Really solid device from Microsoft this year. A bit on the pricey side but an excellent option for the right user. Thanks for watching! p.s - One of the graphs has a mislabeled CPU. It should be a i7-8650U
Do you have any plans to review the new HP Envy 13? It's a laptop that everyone forgets but overall it's still very solid, and gives the XPS 13 a run for it's money, especially in the cooling department.
I’ve had it for two years now and I hate it, it’s slow and honestly not worth it. I was hoping to get 4 years out of it but I’m already looking for a replacement
Keyboard - *Excellent* Track Pad - *Excellent* Performance - *Good* Gaming - *Pretty Good* Speakers - *Pretty Good* Battery Life - *Good* Web Cam - *Great* Mic Quality - *Pretty Good* Thermals - *Good* Fan Noise under Max Load - *A Little Loud* Port Selection - *Decent* *(2 USB 3.0’s, SD card slot & a USB-C)* Disadvantages - • *Price* • *The Lack of a Thunderbolt 3 support* • *The AC Adaptor they Included -* *it’s a proprietary connector* *📌SUMMARY📌* *Microsoft is the only company making something like this. If you buy it, make sure you’re making full use of it’s purpose, if you’re not making use of the tablet or the detach ability and all that, then there are cheaper, more affordable devices that would be a better fit.*
Good review. I agree! I'd also add that the build quality (Magnesium) is superb. As for the AC adapter; the proprietary aspect is a pain, but offset by the magnetic quick-release feature.
The price is fair especially now where the top model is like 2.5 k and you can get the 15 inch with 16gb ram gtx 1060 and 256 GB used like new for around 1300-1500
After around 1 year of use, I can say that this laptop has been absolutely worth it for my college journey! The tablet feature is quite useful for note taking. It saves you from having to carry around hundreds of papers, and in addition makes it easier to organize. If you do plan on getting a surface book, I would recommend getting a 6 ft extension cord, it is super convenient to have! If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me
IDK man, at that price I'd rather get an Alienware 13 with a 1060 ($1500) and an iPad Pro 10.5 with Apple Pencil ($750) and spend the remaining $250 on garlic bread.
Jay Al Dell has an awesome costumer support and an overall great product lineup. Otherwise asus's rog series is bullshit if you don't buy the very high hend model
How I interpret Microsoft's products: - Surface Laptop: great ultra book suited for education or professional - Surface Pro: powerful tablet suited for education, artists, or outgoers/travelers - Surface Book: unique hybrid meant for the most hardcore professionals/artists (who travel a lot or are really outgoers) - Surface Studio: a touchscreen desktop/board for hardcore artists/professionals (ex. Engineers, photo editors, etc) That's my understanding of Microsoft's target markets.Agree or disagree?
Vi V Their market is also Apple's market: selling decent performing, well built products at prices that far exceed their usefulness, knowing full well that people will buy the shiny shit. Their isn't a defined market for this thing. It's not great for gaming, or video editing (compared to other similarly priced items), and their are far cheaper 2 in 1s with similar capability and build quality.
I sort of agree. Though, I'm looking at getting a surface book for school for next year. I want to use the pen for handwritten notes, and while I don't do 3d or heavy video editing, i feel like I need the power cause my Mac book air is just not cutting it
Adam Taylor I agree with you in the fact that there are WAY better or affordable products similar/of equal quality of Microsoft. I wouldn't really say that prices exceed their quality A LOT. Surface Laptop is on par with razer blade, MacBook, Xps, etc. (with great performance and portability). Surface tablet is just a tablet crammed with cores and good ram (hence the high price, although it is higher than I'd usually expect). Surface Book is (somewhat) a monopoly, as it's a hybrid, but a very good and powerful one. Sure there are other hybrids, but I don't see any that can compare to the portability, performance, and hybridity (if that's a word lol) of the surface book. But it just costs so much because it's unique
ESPT Hey, they have the original surface book for less than $1000 on amazon rn. U can even get the i7 8GB 256GB SSD for ~$1100 (just without dedicated graphics). Hurry while they still in stock my dude!
Adam Taylor there are definitely cheaper 2 in 1's, but not with similar capability and build quality. Most 2 in 1's absolutely *suck* in tablet mode because the keyboard ends up on the bottom, and because the keyboard isn't detachable, you're left with additional unnecessary bulk/weight. Not to mention the vast majority of 2 in 1's use integrated graphics which aren't even close to the 1060 in performance. And if you're not detaching the keyboard (like the majority of other 2 in 1's), then it has the longest battery life by far, and on a high resolution display. The only product I see close in terms of raw performance is the Yoga 720, but it's got a 1050 and 7th gen cpu, 1MP webcam, and plenty of other inferior specs, for pretty much the same price, and it has all of the problems I just mentioned that come with a fixed keyboard. This device is expensive, I don't think anyone would argue against that, but to say there are far cheaper products with similar capability and build quality is absurd.
I love how minimalistic this video is while I am watching. No panning, no zooming, no stupid effects. Just plain jane straight up talking about the device. Thumbs up, Dave!
I typically don't leave comments, but you consistently put out well rounded reviews. Always great to hear your opinion which always seem to be very pragmatic.
Hi Dave, The reason they didn't include a Thunderbolt 3 port is because the "u" series processors only have 12 PCIe lanes, with only a single 4-lane channel (which is used by the dGPU). You see the Razer Blade, etc. using a dGPU+Thunderbolt 3 because the HQ series processors have 16 lanes, with 2 4-lane channels. It's unfortunate, but there's really nothing they could have done if they still wanted to include a dGPU. I think they made the right choice.
@@maxlu2456 The old Kaby Lake U Blade Stealth did not have dGPU, that's why they had a Thunderbolt 3 port. The current Whiskey Lake U Blade Stealth can now have dGPU and Thunderbolt 3. I'm sure the Book 3 will use Whisky Lake U or newer and will have dGPU and Thunderbolt.
Crazy how I use to watch your videos when they only got a couple thousand views on chrome books and macs, it’s awesome how far you grown! Thanks for to this review!
Another great review, Dave. For those of us that use the pen a lot there’s nothing else like it. I wouldn’t even consider buying anything besides the Surface Book 2. I got mine on the 16th: the 15 inch with 1 TB, and I love this thing. And the 3:2 aspect ratio is a delight and is more productive in daily work than any other screen ratio for me. By the way I understand the reason that the USB-C does not include thunderbolt 3 is because there were not enough system channels left available once the communication between the keyboard & the screen is fully implemented. It wasn’t a marketing decision. MS really nailed it with this machine!
IMO this is a true “pro” laptop. I edit videos professionally and do a lot of shoots. This would be light, slim, easy to use. It’s expensive, but for what I do it’s worth it. Plus, compared to the MacBook Pro, you get a premiere friendly gpu, better cpu, battery, screen and a touch screen. Plus it separates if you just want the tablet. Again - expensive (obviously) but as someone who’s does 300-500 wedding edits a year, I can see a benefit to owning this.
I have to ask, why would you use Premier if you own a Mac? Final Cut is designed to run on that hardware and performs much better - personally I think Nvidia colludes with Adobe to make Premier perform worse than it should on AMD hardware. That said, Premier *should* perform slightly better on a SB2 than FCP on a MBP.
Thunderbolt 3 is a PCIE-based technology. The way the Surface Book docks and undocks the tablet is by shutting down the PCIE lanes in the performance base. This prevents noisy signal from the physical disconnect from blue-screening Windows (PCIE is technically hot-swappable but Windows can't handle that burst of noise). I wonder if Thunderbolt was omitted because of the PCIE switching?
Hey Dave! You make some amazing videos! Keep them coming. I got a quick question. How do you stay so calm in your videos?? Like you always sound so calm and collected its sick!
I love your videos. They are very calming and informative with minimum-to-no bias. I loved this video as well. That said, I would've loved it even more if you'd have covered the pen in more detail. I am really considering this for business travel and note taking applications during meetings etc and the biggest reason for that is the tablet mode with the pen. With previous generations I have heard that the pen isn't as good and low-latency as the Apple one. So I was really looking toward a detailed perspective on the pen too. Oh well. Perhaps in a later video if you can cover that, it would be great. Thanks for the great content and quality.
Hey Dave! Superb video, looking forward to the 15inch version myself, hope you will have a video for it. I believe the PCIe lanes are too limited for them to make the device like this and include Thunderbolt, with the GPU separate and having their Surface connection. Not entirely sure, but could be worth some research to get an idea as to why they choose to use USB-C, which from my understanding doesn't require a PCIe lane?.. Again, not sure, but could explain the missing Thunderbolt :)
Guys, you need to understand that Microsoft with this laptop is aiming for artist consumers, especially those who would benefit from its touch and drawing capability. I wouldn't buy this product myself, but I know friends in illustration major that extremely benefiting from that. I'd say Surface Book 2 is not just going against Mac, but also Wacom products. Wacom doesn't have many competitors, but Microsoft is their strongest competitors with their Surface lineup. For now, Wacom in precision is higher than Surface products, but I'd keep in mind that I wouldn't need a Wacom tablet with my laptop if I have Surface Book 2. I really like Dave's reviews, but what would be missing from this review is the touch and drawing capabilities of the Surface Book 2.
The ZGX this is made for other companies to benchmark and make something similar but the problem is that those other companies aren't trying shit Hence this IS THE ONLY ONE that does what it does for the time being which sucks big time for students like me
Just baught a Surface Book 2 with 13", i7, 8GB RAM and 256GB SD for 1770€ at Amazon. I think, this is an ok price-performance ratio. I can upgrade the storage with an 256gb SD card and a 1050 is enough for me to play some strategy games on the surface when I'm on a trip. For BF1 and such I still have my main computer at home. ^^
Aviroblox Do you have any problems with the original surface book?? I don't think I need the dgpu either (emails, onenote, browsing, Skype) should all be fine right?
devices like this are the future fr sure, a full-fledged laptop that can be transformed into a tablet I feel as though eventually tablets will just become part of both laptops and phones,
The reason it doesn't have Thunderbolt 3 support is most likely due to the limit of the connections between the base and the dock. This laptop has to already supply 4 PCIE lanes for the GPU, some extra for the USB ports and a charging connector to the dock. If there were Thunderbolt 3 on the dock, Microsoft would have to cram 2 or 4 extra PCIE lanes on the connection and it seems that's a difficult thing to do. Why they wouldn't include a Thunderbolt 3 port in the base though, I have no idea...
I don't think TB3 is Microsofts fault, but rather the number of PCI-E lanes the U series processors have. With the 1060 and a PCI-E SSD they probably used all the lanes. The rMBP 15 uses the 45W processors, and 13" has no GPU, which is why it can have TB3.
You misunderstood, it's because the Surface Book specifically was using 4 lanes for the high performance GPU, and 4 lanes for a fast SSD. If you have the 13" x360, that has no separate GPU to use PCI-E lanes on, and the 15" with the 940MX or MX150 probably didn't need 4 lanes on them. Not that it doesn't have them, but that Microsoft used them on other things.
it's because of that surface connect it uses 4 lanes on its own so... yeah I guess they would still like to use it cause they invested on it but limited usage of the port(unless you buy that $200?ish dock) and power drain issue on 15 inch makes me think otherwise.
Gauge of a great reviewer is if my interest is riveted despite the fact that I'm never going to even think about buying the product. Practical, sensible, adept, concise. Thanks!
Like always great work Dave. For those who don't know his channel, and if you are not a pro with computers (laptops) check his channel he has a deep knowledge about it and he reviews if not every model, almost every model for sure... I can with absolutely with no doubt say, I know much more about laptops than I did before... And my main thing is gaming, so... Keep it up man!
Great video as always. One thing about the USB C port, it can charge the device through that port but it's reportedly much slower than using the Surface adapter
Something that's this beautifully crafted and could serve as both a tablet and a laptop at will and like you mentioned "it is super hard to engineer something like this with processors in both the top and bottom units". You feel $2K is too much for it? And $2K is not too much for a MacBook that does't do what this does? And $1K+ is not too much for an iPhone X that doesn't really have much innovation in it? Really?
Just got one. Super happy. Have had heaps of different machines. This is the best. Better that a Surface Pro.... the tablet is thinner and much nicer to hold.
Hi Dave - i really like your reviews - BUT PLEASE INCLUDE REPAIRABILITY - the Microsoft laptops are even more terrible to repair than Apple MacBooks: ua-cam.com/video/n8n05oYQzUY/v-deo.html Ifixit rates this laptop a whooping 1 out of 10 - that basically means if some little thing breaks, you can throw this into the trash. To develop for the landfill in 2017 is absolutely unacceptable at this price point. Imagine if your car battery breaks and you can't replace the battery? Yeah right, here you are screwed - no upgradeability, no replacement. With Mr. Bill Gates trying to convince us he is actually doing something for the greater good, why doesn't he look at his own doorstep and try to improve his own products so we are not wasting ressources like crazy because some money crazy companies think it is a great idea to deliberately glue every part of hardware together and make their hardware completely unrepairable?
My company got us these laptops (for software engeneers only tho). We laugh about how we use them more at lunch for playing CS:GO rather than coding XD Tho being able to run live demos in a meeting with minimum waiting time, it's a really cool thing. We got rid of all our old workstations, we now have a desk, 2 monitors (I have 3 cause I'm a baller), a keyboard and a mouse (personnaly rocking a G810&G300s, colleagues prefer Corsair), all connected to a hub. Good decision IMO. Anyways, great video, as always man!
I know the 1060 kicks the poop out of the top Radeon Pro 560 in the rMBP, but a video of exactly how much would still be interesting to watch. Wish for Nvidia choices on Macs, I slightly prefer macOS but the GPU choices are pushing me away.
Yeah, the MBPs are using 35W GPUs. But for one, Nvidia still does better watt for watt, so at 35 we'd still be ahead in most areas. Two, well, I wish Apple used higher wattage cards to start with, the last chassis was able to use 50. We shaved off two millimeters for that.
I work for Microsoft. The reason there's no Thunderbolt port on the Book 2 is because Surface Connect takes 16 PCIE lanes and there are not enough lanes for a Thunderbolt port
Dave! The price is fully justifiable. It's in the same tier as MacBooks and destroys them in graphic performance. And offers more utility. The TB comments are fair. But if they were going to cut corners anywhere I'm ok with it being TB as it already has a great GPU. Right now this is by far the closest device to an ultraportable, long battery life Ultrabook that can play games. I think it deserves more credit and hype than it's getting.
Evan Stueve I AGREE WITH YOU ON EVERY LEVEL. I feel like so many people don’t seem to give Microsoft the credit they deserve. Especially with the Surface Pro, like that was AMAZING so innovative and a completely new idea . It’s the best “laptop” that’s lighter and SOOO much more usable than anything on the market. I believe his cube uses look at ASUS copying the HECK out of it 😂
I agree 100% its essentially the MacBook of Windows OS but better. I also disagree with the people who say the hinge is ugly. I happen to like it, it makes it a defining factor to the device, something that can be pointed out in a crowd. Also it gives the screen an angle to write onwhen flipped around.
I guess. But i can tell you this will never be popular because of that price point. If it was $500-$600 cheaper then it would sell like hot cakes and i would def buy one.
I appreciate your review. Not so sure this is the one for me but I will keep studying these videos and certain I will figure that out. I never realized there was so much to buying tech. Thankful for everyone that puts these videos together. Even though it may not be the machine for me I believe the thumb up or down is for your talents and not necessarily the product. Thank you.
on mobile, the loading icon fits perfectly around the little circle at the beginning of the intro. i don't know if that was intentional, but if it was, nice touch!
Imaginalex Drawings Only those using the new Surface pen should give answers to this. I've seen too many dishonest reviews done with the old pen or pens from different devices
They should make a skinnier version of this just in laptop without the tablet mode. That way you have the powerhorse laptop and a cool light skinny laptop. Because the design is too thick and has a dumb location for the headphone jack.
I would LOVE this for my creative work workflow. The price is fine. But the omission of Thunderbolt is super sad. Most of my peripherals are Thunderbolt, as I think is the case for most audio, video and graphics professionals. Great video Dave! Thanks for sharing.
So gaming with the 15" drains the battery even when plugged? Can someone confirm? That's insane, as Microsoft does market this laptop for gaming as well. It even has Xbox Wireless.
Great video Dave! I agree, the omission of a Thunderbolt 3 port definitely rubs me the wrong way, as while the CPU should stay relatively relevant for a good number of years, the GPU will feel old very quickly, and a Thunderbolt 3 port with an external GPU would have been a great way to alleviate that. However, I do have a theory as to why it does not include a Thunderbolt 3 port. The Intel i7-8650u, the processor inside of the Surface Book 2, only has 12 PCIe lanes. 4 go to the GPU, 4 go to the SSD, and the other 4 are likely utilized for other components throughout the system such as the WiFi card. Now, I imagine some kind of solution could have been devised where, if you used a Thunderbolt 3 port, then the GPU would be disabled, however that likely would not have gone over well with consumers. As such, I imagine that Intel is the culprit for the lack of a Thunderbolt 3 port. As all other laptops I know of that have a discrete GPU AND Thunderbolt 3 use one of Intel's previous generation quad-core high wattage mobile chips, which all supported 16 lanes of PCIe, rather than the 12 supported by the highest SKU in the Surface Book 2
Does the dock support 2 4K monitors? I didn't think it did. Plus the dock can't use external GPU, not that anyone would. If you want a 1070 or 1080 get one of those.
The thing is, I'd have no problem buying their dock… if it were equal to a Thunderbolt 3 port. But it's not. It can't do everything that Thunderbolt 3 can do. The use case of an eGPU is a perfect example.
My thought exactly. Do you think they will come out with a new doc that can do everything TB3 can and charge $250 for it, or is the connection not capable of that?
Hi Dave. I really enjoy your videos. The quality of your videos makes all the difference. Even when the subject is not of my interest I tend to watch it anyway. The graphics and the intro are always on point. Congrats. Btw, what's the software you use to measure the temperature of the CPU with those graphs at 3:12? Thanks.
Reid T that’s the thing they’re never going to go there , Microsoft is becoming more and more like how apple used to be unique designer-y but has some random quirks. However, Apple is acting the way Microsoft used to be stuck in their ways and cocky because they know people will buy it
Don’t forget that its ugliness makes it look cool. Lol. MS engineer looks at the f35 hinged turbine nozzle and thinks, “I can make a laptop 💻 that bends like this.” In all honesty, they could’ve stayed with a normal laptop hinge.
Maciek Jutrzenka MacBook Way better cpu! Better keyboard and touch bar(even though if it is used less it costs Apple money to make it) and better build quality ssd is better
@@tushar4evr776 The Macbook has a better CPU but it thermal throttles like hell. Surface Book 2 has better cooling and therefore the CPU runs better. Also the touch bar is a useless gimmick that enables Apple to have another excuse to milk the consumers money.
watching this vid on my new Surface book 2 (same config as the one in the vid). Its just AMAZING. Coming from a Surface pro 4, battery life has been OUTSTANDING!!!
My guess is that the connector between screen and base do not have enough bandwidth to support a discrete graphic card and a thunderbolt 3 connector. So they didn't do it
I opted for the original 13.5" refurbished on their website for a lot cheaper. It looks brand new and functions quite well and comes with a pen. The packaging was extremely secure, more so than my ASUS ROG. I wouldn't pay full price for it either when there are better options out there. All in all I am quite satisfied with what I need/want it for. To each his own. Love your honest reviews!
Really solid device from Microsoft this year. A bit on the pricey side but an excellent option for the right user. Thanks for watching!
p.s - One of the graphs has a mislabeled CPU. It should be a i7-8650U
Dave Lee do you have any tips on keyboard clicks / Mouse clicks noise cancellation
Do you have any plans to review the new HP Envy 13? It's a laptop that everyone forgets but overall it's still very solid, and gives the XPS 13 a run for it's money, especially in the cooling department.
Dave Lee D2d please tell me where can I get that blue white iceberg wallpaper I like it and want it to be on my pc
Thank you. I needed this. I’m so happy you have your Eve V and look forward to your review next Monday!
Review the xiaomi notebook , boi.
After two years, nearly done with my uni now i'm buying this laptop
honestly the book 3 is just an incremental update, you should be happy with the Surface book 2
@Mister Albert Probably gonna be much cheaper than the new one.
I’ve had it for two years now and I hate it, it’s slow and honestly not worth it. I was hoping to get 4 years out of it but I’m already looking for a replacement
@@rdznarez7229 what version do you have?
Tarandeep Sidhu The surface book 2 13 inch with the 1050, I7 8750U, and 8gbs of ram
Something makes me want this. Regardless of its price to performance ratio.
Danny Winget aesthetics
Many people will tell you the same thing about MacBooks.
it is the only proper 2-in-1
Are you seriously comparing a Mac book to this? lmao
Nick Pateman y, this is better?
Keyboard - *Excellent*
Track Pad - *Excellent*
Performance - *Good*
Gaming - *Pretty Good*
Speakers - *Pretty Good*
Battery Life - *Good*
Web Cam - *Great*
Mic Quality - *Pretty Good*
Thermals - *Good*
Fan Noise under Max Load - *A Little Loud*
Port Selection - *Decent*
*(2 USB 3.0’s, SD card slot & a USB-C)*
Disadvantages -
• *Price*
• *The Lack of a Thunderbolt 3 support*
• *The AC Adaptor they Included -*
*it’s a proprietary connector*
*📌SUMMARY📌*
*Microsoft is the only company making something like this. If you buy it, make sure you’re making full use of it’s purpose, if you’re not making use of the tablet or the detach ability and all that, then there are cheaper, more affordable devices that would be a better fit.*
Good review. I agree! I'd also add that the build quality (Magnesium) is superb. As for the AC adapter; the proprietary aspect is a pain, but offset by the magnetic quick-release feature.
The price is fair especially now where the top model is like 2.5 k and you can get the 15 inch with 16gb ram gtx 1060 and 256 GB used like new for around 1300-1500
Also you can charge with USB c
After around 1 year of use, I can say that this laptop has been absolutely worth it for my college journey!
The tablet feature is quite useful for note taking. It saves you from having to carry around hundreds of papers, and in addition makes it easier to organize.
If you do plan on getting a surface book, I would recommend getting a 6 ft extension cord, it is super convenient to have!
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me
@@Cscuile I wish know the noice of its operation? How about the operation temperature of devices? It will be so hot?
IDK man, at that price I'd rather get an Alienware 13 with a 1060 ($1500) and an iPad Pro 10.5 with Apple Pencil ($750) and spend the remaining $250 on garlic bread.
Dango Ruiz I see you have your priorities in order :D
Garlic bread is a good investment. Mmmm
But... YOU CAN PLAY OVERWATCH WITH THE PEN MAN !! SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY MICROSOFT !
Alienware died on me after a year ,... My cousin repairs laptops he said , avoid Dell and Asus ,as much as you can
Jay Al Dell has an awesome costumer support and an overall great product lineup. Otherwise asus's rog series is bullshit if you don't buy the very high hend model
How I interpret Microsoft's products:
- Surface Laptop: great ultra book suited for education or professional
- Surface Pro: powerful tablet suited for education, artists, or outgoers/travelers
- Surface Book: unique hybrid meant for the most hardcore professionals/artists (who travel a lot or are really outgoers)
- Surface Studio: a touchscreen desktop/board for hardcore artists/professionals (ex. Engineers, photo editors, etc)
That's my understanding of Microsoft's target markets.Agree or disagree?
Vi V Their market is also Apple's market: selling decent performing, well built products at prices that far exceed their usefulness, knowing full well that people will buy the shiny shit.
Their isn't a defined market for this thing. It's not great for gaming, or video editing (compared to other similarly priced items), and their are far cheaper 2 in 1s with similar capability and build quality.
I sort of agree. Though, I'm looking at getting a surface book for school for next year. I want to use the pen for handwritten notes, and while I don't do 3d or heavy video editing, i feel like I need the power cause my Mac book air is just not cutting it
Adam Taylor I agree with you in the fact that there are WAY better or affordable products similar/of equal quality of Microsoft. I wouldn't really say that prices exceed their quality A LOT. Surface Laptop is on par with razer blade, MacBook, Xps, etc. (with great performance and portability). Surface tablet is just a tablet crammed with cores and good ram (hence the high price, although it is higher than I'd usually expect). Surface Book is (somewhat) a monopoly, as it's a hybrid, but a very good and powerful one. Sure there are other hybrids, but I don't see any that can compare to the portability, performance, and hybridity (if that's a word lol) of the surface book. But it just costs so much because it's unique
ESPT Hey, they have the original surface book for less than $1000 on amazon rn. U can even get the i7 8GB 256GB SSD for ~$1100 (just without dedicated graphics). Hurry while they still in stock my dude!
Adam Taylor there are definitely cheaper 2 in 1's, but not with similar capability and build quality. Most 2 in 1's absolutely *suck* in tablet mode because the keyboard ends up on the bottom, and because the keyboard isn't detachable, you're left with additional unnecessary bulk/weight. Not to mention the vast majority of 2 in 1's use integrated graphics which aren't even close to the 1060 in performance. And if you're not detaching the keyboard (like the majority of other 2 in 1's), then it has the longest battery life by far, and on a high resolution display. The only product I see close in terms of raw performance is the Yoga 720, but it's got a 1050 and 7th gen cpu, 1MP webcam, and plenty of other inferior specs, for pretty much the same price, and it has all of the problems I just mentioned that come with a fixed keyboard. This device is expensive, I don't think anyone would argue against that, but to say there are far cheaper products with similar capability and build quality is absurd.
I love how minimalistic this video is while I am watching. No panning, no zooming, no stupid effects. Just plain jane straight up talking about the device. Thumbs up, Dave!
Holy crap that's the best webcam i've seen ever in a windows laptop. It's so clear and the mic sounds really good and clear
@Ishan MacBooks are 720p
Such quality reviews. That intro is beautiful, man.
I'm impressed with that webcam and mic.
I typically don't leave comments, but you consistently put out well rounded reviews. Always great to hear your opinion which always seem to be very pragmatic.
Best SB2 review I've seen. Your demeanor makes your review first class.
Hi Dave,
The reason they didn't include a Thunderbolt 3 port is because the "u" series processors only have 12 PCIe lanes, with only a single 4-lane channel (which is used by the dGPU). You see the Razer Blade, etc. using a dGPU+Thunderbolt 3 because the HQ series processors have 16 lanes, with 2 4-lane channels.
It's unfortunate, but there's really nothing they could have done if they still wanted to include a dGPU. I think they made the right choice.
Dylan Schultz what about a razer blade stealth tho? That one has a U processor as well and has thunderbolt 3
@@maxlu2456 The old Kaby Lake U Blade Stealth did not have dGPU, that's why they had a Thunderbolt 3 port. The current Whiskey Lake U Blade Stealth can now have dGPU and Thunderbolt 3. I'm sure the Book 3 will use Whisky Lake U or newer and will have dGPU and Thunderbolt.
Max Lu if it doesn’t have the lanes then not everything can function at the same time.
Superb video Dave!
Crazy how I use to watch your videos when they only got a couple thousand views on chrome books and macs, it’s awesome how far you grown! Thanks for to this review!
Man, you're approaching a million!! I really hope you hit a mil before your next video!! You've got no idea how happy I am.
Another great review, Dave. For those of us that use the pen a lot there’s nothing else like it. I wouldn’t even consider buying anything besides the Surface Book 2. I got mine on the 16th: the 15 inch with 1 TB, and I love this thing. And the 3:2 aspect ratio is a delight and is more productive in daily work than any other screen ratio for me. By the way I understand the reason that the USB-C does not include thunderbolt 3 is because there were not enough system channels left available once the communication between the keyboard & the screen is fully implemented. It wasn’t a marketing decision. MS really nailed it with this machine!
IMO this is a true “pro” laptop. I edit videos professionally and do a lot of shoots. This would be light, slim, easy to use. It’s expensive, but for what I do it’s worth it.
Plus, compared to the MacBook Pro, you get a premiere friendly gpu, better cpu, battery, screen and a touch screen. Plus it separates if you just want the tablet.
Again - expensive (obviously) but as someone who’s does 300-500 wedding edits a year, I can see a benefit to owning this.
I have to ask, why would you use Premier if you own a Mac? Final Cut is designed to run on that hardware and performs much better - personally I think Nvidia colludes with Adobe to make Premier perform worse than it should on AMD hardware. That said, Premier *should* perform slightly better on a SB2 than FCP on a MBP.
Considering the surface book 2 fiasco with the charging, I suggest you wait first and see if Microsoft can come up with a permanent fix.
Folopolis because I bought it before switching to premiere and am saving up for the surface book 2
Kevin I didn't know there was an issue. I'm for sure waiting until 2018, I'm spending money on gifts and video games lol
ChouzetsuDynamic he probably works for a company where they send him wedding footage to edit and he edits around 2 weddings worth of footage each day.
Wow, the Webcam is really awesome and also the mic too. Every notebook maker should try to put the same quality as well. Great review Dave!
You played a big role in me deciding to buy this laptop and I'm loving it!! Thanks
Thunderbolt 3 is a PCIE-based technology. The way the Surface Book docks and undocks the tablet is by shutting down the PCIE lanes in the performance base. This prevents noisy signal from the physical disconnect from blue-screening Windows (PCIE is technically hot-swappable but Windows can't handle that burst of noise). I wonder if Thunderbolt was omitted because of the PCIE switching?
Black Friday coming up soon, looking for laptop support. Where my mans Dave at.
Hey Dave! You make some amazing videos! Keep them coming. I got a quick question. How do you stay so calm in your videos?? Like you always sound so calm and collected its sick!
I love your videos. They are very calming and informative with minimum-to-no bias. I loved this video as well. That said, I would've loved it even more if you'd have covered the pen in more detail. I am really considering this for business travel and note taking applications during meetings etc and the biggest reason for that is the tablet mode with the pen. With previous generations I have heard that the pen isn't as good and low-latency as the Apple one. So I was really looking toward a detailed perspective on the pen too. Oh well. Perhaps in a later video if you can cover that, it would be great. Thanks for the great content and quality.
Hey Dave! Superb video, looking forward to the 15inch version myself, hope you will have a video for it. I believe the PCIe lanes are too limited for them to make the device like this and include Thunderbolt, with the GPU separate and having their Surface connection. Not entirely sure, but could be worth some research to get an idea as to why they choose to use USB-C, which from my understanding doesn't require a PCIe lane?.. Again, not sure, but could explain the missing Thunderbolt :)
Guys, you need to understand that Microsoft with this laptop is aiming for artist consumers, especially those who would benefit from its touch and drawing capability. I wouldn't buy this product myself, but I know friends in illustration major that extremely benefiting from that. I'd say Surface Book 2 is not just going against Mac, but also Wacom products. Wacom doesn't have many competitors, but Microsoft is their strongest competitors with their Surface lineup. For now, Wacom in precision is higher than Surface products, but I'd keep in mind that I wouldn't need a Wacom tablet with my laptop if I have Surface Book 2.
I really like Dave's reviews, but what would be missing from this review is the touch and drawing capabilities of the Surface Book 2.
felt like a calm video before going to bed, obviously clicked on dave. another great video mate
We love ur vids..and ur accent as, well..,. It's a great experience to watch premium products on ur channel.. and the reviews u share..keep movin
I really liked this device, but as dave said i am also concerned about price tag. I mean it's a huge.
The ZGX this is made for other companies to benchmark and make something similar but the problem is that those other companies aren't trying shit
Hence this IS THE ONLY ONE that does what it does for the time being which sucks big time for students like me
As the production continues and the technology for the the hinge gets cheaper hopefully prices will get better.
Hey, at least we're getting the EVE V. I don't care too much about getting dedicated graphics, so I got a 2015 surface book for $700 (Blackfriday).
Just baught a Surface Book 2 with 13", i7, 8GB RAM and 256GB SD for 1770€ at Amazon. I think, this is an ok price-performance ratio. I can upgrade the storage with an 256gb SD card and a 1050 is enough for me to play some strategy games on the surface when I'm on a trip.
For BF1 and such I still have my main computer at home. ^^
Aviroblox Do you have any problems with the original surface book?? I don't think I need the dgpu either (emails, onenote, browsing, Skype) should all be fine right?
I would love a black version!
The dbrand skins for it are awesome. I have one on mine. (Black honeycomb). Dbrand can even skin the hinge!
@anak indigo in case anyone calls you racist i, an asian give this the funny pass.
Very comprehensive review with professionalism like always,thumps up for you! Dave
Good job! You’re my favorite vlogger for IT. Superb content. Thanks!
devices like this are the future fr sure, a full-fledged laptop that can be transformed into a tablet
I feel as though eventually tablets will just become part of both laptops and phones,
The reason it doesn't have Thunderbolt 3 support is most likely due to the limit of the connections between the base and the dock. This laptop has to already supply 4 PCIE lanes for the GPU, some extra for the USB ports and a charging connector to the dock. If there were Thunderbolt 3 on the dock, Microsoft would have to cram 2 or 4 extra PCIE lanes on the connection and it seems that's a difficult thing to do.
Why they wouldn't include a Thunderbolt 3 port in the base though, I have no idea...
Your videos are really great! I already bought the Lenovo Legion Y530 but I m still whatching your videos
I’ve been waiting...
For a review like you
I don't think TB3 is Microsofts fault, but rather the number of PCI-E lanes the U series processors have. With the 1060 and a PCI-E SSD they probably used all the lanes. The rMBP 15 uses the 45W processors, and 13" has no GPU, which is why it can have TB3.
tipoomaster U series doesn't have any pci lane problem. got i5 u (spectre x360 late 2016 kaby lake) processor and got all lane available
You misunderstood, it's because the Surface Book specifically was using 4 lanes for the high performance GPU, and 4 lanes for a fast SSD. If you have the 13" x360, that has no separate GPU to use PCI-E lanes on, and the 15" with the 940MX or MX150 probably didn't need 4 lanes on them. Not that it doesn't have them, but that Microsoft used them on other things.
My bad, I now understand what you meant
The man raises a good point here
it's because of that surface connect
it uses 4 lanes on its own so... yeah
I guess they would still like to use it cause they invested on it but limited usage of the port(unless you buy that $200?ish dock) and power drain issue on 15 inch makes me think otherwise.
Funny that you say it’s priced 15% high.
On sale for 15% off right now at $1700
was waiting for your review of this one!!
Gauge of a great reviewer is if my interest is riveted despite the fact that I'm never going to even think about buying the product. Practical, sensible, adept, concise. Thanks!
There is not enough PCIe lanes for it to have thunderbolt 3, the other devices you mentioned have HQ processors those have more PCIe lanes
I paused it just to say BINGING WITH BABISH OMG I love you Dave. Even more now.
Jeez I dig the youtube vids you feature. Shining some light on other youtubers is cool.
Like always great work Dave.
For those who don't know his channel, and if you are not a pro with computers (laptops) check his channel he has a deep knowledge about it and he reviews if not every model, almost every model for sure...
I can with absolutely with no doubt say, I know much more about laptops than I did before...
And my main thing is gaming, so...
Keep it up man!
it's now a lower price! you can now get a surface pen, a carrying bag, and the full bundle for 2k with a student discount! :D
AmiAcadia student discount where and how?
@@Chloexo7 on the windows website! just sign in and if you're a student it should say that you're eligible for it
I'm waiting for it to go on sale in the UK. They are still £2,350 which is expensive
Matty Schofield that price is a cutthroat
They really act like students could spare 2k
Damn that web cam quality is dope :)
Great video as always. One thing about the USB C port, it can charge the device through that port but it's reportedly much slower than using the Surface adapter
Very thorough review. Thanks!
Shoutout to Cyan, THE BEST COLOR
Please do a video on the 15" version
Videos are amazing and that wallpaper was sick
you make me smile at 5:50, love Dave reviews
Something that's this beautifully crafted and could serve as both a tablet and a laptop at will and like you mentioned "it is super hard to engineer something like this with processors in both the top and bottom units". You feel $2K is too much for it? And $2K is not too much for a MacBook that does't do what this does? And $1K+ is not too much for an iPhone X that doesn't really have much innovation in it? Really?
Paul Imisi Exactly
Just got one. Super happy. Have had heaps of different machines. This is the best. Better that a Surface Pro.... the tablet is thinner and much nicer to hold.
Got it 20% off too... on sale
Paul Imisi u missed massive battery
Hi Dave - i really like your reviews - BUT PLEASE INCLUDE REPAIRABILITY - the Microsoft laptops are even more terrible to repair than Apple MacBooks: ua-cam.com/video/n8n05oYQzUY/v-deo.html Ifixit rates this laptop a whooping 1 out of 10 - that basically means if some little thing breaks, you can throw this into the trash. To develop for the landfill in 2017 is absolutely unacceptable at this price point. Imagine if your car battery breaks and you can't replace the battery? Yeah right, here you are screwed - no upgradeability, no replacement. With Mr. Bill Gates trying to convince us he is actually doing something for the greater good, why doesn't he look at his own doorstep and try to improve his own products so we are not wasting ressources like crazy because some money crazy companies think it is a great idea to deliberately glue every part of hardware together and make their hardware completely unrepairable?
My company got us these laptops (for software engeneers only tho). We laugh about how we use them more at lunch for playing CS:GO rather than coding XD
Tho being able to run live demos in a meeting with minimum waiting time, it's a really cool thing. We got rid of all our old workstations, we now have a desk, 2 monitors (I have 3 cause I'm a baller), a keyboard and a mouse (personnaly rocking a G810&G300s, colleagues prefer Corsair), all connected to a hub. Good decision IMO.
Anyways, great video, as always man!
Your all videos are so simple and beautiful that i watched more than 25 of them in 2 days
Easily the best reviews on youtube. Theres no competition for you, Dave!
I know the 1060 kicks the poop out of the top Radeon Pro 560 in the rMBP, but a video of exactly how much would still be interesting to watch. Wish for Nvidia choices on Macs, I slightly prefer macOS but the GPU choices are pushing me away.
tipoomaster Apple had beef with nvidia so i dont think they'll make one with an nvidia gpu anymore
Yeah, it sucks though for anyone looking for more performant GPUs in anything but final cut.
From what I have read apple uses amd graphics card cuz they use lest power compared to the Nvidia cards.
Yeah, the MBPs are using 35W GPUs. But for one, Nvidia still does better watt for watt, so at 35 we'd still be ahead in most areas. Two, well, I wish Apple used higher wattage cards to start with, the last chassis was able to use 50. We shaved off two millimeters for that.
I think it's mainly because AMD is always happy to make custom gpu's, for things like MacBooks or consoles.
I work for Microsoft. The reason there's no Thunderbolt port on the Book 2 is because Surface Connect takes 16 PCIE lanes and there are not enough lanes for a Thunderbolt port
@Nasim USB 4.0 won't be out for some time
I didn't expect to see binging with babish here :D great review!
The ending with the pen in gameplay was awesome.
Dave! The price is fully justifiable. It's in the same tier as MacBooks and destroys them in graphic performance. And offers more utility.
The TB comments are fair. But if they were going to cut corners anywhere I'm ok with it being TB as it already has a great GPU.
Right now this is by far the closest device to an ultraportable, long battery life Ultrabook that can play games. I think it deserves more credit and hype than it's getting.
Evan Stueve I AGREE WITH YOU ON EVERY LEVEL. I feel like so many people don’t seem to give Microsoft the credit they deserve. Especially with the Surface Pro, like that was AMAZING so innovative and a completely new idea . It’s the best “laptop” that’s lighter and SOOO much more usable than anything on the market. I believe his cube uses look at ASUS copying the HECK out of it 😂
I agree 100% its essentially the MacBook of Windows OS but better. I also disagree with the people who say the hinge is ugly. I happen to like it, it makes it a defining factor to the device, something that can be pointed out in a crowd. Also it gives the screen an angle to write onwhen flipped around.
I guess. But i can tell you this will never be popular because of that price point. If it was $500-$600 cheaper then it would sell like hot cakes and i would def buy one.
Aegon Targaryen yea like $2K? I had two friends who had these and didn’t realize how expensive it was
100% agreed.....
This is my literal dream laptop. Now if I could only afford it :(
I appreciate your review. Not so sure this is the one for me but I will keep studying these videos and certain I will figure that out. I never realized there was so much to buying tech. Thankful for everyone that puts these videos together. Even though it may not be the machine for me I believe the thumb up or down is for your talents and not necessarily the product. Thank you.
Good video! Insightful dave
HP PAVILION POWER REVIEW PLEASE! It looks good but idk if it is, or also more "gaming" laptops that don't really look like gamery
exactly
I would love this so much but it's sooooooo expensive :(
That's a great review, as usual. Thanks. I think I will stick with the Yoga 920 though.
on mobile, the loading icon fits perfectly around the little circle at the beginning of the intro. i don't know if that was intentional, but if it was, nice touch!
Amazing.. Love microsoft..
Hello, how is the pen jitter on diagonal lines ? especially when you draw slow precise diagonal lines ? is it as bad as the sp4 ?
No. ua-cam.com/video/uI23RItDDDg/v-deo.html
Imaginalex Drawings Only those using the new Surface pen should give answers to this. I've seen too many dishonest reviews done with the old pen or pens from different devices
This dude has a pleasant listening voice. Clear, no uhhs, smooth and good pronunciation. He was made for reviewing.
They should make a skinnier version of this just in laptop without the tablet mode. That way you have the powerhorse laptop and a cool light skinny laptop. Because the design is too thick and has a dumb location for the headphone jack.
Alex surface laptop
Yeah but it's not as fast or powerful
I see what you mean something in the vain of the Dell xps? Remove tablet mode to lower price and boost performance isn't such a bad idea
dell xps 15
It's a miracle that there is a headphone jack at all lol
please review the hp spectre x360 15t!
I would LOVE this for my creative work workflow. The price is fine. But the omission of Thunderbolt is super sad. Most of my peripherals are Thunderbolt, as I think is the case for most audio, video and graphics professionals. Great video Dave! Thanks for sharing.
Let's push it guys. Share this channel and get this guy his very well deserved 1 million subs before the end of this year. ✌
So gaming with the 15" drains the battery even when plugged? Can someone confirm? That's insane, as Microsoft does market this laptop for gaming as well. It even has Xbox Wireless.
I stopped my 5 page English essay due tomorrow for this.
Good choice bro :)
nice summary in the end
I listen to you while I'm studying or drawing. Your voice is soothing.
Great video Dave! I agree, the omission of a Thunderbolt 3 port definitely rubs me the wrong way, as while the CPU should stay relatively relevant for a good number of years, the GPU will feel old very quickly, and a Thunderbolt 3 port with an external GPU would have been a great way to alleviate that. However, I do have a theory as to why it does not include a Thunderbolt 3 port.
The Intel i7-8650u, the processor inside of the Surface Book 2, only has 12 PCIe lanes. 4 go to the GPU, 4 go to the SSD, and the other 4 are likely utilized for other components throughout the system such as the WiFi card. Now, I imagine some kind of solution could have been devised where, if you used a Thunderbolt 3 port, then the GPU would be disabled, however that likely would not have gone over well with consumers. As such, I imagine that Intel is the culprit for the lack of a Thunderbolt 3 port. As all other laptops I know of that have a discrete GPU AND Thunderbolt 3 use one of Intel's previous generation quad-core high wattage mobile chips, which all supported 16 lanes of PCIe, rather than the 12 supported by the highest SKU in the Surface Book 2
Doesn't include Thunderbolt because they want you to buy the dock
Sherwin Facun thanks you, finally someone raised
Does the dock support 2 4K monitors? I didn't think it did. Plus the dock can't use external GPU, not that anyone would. If you want a 1070 or 1080 get one of those.
Craig Chandler I mean you can run two 4K displays on a single tb3 port but oh well
The thing is, I'd have no problem buying their dock… if it were equal to a Thunderbolt 3 port. But it's not. It can't do everything that Thunderbolt 3 can do. The use case of an eGPU is a perfect example.
My thought exactly. Do you think they will come out with a new doc that can do everything TB3 can and charge $250 for it, or is the connection not capable of that?
Awesome jacket and t-shirt Dave.
Hi Dave. I really enjoy your videos. The quality of your videos makes all the difference. Even when the subject is not of my interest I tend to watch it anyway. The graphics and the intro are always on point. Congrats.
Btw, what's the software you use to measure the temperature of the CPU with those graphs at 3:12?
Thanks.
I'd love to see Apple's attempt at making something like this. It would be expensive as hell, but it'd be cool to see what they come up with.
Reid T that’s the thing they’re never going to go there , Microsoft is becoming more and more like how apple used to be unique designer-y but has some random quirks. However, Apple is acting the way Microsoft used to be stuck in their ways and cocky because they know people will buy it
Reid T Why should they do something like this ?
I'm not saying they should - only that their design would be interesting to see (along with the Dave2D video about it)
Yeah but that would last 10 years and they won't make any money buy creating something that good ....
They already have, it is called the ipad pro with keyboard.
You watch position is making me anxious.
Awesome review, Dave!
Outstanding review. Thank you.
Ah Surface 2, the F35 of the PC world
It tries to be everything and it's expensive!
Don’t forget that its ugliness makes it look cool.
Lol. MS engineer looks at the f35 hinged turbine nozzle and thinks, “I can make a laptop 💻 that bends like this.”
In all honesty, they could’ve stayed with a normal laptop hinge.
Price? C'mon it fights with macbook pro, and it for me destroys. Better battery, tablet mode, way better gpu!
Maciek Jutrzenka MacBook Way better cpu! Better keyboard and touch bar(even though if it is used less it costs Apple money to make it) and better build quality ssd is better
Surface Book 2 has a better CPU, GPU and build quality is almost the same.
Yummyvideos Eff the butterfly keyboard.
You are absolutely insane if you think a radeon pro 560x in a mac comes anywhere near the gtx 1060 in the surface book 2.
@@tushar4evr776 The Macbook has a better CPU but it thermal throttles like hell. Surface Book 2 has better cooling and therefore the CPU runs better. Also the touch bar is a useless gimmick that enables Apple to have another excuse to milk the consumers money.
watching this vid on my new Surface book 2 (same config as the one in the vid). Its just AMAZING. Coming from a Surface pro 4, battery life has been OUTSTANDING!!!
My guess is that the connector between screen and base do not have enough bandwidth to support a discrete graphic card and a thunderbolt 3 connector. So they didn't do it
Peeped the Babish 👌🏻
Man, awesome intro animation!
Yesss been waiting for this
No thunderbolt 3 because the U processors don't have enough pcie lanes for the discrete gpu + thunderbolt 3
jean valjean what about the latitude 7370 , it has a m7 and 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports
Then how about 13" macbook pro
no gtx1060 on that either
But can it double as a chefs knife like my Lenovo 920?
Wtf 😂 Thats hilarious but is there a joke I dont get?
I opted for the original 13.5" refurbished on their website for a lot cheaper. It looks brand new and functions quite well and comes with a pen. The packaging was extremely secure, more so than my ASUS ROG. I wouldn't pay full price for it either when there are better options out there. All in all I am quite satisfied with what I need/want it for. To each his own. Love your honest reviews!
I have the 1st gen for about a year now and just learned that you can charge the tablet by itself without the performance base. Thank you haha
Dave please give us a 60 FPS video, just one!
The 15 inch version draws more power than the power adapter can provide when gaming? That's so fucked...
It does only when you are playing a high graphics game with highest settings and power mode..
Still embarrassing.