I thank you for this common-sense/ average joe review. I still don't understand why people don't review products for what they are, instead of what they want them to be. Your review is very much appreciated.
I love how in-depth and real your review is. I completely agree with your statement that not everyone is a video editor / blogger. They kept bashing the 4-core processor as if it's a potato - my desktop rig has a 4-core processor and it hasn't stuttered once. I really appreciate this review!
I bought this and then sent it back. When the display is not sitting on a hard surface it falls back in and doesn't stay upright. Bought a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 8 instead and loving it.
Finally someone who shares the view of most people (non-vloggers) ...and I’m a graphic designer and spec wise 2nd most powerful 2-in-1 (first comes Acer’s ConceptD Ezel, if they release it that is... so for now this IS the best) ...paired with my pen and dial this delivers all I need and then some
Gianna Agostinelli Acer sounds so good in specs that I would definitely like to try it... but it’s not at all reliable for non-USA markets in terms of model specs and availability even for major countries in Europe... so I settled for SB3 and it’s quite good... in fact I even tried Surface pro 7 (16GB ram and £1000 cheaper) and absolutely loved it... if they do it in 15” I would’ve kept it since 12.3” is bit too small for my drawing needs ( honestly, my current SB3 GPU doesn’t make much difference for pen and touch drawing- only good for say video editing or gaming)... I suggest give Surface book 3 or Surface pro 7 a go (depending on your use case in terms of RAM a screen size) if you’re not happy, return it within 30 days... I really waited for Acer before settling with SB3 and I don’t regret it. Hope this helps :)
This gentleman gets to an important point right away. Most tech reviewers don’t spend any significant time with the devices they are discussing. They review and flip. They are in fact tech flippers. If you want the real deal with genuine experience and best practices shared view ‘real people’ giving you a sincere opinion based on ‘actual prolonged’ use.
Great review and great angle! Yes, there are many other types of professionals than vloggers etc. who will be very happy with this device! I am consulting and teaching and for me this is a great device! Have been working for this for two week and am loving it. Taking the display off to read a PDF in a chair, put the display on the base the other to take notes while following a video-conference on an external monitor. This is great! The pen is also great for writing!
Awesome review. Like others have said, your review covers what the average consumer would use the Surface Book 3 for. I've had the Surface Pro 4 for almost 5 years for school and now I'm confident in my choice to upgrade to the SB3 thanks to your review.
WOW...an amazing review...thanks for this video. I am a blogger, content creator. I create videos and technical documentation for programmers and for business stake holders. I've been thru so many 2 in 1's and laptops due to the lack of performance and/or lack of pen support (Lenovo Thinkpad, Alienware 17R2, Dell XPS 15). SB2 replaced my XPS 15 and my SP7, which reduced the necessity to have multiple licenses, multiple portable PC's and improved graphics performance with the pen, (recently upgraded SB3 for 32gb ram). I totally agree that The majority of the reviews I've seen are SB3 versus MacBook 15 or XPS 15, even referencing gaming performance. I have yet to see a review with the SB3 against the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Gen 5 or even the XPS 2in1. The SB3 is absolutely THE most powerful and still with the dated design the most advanced 2 in 1.
Thank you for this review of the Surface Book 3. Massive dose of good sense in your review. Like you, I'm less interested in bench-test scores and much more interested in the overall usability of the device, and there the Surface Books do very well. You're one of the few reviewers who seems to understand the basic concept of the Surface line, which isn't touch screens but USABLE touch screens. That's the feature that explains the Surface Studio as well as the lowliest Surface Pro or Go. Apple isn't correct in thinking that fixed-position touchscreen computer displays are useless. The Dell XPS line has some sweet laptops and the touchscreens can be nice to have; but fixed-position touchscreens are made for occasional touching/tapping, not for serious use. Microsoft figured this out early and managed to make great touchscreen devices that are truly usable, and keep it all in the same OS. -- You also make a great point in the later part of the review that for many users it will make more sense to get a lower spec'd SB3 (say 16GB + 512GB storage) and use the money you've saved to buy a good desktop setup.Very smart advice. Thanks again.
Yep! After all my test I found it just doesn't make sense to EVER spend 3k on a laptop, even if you have the money to blow. A small form factor 1k desktop will still be significantly faster, and you can use remote desktop from your portable device. You're absolutely right about the versatile touch, that is the key differentiator.
I love using my surfacebook 3, something to note, if you find yours lacking power for playing games etc. Make sure to use charger that comes with it unless u have a newer surface dock, the older dock is just fine but does not output enough power
Good review: other reviewers were bashing it for not being able to render videos and whatnot which regular consumers wouldn't be doing on a regular basis.
Yeah! It's fast enough for rendering, but most vloggers use Adobe which was slow in the past. I haven't been disappointed by the speed yet, even with the 16gb ram model.
I use the Surface Book 2 i7/16GB/512GB for everything still - I write code, email, write docs and use Teams. Even the older model gets all these things done. The main downside (in 2021) is that my SB2 has been constantly plugged in and docked, which has definitely damaged the battery a little - Makes me think maybe a desktop machine would be a good addition (used to have one)
Hi! Thanks for the great review! What do you think of the Thunderbolt 3 that is missing? Do you miss it too? Or is the new Surface Dock 2 the solution? I guess the USB-C 3.1 will fit most needs. Thank you for your time and answer! Keep on going making reviews like this and stay healthy!
I bought this and then sent it back. When the display is not sitting on a hard surface it falls back in and doesn't stay upright. Bought a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 8 instead and loving it.
Hello again. I just got my TOAST cover and it's an absolute winner!!!! I also purchased three headphones to see which I like best which were the Bose 700, Bose QC 2, and the Surface 2 headphones. I wasn't too impressed with any of the headphones so I just went with the gray Surface 2 headphones since they looked the best and were the cheapest. I also purchased a pen on Amazon for $89. bucks. I added the a 512GB Samsung card and brought the Base IQ and it fits perfectly inside the SD slot. The Surface Book 3 is awesome!!! I'm extremely happy with my purchase. Thank you for the recommendations.
That's awesome! I wanted to wait to get the toast skin because I was thinking about just using the case I have now. I'll test out this new case I'm getting that includes a kick stand for the tablet portion before deciding. Sounds like you have the perfect setup! I need to get that base iq.
@@thetechfloshow seriously... the Toast makes it look so elegant and you can tell that it's a great protector. It's sort of like when those guys upgrade their Honda Civics and you can't even recognize the car (for the better of course). Thank you for that recommendation.
I think this Surface Book, i has only a Surface Book 1 and a Surface Go, but this Working Every Training (IT-Trainer) to Show Witz Pencil and Projection from Win10 to Show differences in Networking, Servers and so on. For me, this is the Working for me. ThNks from Germany:-)
Glad to hear that it's working for you. I tried to just use the Surface Go and a gaming laptop but the Surface Go screen is just so small. I LOVE the form factor though.
Some interesting points. I use a surface book 2 most days for illustration and digital painting and I actually use the laptop mode and draw in the screen and use the keyboard shortcuts. I find the screen bounce pretty annoying, but get on with things. I want the surface book 3 as a spec bump. 🤔
If you leave it up to many of these reviewers have ppl thinking that a device is either the best device ever or the worst. I think it's best for everyone to be their own reviewer. I thought that these noise cancelling headphones would blow my mind away based off of some of these reviews and once I hit them, I was highly disappointed. Same thing with the Surface Book 3. It's a device that truly is one of a kind. This is why it can't truly be compared to any other device out there.
Yep, I sold my Surface Book 2, and wasn't going to get a Surface Book 3 because of the reviews. Now that I have it, I realize what I was missing. It's not a perfect device, but they really isn't anything else like it yet.
I got the kick stand version, I don't know about the non kickstand version but the screen won't fold down completely when you reverse the screen because of the bulky sleeve. You actually have to take the tablet screen sleeve portion off if you want to fold the screen portion completely down against the keyboard, with the screen portion facing up
He might mean the surface pro. I usually just kept the Surface Book in "studio mode" with the screen flipped so I don't have to keep changing configurations. The downside to this is you lose the portability of simply unplugging from the dock to go to a different room. You then have to unplug, then flip the screen again to use it as a laptop.
You mentioned a support that you use when you use the screen reversed. I have been looking for that exact idea. Do you have a picture of it? And where did you get it? I use my surface book that way all the time.
I bought it on Amazon. When you close the laptop, the lid is used to keep it closed with the bad. I just ordered another one that has a built in kick stand. Hoping to test that one out as well.
Thanks for the guidance. I am about to buy the Surface Book 3. I have the Surface Book (original) and the original Surface Dock. You stated that the "old Surface dock" works with the Surface Book 3. That statement is contrary to what I've been told by Microsoft sales staff (on the phone). Please confirm. Thank you so very much.
HA! But that's why a Wrangler is a JEEP NOT an SUV. JEEP WRANGLER's like it's own category. WRANGLER = Surface Book in this case. The best of convertible and REAL UTILITY NOT suburban SUV.
I thank you for this common-sense/ average joe review. I still don't understand why people don't review products for what they are, instead of what they want them to be. Your review is very much appreciated.
You're welcome! Yeah it's almost like a tech vlogger echo chamber where they make videos for each other. I guess it works though!
I love how in-depth and real your review is. I completely agree with your statement that not everyone is a video editor / blogger. They kept bashing the 4-core processor as if it's a potato - my desktop rig has a 4-core processor and it hasn't stuttered once. I really appreciate this review!
EXACTLY! Thanks
I bought this and then sent it back. When the display is not sitting on a hard surface it falls back in and doesn't stay upright. Bought a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 8 instead and loving it.
Finally someone who shares the view of most people (non-vloggers) ...and I’m a graphic designer and spec wise 2nd most powerful 2-in-1 (first comes Acer’s ConceptD Ezel, if they release it that is... so for now this IS the best) ...paired with my pen and dial this delivers all I need and then some
Yep, I have been back to working in multiple locations in my house instead of being stuck at my desk :-) I love the portability the most.
Which one do you think gives a better experience with the pen? The Surface Book 3 or the Acer ConceptD 3 or 7 Ezel?
Gianna Agostinelli Acer sounds so good in specs that I would definitely like to try it... but it’s not at all reliable for non-USA markets in terms of model specs and availability even for major countries in Europe... so I settled for SB3 and it’s quite good... in fact I even tried Surface pro 7 (16GB ram and £1000 cheaper) and absolutely loved it... if they do it in 15” I would’ve kept it since 12.3” is bit too small for my drawing needs ( honestly, my current SB3 GPU doesn’t make much difference for pen and touch drawing- only good for say video editing or gaming)... I suggest give Surface book 3 or Surface pro 7 a go (depending on your use case in terms of RAM a screen size) if you’re not happy, return it within 30 days... I really waited for Acer before settling with SB3 and I don’t regret it. Hope this helps :)
This gentleman gets to an important point right away. Most tech reviewers don’t spend any significant time with the devices they are discussing. They review and flip. They are in fact tech flippers. If you want the real deal with genuine experience and best practices shared view ‘real people’ giving you a sincere opinion based on ‘actual prolonged’ use.
Great review and great angle! Yes, there are many other types of professionals than vloggers etc. who will be very happy with this device! I am consulting and teaching and for me this is a great device! Have been working for this for two week and am loving it. Taking the display off to read a PDF in a chair, put the display on the base the other to take notes while following a video-conference on an external monitor. This is great! The pen is also great for writing!
Absolutely!
Awesome review. Like others have said, your review covers what the average consumer would use the Surface Book 3 for. I've had the Surface Pro 4 for almost 5 years for school and now I'm confident in my choice to upgrade to the SB3 thanks to your review.
Glad it was helpful!
WOW...an amazing review...thanks for this video. I am a blogger, content creator. I create videos and technical documentation for programmers and for business stake holders. I've been thru so many 2 in 1's and laptops due to the lack of performance and/or lack of pen support (Lenovo Thinkpad, Alienware 17R2, Dell XPS 15). SB2 replaced my XPS 15 and my SP7, which reduced the necessity to have multiple licenses, multiple portable PC's and improved graphics performance with the pen, (recently upgraded SB3 for 32gb ram). I totally agree that The majority of the reviews I've seen are SB3 versus MacBook 15 or XPS 15, even referencing gaming performance. I have yet to see a review with the SB3 against the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Gen 5 or even the XPS 2in1. The SB3 is absolutely THE most powerful and still with the dated design the most advanced 2 in 1.
Yes! This is the perfect device for you then :-)
Thank you for this review of the Surface Book 3. Massive dose of good sense in your review. Like you, I'm less interested in bench-test scores and much more interested in the overall usability of the device, and there the Surface Books do very well. You're one of the few reviewers who seems to understand the basic concept of the Surface line, which isn't touch screens but USABLE touch screens. That's the feature that explains the Surface Studio as well as the lowliest Surface Pro or Go. Apple isn't correct in thinking that fixed-position touchscreen computer displays are useless. The Dell XPS line has some sweet laptops and the touchscreens can be nice to have; but fixed-position touchscreens are made for occasional touching/tapping, not for serious use. Microsoft figured this out early and managed to make great touchscreen devices that are truly usable, and keep it all in the same OS. -- You also make a great point in the later part of the review that for many users it will make more sense to get a lower spec'd SB3 (say 16GB + 512GB storage) and use the money you've saved to buy a good desktop setup.Very smart advice. Thanks again.
Yep! After all my test I found it just doesn't make sense to EVER spend 3k on a laptop, even if you have the money to blow. A small form factor 1k desktop will still be significantly faster, and you can use remote desktop from your portable device. You're absolutely right about the versatile touch, that is the key differentiator.
I love using my surfacebook 3, something to note, if you find yours lacking power for playing games etc. Make sure to use charger that comes with it unless u have a newer surface dock, the older dock is just fine but does not output enough power
That's true!
Thanks for a great video. I'm deciding between this and the MacBook pro 13. I think I'm going to go for this 🙂
If you need or want windows app AND a touchscreen, it's a great choice.
Good review: other reviewers were bashing it for not being able to render videos and whatnot which regular consumers wouldn't be doing on a regular basis.
Yeah! It's fast enough for rendering, but most vloggers use Adobe which was slow in the past. I haven't been disappointed by the speed yet, even with the 16gb ram model.
I use the Surface Book 2 i7/16GB/512GB for everything still - I write code, email, write docs and use Teams. Even the older model gets all these things done.
The main downside (in 2021) is that my SB2 has been constantly plugged in and docked, which has definitely damaged the battery a little - Makes me think maybe a desktop machine would be a good addition (used to have one)
Yep, that's what I ended up doing as well. I also have a new Surface Book alternative I'll be talking about soon.
Wonderful review! Thank you.
My pleasure!
Hi! Thanks for the great review! What do you think of the Thunderbolt 3 that is missing? Do you miss it too? Or is the new Surface Dock 2 the solution? I guess the USB-C 3.1 will fit most needs. Thank you for your time and answer! Keep on going making reviews like this and stay healthy!
I just got the surface dock 2, I'll be doing a review of that soon. I'll compare it to the surface dock 1 since I have both.
I bought this and then sent it back. When the display is not sitting on a hard surface it falls back in and doesn't stay upright. Bought a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 8 instead and loving it.
Yeah, if you don't plan on using the inking or drawing feature, there are other better traditional laptops.
Hello again. I just got my TOAST cover and it's an absolute winner!!!! I also purchased three headphones to see which I like best which were the Bose 700, Bose QC 2, and the Surface 2 headphones. I wasn't too impressed with any of the headphones so I just went with the gray Surface 2 headphones since they looked the best and were the cheapest. I also purchased a pen on Amazon for $89. bucks. I added the a 512GB Samsung card and brought the Base IQ and it fits perfectly inside the SD slot. The Surface Book 3 is awesome!!! I'm extremely happy with my purchase. Thank you for the recommendations.
That's awesome! I wanted to wait to get the toast skin because I was thinking about just using the case I have now. I'll test out this new case I'm getting that includes a kick stand for the tablet portion before deciding. Sounds like you have the perfect setup! I need to get that base iq.
@@thetechfloshow seriously... the Toast makes it look so elegant and you can tell that it's a great protector. It's sort of like when those guys upgrade their Honda Civics and you can't even recognize the car (for the better of course). Thank you for that recommendation.
I think this Surface Book, i has only a Surface Book 1 and a Surface Go, but this Working Every Training (IT-Trainer) to Show Witz Pencil and Projection from Win10 to Show differences in Networking, Servers and so on. For me, this is the Working for me. ThNks from Germany:-)
Glad to hear that it's working for you. I tried to just use the Surface Go and a gaming laptop but the Surface Go screen is just so small. I LOVE the form factor though.
Some interesting points. I use a surface book 2 most days for illustration and digital painting and I actually use the laptop mode and draw in the screen and use the keyboard shortcuts. I find the screen bounce pretty annoying, but get on with things. I want the surface book 3 as a spec bump. 🤔
Over the last 30 days I've moved to having the screened flipped around permenantely while using a logitech ergo keyboard.
If you leave it up to many of these reviewers have ppl thinking that a device is either the best device ever or the worst. I think it's best for everyone to be their own reviewer. I thought that these noise cancelling headphones would blow my mind away based off of some of these reviews and once I hit them, I was highly disappointed. Same thing with the Surface Book 3. It's a device that truly is one of a kind. This is why it can't truly be compared to any other device out there.
Yep, I sold my Surface Book 2, and wasn't going to get a Surface Book 3 because of the reviews. Now that I have it, I realize what I was missing. It's not a perfect device, but they really isn't anything else like it yet.
I got the kick stand version, I don't know about the non kickstand version but the screen won't fold down completely when you reverse the screen because of the bulky sleeve.
You actually have to take the tablet screen sleeve portion off if you want to fold the screen portion completely down against the keyboard, with the screen portion facing up
Theres a kick stand version of surface book?? Or was it a surface pro that you got?
He might mean the surface pro. I usually just kept the Surface Book in "studio mode" with the screen flipped so I don't have to keep changing configurations. The downside to this is you lose the portability of simply unplugging from the dock to go to a different room. You then have to unplug, then flip the screen again to use it as a laptop.
Congratulations by the video, may ask a question!? Where do you buoyed this case?
On Amazon.
Thank you. Where can a watch how to videos for the surface book 3 so that I can get the help I need.
Let me know what you have questions about and I can try to answer them here!
Long term follow up would be great!
Will do!
@@thetechfloshow Looking forward to it! I have only seen one solid long term review on all of UA-cam
Thanks for this!!!
You mentioned a support that you use when you use the screen reversed. I have been looking for that exact idea. Do you have a picture of it? And where did you get it? I use my surface book that way all the time.
Yes, I ended up buying a new case that has a stand on it on Amazon here: amzn.to/2DkCg7w
What is the cover you had around the keyboard, which also seemed to have a flap and how does that work with the tablet portion. Thanks.
I bought it on Amazon. When you close the laptop, the lid is used to keep it closed with the bad. I just ordered another one that has a built in kick stand. Hoping to test that one out as well.
X1.5 ..... good review
Does your camera stabilize the light and the definition?! Or keeps like tremuling light all the time ?! For videoconferences not good that happens!
Do you mean the camera on the Surface Book? I usually make sure I'm in well lit situation do to my skin color. I haven't had that problem.
@@thetechfloshow yes, surface book. ok, thank you
I should have watched your video first. Almost everyone else made me not want to get one.
Sad but true! The vloggers get them free then complain about all the little things they don't like :-)
Thanks for the guidance. I am about to buy the Surface Book 3. I have the Surface Book (original) and the original Surface Dock. You stated that the "old Surface dock" works with the Surface Book 3. That statement is contrary to what I've been told by Microsoft sales staff (on the phone). Please confirm. Thank you so very much.
Glad it was helpful!
Would this be good enough to stack 50-100 images in photoshop? I do tons of macro and this is my main focus for a laptop/tablet/pc
I need to test that!
@@thetechfloshow Thanks for the quick reply!! please do tell if you ever get around to it 😁
why is this computer so high @k on eBay used when its 5 years old when is the surface 4 coming out ???
Yeah def over priced, but people paid a lot of money so they could have just ONE device.
Just wondering do you know the difference between the surface book 3 and the surface book 3 for business (model)
I believe the Surface Book 3 for business had Windows 10 Pro instead of Windows 10 home.
Is this iCore 7? Ram...? Can I get the tech specs?
i7 with 16gb ram
where can i find that case for the tablet
I got it on amazon. amzn.to/3jxe3uC
What case are you using?
It's a cheap case from China I found on Amazon. I'll be doing a review soon.
Is this the 13.5 or 15 inch?
15 inch
Your analogy about a convertible and a SUV is wrong is wrong! What do we call a jeep wrangler!?
HA! But that's why a Wrangler is a JEEP NOT an SUV. JEEP WRANGLER's like it's own category. WRANGLER = Surface Book in this case. The best of convertible and REAL UTILITY NOT suburban SUV.
You talk about reaching but what's the difference between an artist using an easel?
Just seeing this! With the easel you can put more wight on it which allows my hand not to get fatigued quickly.