Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - 15"

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This is an edited review. I purchased the Surface Book 2 for graduate school and some gaming when I travel. I cannot recommend it after several months of use. Yes, what everyone says about the Surface Book 2 is true: Its a luxury laptop which provides a great of power and functionality. But it also runs like a vintage American muscle car, unable to make the best use of its powerful engine while being plagued by critical problems. I have had to exchange one model already and I am now contemplating returning the second---I am by no means alone. Some have exchanged their Surface Book 2 over five times, encountering the same variety of critical failures over and over. The first problem you will likely encounter is that the Surface Book 2 will stop recognizing its main graphics card, reverting to the far less powerful Intel graphics card. You can forget about doing anything moderately intensive once your fancy Nvidia graphics card vanishes. Games will crash or run at potato level graphics, while any other moderately intensive editing program will sputter like theyre running on a computer that costs 1/4 of what the Surface Book 2 does. Many people have encountered this problem. Some suggest that you can temporarily fix the problem by detaching the tablet and re-attaching it. But the problem *will* return. I routinely "lost" my graphics card with my Surface Book 2, even when I updated all my drivers and reattached the tablet. And then the computer kept telling me that the tablet was detached when it was in fact locked to the keyboard. The keyboard, as well as the charging port, failed to respond, letting the computer slowly die. I couldnt turn it back on once the computer failed to recognize its own keyboard, would not detach the tablet, and failed to charge. I had to return the computer, which Microsoft thankfully exchanged with a new Surface Book 2. But in the process I lost all my licensed software and could save only what I had backed up. I encountered the same problems with my new Surface Book 2 within weeks. My graphics card vanished and my Microsoft Surface charger burnt out and needed to be replaced (a $100 charger, mind you). I decided to purchase a $20 app that manually upgrades every driver on my computer, which may have solved my graphics card problem. But now I encounter blue screen video tdr errors, which force the computer to slowly reboot. Ive been shut out of games, word editing, and many other tasks, which makes me risk losing progress on whatever Im working on. On top of that, the Surface Book 2 has battery issues: Even when plugged it at lowest power settings, your computer will slowly deplete its battery while doing anything moderately intensive (e.g. gaming). Playing games on "best performance," the highest power setting, can take down up to 10% of your battery in an hour. Maybe thats not an issue for some, but I dont like knowing that my expensive computer cant sustain itself and is slowly taxing its non-replaceable batteries even while plugged in, Youll certainly get to know Microsoft tech support if you purchase this computer. One of the women I spoke to plainly told me that the Surface Books 2, while "great," was a common source of complaints. My other complaints are that the Surface Book 2 lacks a lot of what youd expect from such a high price computer. Namely, it has no HDMI port and very few USB ports. Youll have to purchase another expensive item, the Surface dock, if you want the kind of connectivity youd likely expect from a high-power, high-cost laptop. Youll also have to buy yourself a stylus if you want to make use of the touch screen, as Microsoft does not include one with the Surface Book 2 model (it does come with the Surface Book 1, however). Thats gonna add up to a lot of moolah. Having said all that, youll probably love this computer at first if youre fortunate to be able to afford it: it IS powerful, has a smooth keyboard, can run games like Witcher 3, and looks great. It reminds me of my moms old Camaro, a beast of a car that could accelerate in a flash but couldnt idle too long at a stoplight or the whole thing would sputter out and die. You might want to consider something more sensible.

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INTRODUCTION Can any laptop possibly be worth $2,500? This is the question that will vex anyone in the market for a Surface Book 2 – the 15 inch model starts there and only gets more expensive as the storage sizes increase (topping out at $3,300). I will try to evaluate the Microsoft Surface Book 2 from the perspective of someone who has other devices already, as well as from the perspective of someone who wants one unit to do it all. BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES The Surface Book 2’s body is made of machined magnesium. I don’t know what benefits magnesium purports to give us over steel or aluminum, but it does sound nice. The feel of the body is very matte. It is not shiny at all, and doesn’t really collect fingerprints. The “fulcrum hinge” works well, though it only allows the screen in laptop mode to be pushed back to about 115 degrees or so. Basically every time I open the laptop, I push it back completely and run up against the limit, then decide “eh, it looks pretty good anyway” and get over it. The display is a 3,240 x 2,160 resolution IPS LCD. It has fabulous viewing angles, black levels, contrast ratio, overall brightness, and color. Ports included are one USB-C, two USB 3.1, one full-size SD slot, and the magnetic-detach charging port. I kind of wish, given the gaming chops of this device, that an HDMI out had been included. There is a headphone jack, as well as a power and volume key on the screen/tablet portion. The jack is in a very odd place when in laptop mode – the top right corner. In laptop mode, this means that a cord will hang across the keyboard from above. The power button as well is a bit inopportunely placed, on the top left edge, and often gets pressed when re-attaching the tablet to the keyboard dock. The detachable tablet portion of the Surface Book 2 is activated with a physical “Detach” key. It takes about 2 seconds to fully detach, assuming no conflicting program is in use. Once detached, you can flip the screen around and close the whole thing in a sort of “studio” mode. You could also tent the laptop and use the keyboard as a stand. Reattaching the tablet/screen is relatively easy, and it automatically detects that you are doing so. The screen does wobble when touched, but not tremendously so. Front and rear cameras are very high quality for things like Skype, and the front camera also features Windows Hello, which Microsoft pioneered with its late, lamented Windows Phone, the Lumia 950. It is blazing fast, and unlocks the laptop even in a dark room by scanning for your face. I have not tried to defeat this with a picture, so I can’t comment on overall security of this unlock method – it can be deactivated, and a PIN or password are still unlock options. NOT included in the package is the Surface Pen. This is pretty egregious given the market segment this is aimed at and the price of even the entry level unit. Also verging on chintzy are the storage options. A 256gb SSD is included in the base model, with very expensive step-ups available up to 1tb. Folks, for $2500, I think 512gb should be the absolute minimum. And while I realize that there may be bulk concerns from a design standpoint, I think a 2tb HDD should live in the keyboard base. There are fans in both the tablet and the keyboard base. These are present to cool the Core i7 CPU in the tablet and the GTX 1060 card in the base. During heavy gaming, the fans kick in, but they are admirably quiet – much quieter than the Acer Predator Helios 300 that I use for gaming. Front facing stereo speakers are contained in the tablet, not in the base. Given the size of the keyboard base and the generous extra space, I think speakers could have been placed on the base, as well. That said, the tablet speakers are truly excellent. Watching Netflix or playing a game, there is very little feeling of audio sacrifice. They are loud, clear, and even deliver a small feeling of bass response. TABLET When detached, the tablet functions very well compared to other Windows 10 slates. This is no doubt owing to its Core i7 CPU and 16gb of system RAM. Watching Netflix or doing light computing is a breeze. The thing is enormous, though! It feels vaguely ridiculous to carry around such a big tablet, and it has no stand, so overall I think its utility is greater in terms of reversing the orientation of the screen on the keyboard base. SURFACE PEN Once you purchase the Surface Pen, you are able to do a number of pen-based activities. The pen can be used as a stylus for the operating system. The pen can mark up documents and web pages using the Edge browser. And, of course, the pen can be used to draw and paint with the appropriate software. A few free trials are available, such as SketchBook and Drawboard PDF. Free apps are also available in the store, like Microsoft’s Fresh Paint and Paint 3D. There are many, many note taking applications available as well, and all of Microsoft’s Office suite is compatible with note taking via pen. Using the appropriate software, sketching and drawing feels pretty close to using pencil and paper. There is a learning curve simply because of the different feel, but it is slight, and there is little to no lag when using the Surface Pen. The screen rejects the artists palm reliably, and it does get a tad warm in the center, though not uncomfortably hot by any means. After using the pen with Sketchbook Pro for a week, I have to say its kind of revolutionized my creative work and inspired me to stretch myself. I had been puttering away at a kids book project for several years now, and the capabilities of this hardware with that software really have given me a lot of juice. Ive posted a picture of my work with Sketchbook Pro. All in all, how great this feels is another indication of how incomplete this unit really is without the pen packed in. GAMING The keyboard base contains batteries and an nVidia GTX 1060 video card. This is the sort of card found in mid-range gaming laptops like the Acer Predator series. It is capable of running modern games at 1920x1080 resolution without breaking a sweat – though given the 3:2 screen aspect ratio, 1920x1440 is a better fit. I tested Arkham Knight on this laptop. It played quite admirably at 1920x1440 with max settings. The included system test showed average frame rates of 56fps without nVidia’s “Gameworks” graphics upgrades, and 35fps with all activated (leaving off interactive smoke but keeping the lighting and rain improvements netted 53fps). This is a really good set of frame rates, and bested the Acer Predator Helios 300 running on max settings at 1920x1080 (which returned 48 and 42fps, Gameworks off and on, respectively). Forza 6 Apex was able to run at a stable 60fps on Ultra settings, at 1920x1200, which was also better than the Predator Helios. Not bad! Heat generation and fan noise were surprisingly light while playing both Arkham Knight and Forza. This may be due to the CPU and GPU being separately cooled. The real problem with gaming is the included storage. 256gb fills up very fast (Arkham Knight alone is 50gb). As such, I will probably use my Acer Predator for heavier gaming, while loading up some lighter games like Civilization, Inside, or The Witness. UPDATE: I have added a 400gb microSD card, using a BaseQi adapter to sit flush in the full-size (but not full depth) SD card slot. After re-mapping the drive to read as dedicated storage (I called it the M: drive), I moved most of my Steam library over to it. Happily, I can report that gaming performance using SD storage is fine. Load times are slightly longer than when utilizing SSD storage, but honestly not all that different than using an HDD for storage. My performance results above are very similar to what I found on games like Skyrim, Civilization VI, Fallout 4, and Witcher 3. Your best bet for good frame rates at "Ultra" quality is to set resolution at 1920x1440 (though it is capable of higher on most titles). I run things in "Balanced" power mode - since "Best Performance" runs your fan like a jet engine, which is very distracting during gameplay. A few extra frames per second was not worth the noise tradeoff to me. Anyway, given the level of performance, I can definitely say that the SB2 is a great gaming laptop - but only if you spring for a larger storage model or go my route and purchase some additional storage. A 400gb card and the BaseQi adapter will probably run you around 200 bones. COMPARISONS AND CONCLUSIONS In terms of performance based on my personal use, I am comparing this laptop to my Acer Switch Alpha 12, which is a 2-in-1 from late-2016 (Core i7 6500U, 8gb RAM, integrated graphics), and the Acer Predator Helios 300, a gaming laptop from mid-2017 (Core i7 7700HQ, 16gb RAM, GTX 1060). The Surface Book 2 (Core i7 8650U, 16gb RAM, GTX 1060) performs better than both across a wide variety of tasks. It delivers better performance than the Switch Alpha 12 at tasks like browsing, word processing, photo editing, media consumption, and the like. It provides slightly better gaming performance at cooler temperatures than the Predator. Both of these machines are what I would call mid-range examples of their category. You could purchase both for about $1700 with some minimal comparison shopping online, so a good $800 less than the SB2. The Predator provides an HDMI out, which is lacking on the SB2. I prefer this to game on larger displays with better audio. The Switch provides portability, which I like for my work and commute. A 2017 MacBook Pro 15” with 256gb of SSD space (Core i7 7700HQ, 16gb RAM, Radeon 555 graphics card) is the most accurate comp in the market right now. It retails for $2350, or $150 less than the SB2. The SB2 is more powerful both in CPU and graphics card areas. But the Surface Book 2 also has a top notch touchscreen and pen interface, which the MacBook Pro lacks completely. Ditto the detachable tablet capability. So I think it’s fair to say the $150 premium is reasonable. So who is this for? I guess it is for people who: 1. Want the best and most stylish laptop they can get in the current market. 2. Want high performance across a variety of tasks, but don’t want multiple devices. 3. Creative professionals who will utilize the high-end image editing and pen capabilities. If you don’t mind having multiple devices, I would say you should get devices that are less expensive and more purpose built. A gaming laptop that costs half as much will give you expandable HDD storage and comparable performance. A 2-in-1 that costs half or less as much will give you greater portability. If, however, you want one device to do it all reasonably well, and you’ve got the money to do so, I don’t have a hard time recommending the Surface Book 2. It operates like a dream and can truly replace any other device, desktop included, that you currently use. If you are an art professional, this is likely worth serious consideration just given the raw power. My two caveats are the lack of a packed in Surface Pen and the meager storage. To get the most out of this laptop, you’re going to have to provide for those two aspects, which means an outlay of several hundred more dollars for the pen and an external storage solution. Based on these caveats, I am giving the Surface Book 2 a 4-star rating. If the pen had been packed in and the SSD had been 512gb for this price, it would be a 5-star rating all the way. It’s a great device.

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1 year and going strong! I have had my computer for one year. I am a heavy user averaging 6-8 hours/day seven days a week. Still runs as well as it did the day I got it. Runs multiple programs at a time with ease. Battery will still last all day. See below for other positive aspects. Haven’t found a thing I don’t like about this computer. I have had this gem for about 6 weeks. I am a heavy computer user with between 8-10 hours daily for work. I have owned several computers from various companies. This is by far my favorite! Quick loading even with multiple programs and browsers open. The battery will last me all day even with heavy use. And it’s light weight! Love it! 5 month update - still going strong. I have not found anything that I dislike about this computer. By far the best I have owned. I feel like I have the microsoft equivalent of another brand without the learning curve that a new operating system would require. Battery will still last all day with heavy use and multiple programs. Purchased the docking station and a 27 inch screen to connect and have a great home office.

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Ive had my SB2 for about 4 months now, and its my primary use computer for both school and work. I love the fact that its a 2-in-1, where I can detach the screen and use it as a tablet. My previous experience with the Surface 3 (non-pro) was fantastic, and being able to annotate PDF files really helped with my schooling, where all of my resources are online. I was excited to upgrade to the SB2 and get rid of 2 devices. At first, things were solid, no problems, fast and powerful. I setup several VMs to isolate different environments, and use it on an almost daily basis. I was amazed a laptop was powerful enough to run 2 VMs simultaneously without causing significant impact to the host machine. Ive updated the software as new releases have come out, both for the drivers as well as the OS. As time has progressed, certain problems have presented themselves. Some I can ignore, some I cant. * The Nvidia display adapter routinely "disappears" from the system. The system cannot see the hardware, so I dont get the performance benefits. I can overlook this as Im not a gamer, but it is annoying. * The battery drains while in sleep. Within a 2 hour time frame, the battery can easily drop 50%. At a certain level, the system will automatically switch to hibernate mode, which saves me from loosing any of my work, but increases the amount of time for the system to come back up to a usable state. * The power button doesnt always work. I can press it to my hearts content, and nothing. I have found that pressing the "detach" button on the keyboard wakes up the computer, but I have to remember to press it again before the startup is completed or the system will automatically detach the monitor. If they battery has drained substantially, this can cause a problem. * The latest firmware drivers (dates 8/1/2018) wont start, so my UEFI, ME and System Aggregator drivers are useless. The updated drivers are suppose to fix some battery issues and some screen detachment issues, and "increase stability". Ive tried multiple hints and tips from online, even removing the devices and drivers. Unfortunately, since removing the drivers, I cant roll back to the previous versions of the drivers, which did work. * The battery drivers wont update either. They are dates from 2006, but newer drivers dated 2013 are available. I havent been able to get these to install. * The device runs hot, even with little to no use, or when in sleep mode. While I love the convenience of a 2-in-1 device, I cant recommend this to anyone who needs a machine they can depend on. Many other users have stated that theyve been able to warranty replace their devices to resolve the problem, some have warranty replaced their device multiple times because the problems eventually come back. I purchased the extended warranty, however I cant use it at this time because of my school work, so Im forced to suffer through the troubles as best as I can. If youre looking at this device as your primary machine, save yourself the hassle and look elsewhere.

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Caveat Emptor.... I purchased this here in May 2018. Just now - November 24, 2018, I need to warranty this Surface Book 2 and Microsoft shows this units warranty will end January 11, 2019. Thats 8 months from when I bought it here and not the 2 years manufacturer warranty. Buyer beware - others in the reviews have said the same. You are not buying a brand new Surface Book 2 with a 2yr warranty!! As for the Surface Book 2, well, all was fine until it stopped charging and fails to recognize any charger (factory charger or USB-C input). Nothing works. I noticed it at 35% battery and was fortunate to get the files I needed off the hard drive before it got too low. It was during the creation of a warranty repair ticket that I was notified that this Surface Book was more like 22 months old instead of 8 months old. Buy from a real retailer or directly from Microsoft.

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SBook2, 15in, I-7, 256gb is in all respects a premium device & I havent had any of the issues noted in other reviews. Even with the 15" gorgeous screen, its light & FAST. Every design has its +/- and the SB2 is no exception. Plus side: See specs: 8th gen I-7 & 1060 Nvidia graphics; hinge allows screen to be used as tablet with the base also without it. The battery is great under normal use (I dont game). Out-of-box experience first rate. Some minor shortcomings: Charger may be under powered, the SD card slot is short, card sticks out & could be damaged & the keyboard feels cramped, no dedicated video out, also Surface team needs to adopt Thunderbolt, USB-C is so yesterday on an otherwise VERY today device. My qualifications: 30yrs enterprise desktop support working with & evaluating PCs but this one is for me. I was looking at All-In-Ones that cost from $1985-2799 when the SB2 came out. I passed on them for the portability of an SB2 with better hardware than AIOs. Glad I did.

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When this product first came out I was hesitant based on reviews and my companys experience with other surface products. But my workhorse that was the ux501 woke up from sleep in a backpack and tried to run windows updates cooking itself in the process. So I wanted something that could fill the large shoes it left behind. A 4k touch screen was a must in my selection process along with a competent dgpu. These proved to be exceedingly tall asks with only a few laptops meeting my needs. My final selection was down to the razer blade and this surface book. I really did not need the 1070 the razer uses for the 4k screen so I took a gamble with the surface book. All that to say from day one I was blown away by this laptop. Speed is equal to the ux501 on cpu task and the battery is next level. I didnt think I would use the tablet mode often because the reviewers slammed it as unwieldy but sharing markups with others by detaching the tablet and working over things together has changed my workflow. Finally the note taking ability continues to amaze me with the massive improvement over the surface 3 that I had tried in the workplace before. This is a blend of both software (onenote) and hardware. The moment you circle an equation and select graph for the first time is breathtaking. Edit: I have added some comparison pics of the ux501 vs the surface book. You will see that the book is much smaller in terms of size in most dimensions baring the back hinge where it is about the same thickness as the ux501. I would also recommend a skin now as I have found that I have the tablet on a hard surface frequently when taking notes and this will help with scratches and adds a bit of personalisation. I do find myself stubling of the += sign when going for backspace. I have really been putting it through its paces over the last few weeks and I have never found the device wanting. The battery goes and goes under normal use and I have found my self less concerned about finding the power outlet to change up as I leave work and head to night class. What remains the huge selling point for me is note taking. In math classes I have moved from piles of paper and eraser shavings to just this surface book and the surface pen. I scan in my classwork to pdf and drop it into onenote and I am off ready to go before the other students are waiting for their turn on the printer. I lasso equations as I go popping graphs in as needed or checking my math without ever leaving onenote. I have also used the sd slot and found it adequate for light work but it definitely not the fastest port but it can move raw files at just under 100 MBs. While we are on the topic of ports I have tested a usbc to hdmi adaptor and was capable of the full 4k 60hz signal so I am very pleased about that as the lack of a dedicated hdmi/dp on the laptop was a concern when I bought it.

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Microsoft surface book 2 is a premium product which i have had the pleasure of using for the last 3 months, the keyboard is very nice to use with a good crisp key action and nicely spaced keys. The screen is very clear with a top quality, high end display and the action in which you diconnect it from the keyboard is very nice and easy to operate as it has its own key. The screen as a tablet is very smooth and although it seems a little large, as a 15" tablet, you soon get used to this as it truely is a pleasure to use. The Microsoft app store is nice with some good options across the board and is getting better as time goes by but still has a long way to go. Overall a very well made 2 in 1 laptop with a lot to give, i highly recommend this product.

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This product said brand new however when I went to register it with Microsoft it said this product was out of warranty. This surface book 2 came in original packaging as if new I’m assuming this is a clone to the original one because the batter life only said 3 hours when it was 100% charged although the description states up to 17 hours. Still waiting on seller to respond but I thought it was user error when I originally set it up and it kept freezing and wouldn’t take passcode or face recognition.

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I used the original Surface Book for a year or so. That unit was purchased before the 1TB drive was shipping. so it had So it had 512GB of internal storage. Using that machine was a struggle. I always seemed to be out of storage space. Since the internal storage cant be upgraded without cutting a big hole in the metal case, I was stuck with it. Other than the tiny storage capacity, I really loved the Surface Book. My only other complaint was the small screen with super high resolution. Im an older guy, so the tiny text on that screen was a bit difficult for me to read. Then I saw the Surface Book 2. It has a 15" screen option that is still very high resolution. The CPU is faster and more energy efficient. The rated battery life is better. It has a USB C port added to the dual USB 3.0 ports. Plus, it is available with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB drive. It covered my minimum requirements, but only barely. Still, I loved my current Surface Book, so I ordered the maxed out version of the Surface Book 2. After using it for a while now, I am really glad I bought it. I no longer see the low storage warnings constantly. My CAD software runs really well. The text is readable on this 15 inch display. It is noticably faster in every way. This laptop is a big improvement over the first version I was using in every way. Unfortunately, it still isnt perfect. My primary gripe is the fact that you cant upgrade the hard drive storage or RAM. I have two 2TB SSD drives and 64GB of RAM on my desktop. This machine is maxed out at 1TB and 16GB of RAM. Sure, it works well enough for now, but I guarantee I will be bumping into those limitations fairly soon. If I could, I would knock off half a star for the non-upgradeable storage and RAM. Other than that, I love the machine. Its a pleasure to use.

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