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Surface Book 2

Picked it up this morning bright and early.. Took about 3 hours to get it all updated and configured how I like it.

A few quick thoughts. This is the base model SB 2 which is an i5 (7300U - fanless) 8GB RAM and a 256GB Samsung SSD. Price was $1499 but I had 10% off code and I had $70 in Microsoft points I used. All in all I scored it for about $1400 after sales tax and overnight delivery. I'll go ahead and say I think it's a good deal!

Keyboard: 10/10 = It's fantastic!
Trackpad: 10/10 = It's fantastic!
Sound: 7/10 = It's okay, nothing to jump up and down over
Ports: 9/10 = 2ea USB A, full sized SD card slot, 1ea USB C and magsafe'ish charging connector!
Screen: 10/10 = No screen bleed at all on mine and it's crisp and clear!
SSD: 7/10 = Read speed are blazing fast @ about 2900. Write speeds are pretty meh @ about 400
Windows 10: 9/10 = What can I say. I know this is a Mac Forum but Win 10 rocks.

Other: Clipboard (read: tablet) is fantabulous! Keyboard backlight is even across the keys. No issues with Win 10 updates although the 1st round took forever and a day. Not a big deal as I configured the machine while it was doing it's thing.

That is all.. A few photos but not much to show as it looks the same as the original SB except for the USB C addition next to the charging port.

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raqball said:
Picked it up this morning bright and early.. Took about 3 hours to get it all updated and configured how I like it.

A few quick thoughts. This is the base model SB 2 which is an i5 (7300U - fanless) 8GB RAM and a 256GB Samsung SSD. Price was $1499 but I had 10% off code and I had $70 in Microsoft points I used. All in all I scored it for about $1400 after sales tax and overnight delivery. I'll go ahead and say I think it's a good deal!

Keyboard: 10/10 = It's fantastic!
Trackpad: 10/10 = It's fantastic!
Sound: 7/10 = It's okay, nothing to jump up and down over
Ports: 9/10 = 2ea USB A, full sized SD card slot, 1ea USB C and magsafe'ish charging connector!
Screen: 10/10 = No screen bleed at all on mine and it's crisp and clear!
SSD: 7/10 = Read speed are blazing fast @ about 2900. Write speeds are pretty meh @ about 400
Windows 10: 9/10 = What can I say. I know this is a Mac Forum but Win 10 rocks.

Other: Clipboard (read: tablet) is fantabulous! Keyboard backlight is even across the keys. No issues with Win 10 updates although the 1st round took forever and a day. Not a big deal as I configured the machine while it was doing it's thing.

That is all.. A few photos but not much to show as it looks the same as the original SB except for the USB C addition next to the charging port.

Click to expand...


Congrats

Want one now :D
 
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Thanks! I dig it!

On another note (yes I am spastic) my brother purchased a Lenovo Yoga 920 last week and he was going to return it and get a MacBook or try the Google Pixelbook. I offered to trade him my Pixelbook and some cash if he wanted. His Yoga 920 is the maxed out version with an i7 / 16GB RAM and a 512 SSD.

We traded about an hour ago. LOL.. I now have the SB 2 and a top dog Yoga 920.... My son needs a new computer for school so I told him he can have his choice. He is trying the SB 2 now as I type this on the Yoga 920.

I'll make a thread on it maybe tomorrow but the Yoga is pretty sweet too...
 
raqball said:
Thanks! I dig it!

On another note (yes I am spastic) my brother purchased a Lenovo Yoga 920 last week and he was going to return it and get a MacBook or try the Google Pixelbook. I offered to trade him my Pixelbook and some cash if he wanted. His Yoga 920 is the maxed out version with an i7 / 16GB RAM and a 512 SSD.

We traded about an hour ago. LOL.. I now have the SB 2 and a top dog Yoga 920.... My son needs a new computer for school so I told him he can have his choice. He is trying the SB 2 now as I type this on the Yoga 920.

I'll make a thread on it maybe tomorrow but the Yoga is pretty sweet too...
Click to expand...
I'm just glad I am not your neighbour, I can't keep up lol
 
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Question about my Surface Book 1: I went to Best Buy today and looked at the Surface Laptop, and I launched Edge browser and played my video test, MKBHD's 8K video, and was able to select 8K, awesome! But when I get home and open the same video using Edge browser on my Surface Book I can only go up to 1440p. What are they doing to give the computer that option?
 
I'm currently in the process of deciding how to replace my 15" 2012 retina MacBook pro, and the SB2 is a strong candidate. There are 2 things that make me uncomfortable though:
  • USB-C, but no TB3 in a £2300+ computer
  • Maximum 2year warranty coverage
I have no need for TB3 today, but in order to justify the cost, it has to last me 5 years plus, and I'd rather have the capability
If the longest that microsoft will provide warranty cover for is 2 years, how can I expect it to last 2.5 times that?
I know people who's surface pro's have fallen apart after 2 years, and they've had to replace them, and I simply can't afford to do that.

That said, the touch screen and tablet functionality is a huge plus for me

What are peoples' thoughts on this - am I overthinking?
 
hughw said:
I'm currently in the process of deciding how to replace my 15" 2012 retina MacBook pro, and the SB2 is a strong candidate. There are 2 things that make me uncomfortable though:
  • USB-C, but no TB3 in a £2300+ computer
  • Maximum 2year warranty coverage
I have no need for TB3 today, but in order to justify the cost, it has to last me 5 years plus, and I'd rather have the capability
If the longest that microsoft will provide warranty cover for is 2 years, how can I expect it to last 2.5 times that?
I know people who's surface pro's have fallen apart after 2 years, and they've had to replace them, and I simply can't afford to do that.

That said, the touch screen and tablet functionality is a huge plus for me

What are peoples' thoughts on this - am I overthinking?
Click to expand...
If you can get the business plan, you get up to 4 years coverage:

https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/business/completeforbusiness
 
hughw said:
I'm currently in the process of deciding how to replace my 15" 2012 retina MacBook pro, and the SB2 is a strong candidate. There are 2 things that make me uncomfortable though:
  • USB-C, but no TB3 in a £2300+ computer
  • Maximum 2year warranty coverage
I have no need for TB3 today, but in order to justify the cost, it has to last me 5 years plus, and I'd rather have the capability
If the longest that microsoft will provide warranty cover for is 2 years, how can I expect it to last 2.5 times that?
I know people who's surface pro's have fallen apart after 2 years, and they've had to replace them, and I simply can't afford to do that.

That said, the touch screen and tablet functionality is a huge plus for me

What are peoples' thoughts on this - am I overthinking?
Click to expand...

I have a 1st Gen Surface Book and it's good as the day I purchased. The downside of Surface Book is the lack of reparability and cost. In some cases it may be prudent to seek third party cover for the event of premature failure or accidental damage.

TB-3 is a different matter, Surface Book does allow for the Surface Dock, much depends if you feel the additional bandwidth of TB-3 will be advantageous, certainly a serious consideration. Personally as per previous iterations of Thunderbolt peripherals will likely remain limited to enthusiasts and certain professional requirements.

Q-6
 
Maybe it's not offered in the UK? I'd try calling MS and see what they say. If you get someone in India who is clueless (probably) then ask for the case to be escalated. My experience in dealing with MS is that the initial call is routed to a 3rd party in another country and they read off scripts and are not very helpful. Escalated cases are handled by in country and knowledgeable reps..
 
hughw said:
I'm currently in the process of deciding how to replace my 15" 2012 retina MacBook pro, and the SB2 is a strong candidate. There are 2 things that make me uncomfortable though:
  • USB-C, but no TB3 in a £2300+ computer
  • Maximum 2year warranty coverage
I have no need for TB3 today, but in order to justify the cost, it has to last me 5 years plus, and I'd rather have the capability
If the longest that microsoft will provide warranty cover for is 2 years, how can I expect it to last 2.5 times that?
I know people who's surface pro's have fallen apart after 2 years, and they've had to replace them, and I simply can't afford to do that.

That said, the touch screen and tablet functionality is a huge plus for me

What are peoples' thoughts on this - am I overthinking?
Click to expand...

Well, the Surface line seems to be like any German car... perceived quality is very high. Reliability? LOL. Real world owners' experiences that I know don't reflect it, unfortunately :(
 
0989382 said:
Well, the Surface line seems to be like any German car... perceived quality is very high. Reliability? LOL. Real world owners' experiences that I know don't reflect it, unfortunately :(
Click to expand...

Exactly the same can be said of the MBP now :( My own Surface Book has proved to be both reliable and efficient, since I purchased it Nov 2016, frequently traveling internationally with the notebook.

Q-6
 
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0989382 said:
Well, the Surface line seems to be like any German car... perceived quality is very high. Reliability? LOL. Real world owners' experiences that I know don't reflect it, unfortunately :(
Click to expand...
I have to disagree, as my Surface Book has been rock solid. Additionally before that, my Surface Pro was an excellent computer.
 
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raqball said:
Maybe it's not offered in the UK? I'd try calling MS and see what they say. If you get someone in India who is clueless (probably) then ask for the case to be escalated. My experience in dealing with MS is that the initial call is routed to a 3rd party in another country and they read off scripts and are not very helpful. Escalated cases are handled by in country and knowledgeable reps..
Click to expand...

Phoned up and spoke to a helpful person without having to escalate (I was shocked). So I can buy a Surface Book 2 with 3 or 4 years of either extended warranty, or microsoft complete, but only with a business account, and doing a purchase order
 
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kazmac said:
Thanks for the input as always @sracer. I've read about some of those driver issues here and elsewhere. That's my big hesitation about fulling committing to Windows (hardware and driver issues) being that I have never had a Windows system at home and know nothing about fixes or drivers. I really dig the idea behind the Surface Book and the Surface Studio (outdated internals and price not withstanding.) I hope Microsoft and other OEMs can commit to making those driver issues a thing of the past. It would be great if a software/hardware manufacturer could be very proactive on both aspects.

Well, I do not have to worry about committing to one or the other platform right now, but that is a bummer. I like to be self sufficient in understanding and trouble shooting my tech.

Hopefully those kinds of driver snafus won't keep happening. I look forward to hearing your thoughts if you do give another Surface product a go.
Click to expand...
I neither have the SB nor SB2, as they were too expensive here in Europe for my taste. But I do have a Dell XPS, which is running W10 smoothly.

As per your concern about software glitches/updates, I have only had two, both connected to major W10 upgrades (Fall creators' update plus another, which I forgot). One glitch was making the screen blink (one blink, a fraction of a second, still disturbing your concentration) every few minutes. Another glitch made it difficult to switch off the computer completely. Both glitches were gone within 3-4 days after an automatic software update.

I am running both W10 and OSX (HS), and I have definitely not found W10 to be more unstable.
 
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The one thing that puts me off the line is they have taken the Apple approach of linking power and size - realistically I have no need for a GTX 1060, but a 15” screen is now a must for me after experiencing how limiting a 13” screen is for work juggling a lot of windows. £2,399 is a hard pill to swallow whether for a mbp or a surface book when most of the power will be sitting idle, why can’t Apple and Microsoft offer more modest configurations like the XPS 15? I’d even pay the £2,399 if you could drop the graphics card for a bigger SSD or something I could actually make use of :/
 
Apple does give far more configuration options than the SB does. I can only assume MS doesn't want to deal with multiple SKU's for manufacturing. Dell, Lenovo and others offer a slew of option, MS? Not so much..
 
Euro_Guy said:
I neither have the SB nor SB2, as they were too expensive here in Europe for my taste. But I do have a Dell XPS, which is running W10 smoothly.

As per your concern about software glitches/updates, I have only had two, both connected to major W10 upgrades (Fall creators' update plus another, which I forgot). One glitch was making the screen blink (one blink, a fraction of a second, still disturbing your concentration) every few minutes. Another glitch made it difficult to switch off the computer completely. Both glitches were gone within 3-4 days after an automatic software update.

I am running both W10 and OSX (HS), and I have definitely not found W10 to be more unstable.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Glad it works for you and most everyone here.:) The creator’s update has made my Laptop PC run buggy ever since. :( The graphics on pages that were fine before become a pixelated mess every few times I open them now.

As I am not using this PC as my daily driver, and have no time, understanding, or desire to go under the hood, I just roll with it. I will continue to use PCs where necessary, but I remain a Mac user.
 
So just an update.. My son actually decided he wanted the Yoga 920 so the SB 2 is back with me full time. Still digging it and am considering adding MS Complete to it.

I've never had MS complete coverage so does anyone have thoughts on it?
 
Do you game on your surfacebook?

Rocking a 2014 macbook pro, still going well but I'm planning for the future and keeping an eye on it for when this probably eventually fails.
 
aoaaron said:
Do you game on your surfacebook?

Rocking a 2014 macbook pro, still going well but I'm planning for the future and keeping an eye on it for when this probably eventually fails.
Click to expand...

No sorry I don't..
 
raqball said:
No sorry I don't..
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Ahh damn. I'm considering the switch from apple specifically because my Nintendo Switch has made me realise how much I love portable gaming and sadly any macbooks will really fail at trying to 60fps Witcher 3, nevermind setting up drivers/controllers to make it easy to do.
 
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