Microsoft Surface Book (512 GB, 16 GB RAM, Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce graphics)

To start, Im going to say that I was ready to return this upon delivery; the Surface Book would not start even though I had it plugged in. I even let it sit charging for two hours. How could I say that and give it five stars? Let me explain and hopefully help someone who has a similar issue. The Surface Book would not charge and after I started to really investigate reviews, I noticed that this product has A TON of complaints and forum topics about its buggy performance and people with a similar issue, but for different reasons. Finally, I discovered a topic on Microsofts own forum page that was answered by someone afflicted in the same manner as I had. All I had to do was locate the holes on the tablet to manual release the magnets that lock the tablet to the keyboard. These holes ARE TOUGH TO SEE, even in light. Once I found them and took a thin paper clip to push the button and release it, I was able to charge it and clean the ports to ensure the issue did not repeat in the future. For those with a similar issue of not starting (notice I keep saying starting and not the term booting, the tablet literally wouldnt start), look at either side of the tablet portion. Then, look or use a paperclip to feel in the holes about 1 to 2 inches up from the bottom of the tablet. PLEASE NOTE that these holes are DIAGONAL (angled UP towards the TOP of the tablet). Once found, push a paperclip up in the hole. My tablet required a fair amount of push to get the magnet to release. If youre doing this yourself, be sure to put some kind of shim/object between the tablet and keyboard to prevent the tablet from clipping back onto the keyboard. Repeat the process on the opposite side and itll be free! Once free, you will be able to charge the tablet directly AND clean the ports the keyboard. Im not sure what product is best, but I just used a very small amount of rubbing alcohol. When I was able to finally fire the Surface Book after the frustration of discovering the above... I was blown away by the display and graphics. Ive never seen such amazing quality in display with a tablet let alone such a small laptop when compared to bulkier gaming laptops. It came pre-loaded with Microsoft Office installed which was convenient considering Im a Office 365 as well as Office 365 for Business user. Discovering the OneNote program, not the same as OneNote 2016, I felt like a kid in a candy store. The way I felt when experimenting with the stylus that comes with the Surface Book... Thats probably how the early Neanderthals/humans felt when they discovered fire. Ive played with other tablets and convertible laptops that supported styluses, but none of them were as sensitive and accurate as the way the Surface Book and its stylus communicate. Then, discovering the feature in the task bar to "write on" the screen... Incredibly handy as I do a lot of architectural drawing reviews as well as software design... Instead of going through the hassle of printing to PDF or equivalent, marking up, and then sending, I could simply press the button in the task bar and I was at it. Given I still have to markup drawings officially, but there are more times where I need to mark it up quick and send it off immediately. That feature is a huge time saver. Ive had this Surface Book for a week now and about to purchase a "lesser" model for my girlfriend; only reason why Im not considering purchasing another one of this exact product and seller is because she doesnt need the horsepower this one offers.The last piece of feedback I could provide is that I purchased the UAG Surface Book Feather-Lite Rugged Case with it. Id strongly recommend purchasing the same case to be safe!

Show more

I originally bought this in 2016, so Ive had it for about a year. I now have three of them (just bought two more for employees in May, 2017). It has been nothing short of stellar. The ONLY complaint I have is that you sometimes get odd video and sound issues when connecting to other displays. For example, when I have it connected to my other monitors, if I go to a website and download something, the save dialog on the other monitors is always at the wrong resolution (the text and interface elements are all *huge*). The sound issue is sporadic and can be fixed fairly simply, but its annoying. When I connect the Surface Book to my TV, sometimes the sound doesnt get piped to the TV, and the TV doesnt even show up in the list of playback devices. To fix this, I have to open Device Manager, go to Sound, video, and game controllers, right-click on the Intel sound device (cant remember the exact name), disable it, then enable it. Its an easy fix, but its annoying. Other than that, the system is basically perfect for my use. Its super portable. I love the form factor...not too big, not too small...just the perfect size. It *is* a little on the heavy side for its size, but that doesnt bother me. Id rather have a well-built system that is durable than a cheap plastic thing that breaks easily.

Show more

Microsoft Surface Book (256 GB, 8 GB RAM, Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce graphics) To start off here is a little bit about my interest and why I decided to pull the trigger on buying a Surface Book. I travel a lot, I have been a long time PC gamer, programming hobbyist, and artist wannabe. Just a side note but I tend to stay away from major AAA game titles so I didnt really need a major graphics processor in a laptop. The Good: - Works fantastic in laptop mode (has a maximum tilt angle which keeps it from falling over) - Battery life is fantastic (You can browse the web and watch videos for quite a few hours on high brightness, and even a decent time during high performance use. I cant really give specific times because I hop from web browsing, to videos, to games, to applications too much) - Keyboard has great tactile feedback (I use a mechanical keyboard for my desktop, and I dont grumble when I switch to my Surface Book) - Back-lit keyboard (for all you cave dwellers) - Switch between Tablet/Canvas/Laptop is super easy and works well) - Very fast boot up/shut down times and windows 10 works well on it - Heat dissipation is rather amazing - Touchpad (feels high quality and works very well) - Screen Resolution (1920x1080 is hard to go back to) - Canvas mode with the tablet tilted makes browsing the web and reading documents much easier/enjoyable - Has more gaming capability than I expected (runs Dark Souls 2 flawlessly, Runs Black Desert Online around 30-40 FPS 3000x2000 res at low graphics) - Can choose to run certain applications with the dedicated graphics card or use the integrated one (to save battery and this is assuming you picked one with the dedicated GPU) - Surface Pen is just mind blowing and awesome - Has Windows 10, so virtual desktops are amazing for multitasking The Grey: - Random battery drain when it should be sleeping (Not putting this in the bad because it is possible software I have installed is preventing it from hibernating, but sometimes Ill let it hibernate while its around 50% battery, go to work, come back and it is at like 10% and other times I come back and its at nearly what I left it at) - Fn must be enabled to use the F1-F12 keys, but lets be honest who really uses those? - I personally dont like the location of the Headset jack, but its not exactly a negative thing - No disc drive (Not sure if I should put this under "the good" or "the bad"....) The Bad: - Up and down arrow keys (I use the arrow keys a lot for coding and after 2 Months I still havent gotten used to them) - Charging brick can overheat and stop charging your laptop during prolonged heavy usage (only happened once, and I had the power supply slightly covered) - Touchpad (Yes I know this is in my "good" as well, but the touchpad seems touchy with "left clicks" sometimes. My wife is a major Mac lover and user, who Im not sure how, but always seems to "right click" when she means to "left click" on my Surface Book) - Problems with virtual keyboard during Tablet and Canvas use, where sometimes the virtual keyboard wont pop up when you want to type into a text field. (The current work around is Settings >> Devices >> Typing >> "Show the touch keyboard or handwriting panel when not in tablet mode and theres no keyboard attached") - No HDMI/Mini HMDI port (has mini Display port though so you can buy an adapter) Closing Thoughts: Using this Surface Book has made life away from my desktop much more enjoyable. So if you are looking for Windows 10, portability, high quality, and power then I highly suggest taking a good hard look at buying a Surface Book.

Show more