u2019t argue about, though, is the overall quality of the build. The base is a solid piece of metal. The tablet\/screen is securely attached to it (and the keyboard has a key that releases it from its base). The large chiclet keyboard has enough travel and gives you a good indication that you\u2019ve pressed a button, making it quite comfortable to type on.<\/span><\/p>\n

The touch-sensitive screen is bright and at a resolution of 3240\u00d72160, you\u2019re getting a higher pixel density than on the MacBook Pro. Thankfully, Microsoft and the software developers in its ecosystem have fixed most of Windows 10\u2019s issues with high-density displays, so you can actually now enjoy the experience. The screen may just be a bit too glossy for some (too many laptop screens these days are), but it\u2019s winter in Oregon and we won\u2019t see the sun until next year, so I haven\u2019t been able to test that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the key feature of the Surface Book 2 for a moment: the detachable screen. It\u2019s surprisingly light, especially when you consider that it\u2019s a 15-inch tablet with a promised five-hour battery life. But is it more than just a novelty? Microsoft argues that you can detach it and use it as a tablet, fold it around to go into \u201cstudio mode\u201d for comfortable sketching, or detach the screen, turn it around, re-attach it for mobile presentation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these feel like niche use cases and I can\u2019t quite see myself doing any of this on a regular basis but that\u2019s probably a personal thing. I\u2019d be quite happy with the Surface Book 2 if the screen didn\u2019t detach, too (though at a lower price).<\/span><\/p>\n

The power of the dedicated GPU should make for a pretty good gaming experience (though not at full resolution and the highest settings \u2014 it\u2019s not a 1080, after all. We\u2019ll run some benchmarks in the next few days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh \u2013 and if you\u2019re worried about having to use dongles for this laptop, don\u2019t worry. It comes with a USB-C port, two regular USB-A ports, an SD-card slot and the usual Surface connector for charging and attaching the Surface Dock if you have one. And there\u2019s a headphone jack, too. There\u2019s no Mini DisplayPort like in the first-gen model, but you can connect up to two 4K monitors at 30Hz or a single 4k monitor at 60Hz via the USB-C port \u2014 or via a Surface Dock, of course. You can\u2019t drive four screen by using both the USB-C and Surface Dock simultaneously, though.<\/span><\/p>\n

What about the negatives? The fan, especially in the screen, tends to kick in a bit too often. It\u2019s quiet but noticeable, even when the CPU load isn\u2019t all that high. The screen can also get a bit warmer than I\u2019d like. It\u2019s also heavy. At 4.2 lbs, you\u2019re not going to have to double-check that it\u2019s in your backpack. And there\u2019s the design with its odd hinge \u2014 but I already mentioned that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike the first-gen Surface Book, this one doesn\u2019t seem to suffer from the regular blue screens of death and other issues that buyers of its predecessor had to deal with. I hope that remains true as I continue to use it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft is clearly making a play for disgruntled MacBook users by throwing in a three-month subscription to Adobe\u2019s Creative Cloud Photography plan for the next two months, talking up how well Autodesk Maya and other apps work on the Surface Book 2, and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 by simply making this a high performance machine.<\/span><\/p>\n

So will the Surface Book 2 get MacBook Pro users to switch? That probably depends on how much you love\/hate Windows 10, but it strikes me as a good \u2014 and far more powerful \u2014 alternative to Apple\u2019s current mobile offerings. And it\u2019s copious amount of power that sets it apart from the masses (plus its detachable screen, but I just don\u2019t know how big a selling point that\u2019ll be for potential users).<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/11\/16\/hands-on-with-microsofts-high-end-surface-book-2\/<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t