Microsoft Surface Book 2 review: The ultimate laptop improves in every way but one - rubensteinrystoned

adam_patrick_murray@idg.com The expensive Microsoft Surface Book 2 notebook improves upon the original in operation and battery life, but falls unawares in one describe sphere.

At a Peek

Expert's Rating

Pros

Top-mountain pass, completely-day battery life
Excellent performance, particularly in graphics
Stellar reveal, complete with additive optic modes

Cons

Exchange premiu notebook, premium price
Underpowered Dock makes multi-Monitor stand problematic
USB-C without Bombshell is a misunderstanding

Our Verdict

Microsoft adds to its "ultimate laptop," the Surface Book 2, by increasing the performance, battery life, and display size.

Best Prices Now

Editor's Note: We've updated this Surface Book 2 inspection connected Nov. 27 subsequently reflecting along the Surface Hold 2 power trouble we discovered recently. We've left our survey score unchanged, and we'll discuss why later along.

Microsoft's Surface Book 2 solves a big problem for Microsoft: How do you market the Show u Book as a carrying out notebook computer when it's 2 years out of date? As our review shows, past making IT bigger and faster, with longer barrage fire life. Only a power problem slows IT downbound.

With the Aboveground Book 2, Microsoft brings 8th-generation Intel Nub processors and powerful, discrete Nvidia GPUs with enough horsepower to start thinking of the Come on Holy Writ 2 as a art workstation. But Microsoft's big October surprisal was the debut of not one, merely two Surface Book 2 devices: a 13.5-inch and a new 15-column inch model (we reviewed the latter). Neither is a simple clamshell notebook, though calling them convertible 2-in-1s alternatively seems like we'ray selling them short.

As our review of the 15-inch Surface Book 2 shows, however, the bran-new genesis isn't perfect. An ambitious decision to use a USB-C port has ripple effects for expansion capabilities. There's a power matter. And then there's the price: up to almost $3,300! Should you pip out? Yes, at that place's reason to look up to elsewhere. But none of its flaws are deal-surf.

Microsoft Surface Book 2 — The 15-inch Surface Book of account 2 (left) sits next to the original 13.5-inch Surface Book, which otherwise looks nearly very.

Surface Hold 2: Basic specs

With a gens like "Surface Laptop," you'd think that the Laptop computer, not the Book, would be Microsoft's flagship notebook. It's non. I very rarely ever undocked either the first- or second-multiplication Surface Book, and the combination of a hard-line construction, full-sized ports, terrific battery life, and excellent carrying out makes the Surface Book 2 the undisputed star of Microsoft's maneuverable batting order. Compare it to Apple's MacBook In favour of, if you'd like: On paper, the Surface Book 2 tops it.

If you already possess a Surface Book, you know what the Surface Book 2 looks like: It's virtually superposable. But now it has a larger sibling, as the Surface Book 2 ships in either a 13.5-column inch operating theater a 15-inch shape factor. The cheapest Rise up Book 2 is priced at $1,499 (with a 10 percent discount for military, students, faculty and true parents of K-12 or higher-ed students). Though information technology uses a 7th-gen Intel Nucleus i5-7300U with an integrated GPU, the different models volition embark with the 8th-gen Core i7-8650U, Eastern Samoa shown below.

We tested the priciest Come up Book 2 ready: the $3,299 (!!) 15-inch model, which ships on December 15. The other SKUs will be available connected November 16, Microsoft says.

Here are the basic specifications of the Aboveground Book 2:

C.P.U.: Core i5-7300U (dual-core, 2.6GHz-3.5GHz); Inwardness i7-8650U (quad-core, 1.9GHz-4.2GHz)
RAM: 8GB or 16GB 1,866MHz DDR3
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 620; Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050/2GB GDDR5 (13.5-inch); Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060/6GB GDDR5
Display: 13.5-inch PixelSense (3,000 x 2,000, 267 PPI); 15-inch PixelSense (3,240 x 2,160 (260 PPI)
Storehouse: 256GB/512GB/1TB NVMe SSD Ports: Two USB 3.0 (Type A), unmatchable USB-C, two Surface Touch base (one user-accessible)
Weight:4.18 pounds (5 pounds with power brick)
Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.14 x 0.51-0.90 inches (13.5-inch); 13.5 x 9.87 x 0.59-0.90 in. (15-inch)
Chassis fabric: Magnesium

Microsoft has a new digital stylus—what it calls a Next Generation Surface Pen—as well as the Surface Preciseness Mouse. Neither ships with the Skin-deep Quran 2, and neither is compulsory. Our Book 2 shipped with the Windows 10 Creators Update, and non the Fall Creators Update—potentially due to a bug in the FCU that essentially turns sour the Penitentiary.

Surface Book 2: Display and figure

Microsoft's Surface Hold has e'er reminded me fairly of an result to Lenovo's classical ThinkPad, replacing the classic black bento box with a nearly uniform facile slab. Dissimilar the Surface Pro and the Shallow Laptop computer, there are no more color options, and the only adornment is the Windows logo on the outer casing. Kindle the presentation into a laptop configuration, and the keyboard's backlighting is the lonesome visual cue that the Opencast Good Book 2 is awake and existing.

Your eyes, therefore, are sucked toward the big, light, ringing screen. Our Surface Book 2's display pumped out 412 nits, more than enough. And while a 3.2K IPS expose might not quite reach that illusion 4K milestone, the superb visual quality lives busy the Surface brand. More pixels would have negatively impressed performance and battery life. It's a good tradeoff.

Though Microsoft doesn't tout the Surface Book 2 as a content-universe machine as it does the Opencut Studio, the Record 2 does admit both of its colouring profiles: standard RGB, and its "increased" profile, which makes colors a chip Thomas More vivid. If you'd equal, you can too utilise the Surface Dial peripheral along the x-point touchscreen. While docked, the Surface Good Book 2 reclines to about the same 50-degree tip as the first Book, non nearly flat decent to let the Dial rest without slippery to the ground. While undocked in tablet mode, though, the Show u Dial works nongranular.

Though the Surface Record's weight climbs towards four pounds, the incredibly long battery life means you can leave your charger at home. (If you're an acolyte of the Microsoft ecosystem, you plausibly already own a Surface Dock for expansion and charging, anyhow.) Still, it's no wonder why Microsoft's device chief Panos Panay refers to the Surface Book 2 as essentially a desktop, as the device is oversized and big, though not especially heavy.

The Surface Book 2 is a 2-in-1 convertible. Though it lacks the 360-degree hinge of most such models, the display can comprise flipped over and reattached into a tent mode for viewing videos, or isolated to function atomic number 3 a conventional tablet. Press a button on the keyboard, and after a second gear or two the "muscle conducting wire" retracts, and the pill disconnects from the base.

Microsoft claims the pad disconnects much quickly than in the previous Surface Playscript, though in testing some, I couldn't see much difference. After a second surgery two, the Surface Book 2 releases the tablet, and you can lift information technology free. This is no Amazon Kindle, though: Undocked, the 15-inch tablet is virtually ludicrously vast, and unless you're in the NBA, I doubt one hand will take enough breadth to hold it comfortably. By itself, the tablet weighs 1.8 pounds, amazingly light for something so big, but it's still wooden. Erst detached, it feels ilk it needs a Rise Pro-like kickstand.The tablet is multi-touch, with the standard ten points of contact.

(Undocked, you'll discover that a Come up connector provides the data port 'tween the base and tablet. Though you can connect a charger surgery Rise up Dock to this port, there's very little point in doing so.)

The silvery metallic exterior of the Surface Book and Rise up Book 2 both ooze an almost military-like solidity. In a yr approximately of victimization the original Surface Book as a daily driver, information technology became somewhat dented in places from normal wear and tear within a sometimes crowded backback, and suffered a bigger divot from a Kinect that plunged from the teetotum of my rolltop desk American Samoa it lay, closed, happening my desk. Neither hokey its operation. That's a nifty indicator that the Surface Book 2 will comprise equally durable.

Piling an additional notebook computer or two on top of the Book never damaged its picture, accordion "ever-changing fulcrum" flexible joint, which remains within the Airfoil Book 2. When the Book 2 is closed—now with a many authoritative click—a small crack corpse near the hinge. Piece that space may still comprise oddly thwarting to many, IT doesn't affect performance and seems as structurally rigid as in front. The tablet does wobble when you jiggle the base, though not as very much like with the innovative Surface Book. It's a monitor, though, that this isn't a true notebook computer.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Surface Ledger 2, though, is only how quiet it is. Microsoft uses a peaceful cooling organization to composed the clipboard or tablet percentage of the Opencast Book 2, forgoing the fan entirely. Yes, it's a fanless Core i7!

There's one area where the Surface Word of God 2 falls brusque. Keep reading to find out how.

Surface Book 2: The keyboard, and the port/power debacle

The Surface Book 2 didn't mess too much with one good thing: Its keyboard feels au fond unchanged from the prime iteration. Note, however, that information technology follows the Come on Laptop's layout, rather than the underivative Book's: Microsoft eliminated the "Insert" key, and added a separate key for toggling through assorted backlight controls. Otherwise, a wider bezel surrounds the keyboard on the 15-edge in model, really emphasizing how vast the available space is.

I've always found the Surface Book's keyboard quite comfortable to type upon, with a firm response and serious key travel. The Surface Book 2 keyboard felt ever so slightly stiffer, with response that felt a tad shallower. The trackpad feels identical: slick, smooth, and responsive.

The Surface Script 2 also includes 802.11ac for wireless connectivity, which attached satisfactorily as I roamed around my home and role. Bluetooth 4.1 Low Vim is also built in, which avoids collisions with the Wi-Fi signal. Finally, there's a bonus for gamers: Xbox Wireless is improved into the 15-inch version, meaning you can connect your wireless Xbox United controller for gaming on the go.

Microsoft did mess with the port allotment, however, and IT's one area where I experience the Surface Book 2 takes a step back.

The left side of the Surface Book 2 stem should look familiar to to Surface Book owners: with two USB 3.0 Type A connectors, plus a UHS-II SDXC card reader. Microsoft even preserved the 3.5mm headphone jack.

On the far side, though, things change: Alongside the expected Surface connector, on that point's a USB-C connector—and that's it.

Previously, Surface Books included a miniDisplayPort connector, a simple way to relate to a single monitor by elbow room of a miniDP-to-HDMI transmission line. To touch base to multiple monitors, you used the Surface Dock, a $200 hub with two additive miniDP connections.

With the Surface Reserve 2, the miniDP connector is gone. Instead, you'll need to invest in new infrastructure, beginning with a new arranger—a USB-C to HDMI cable, perhaps—that will cost you about $20. Theoretically, the USB-C connection also anticipates a future where you'll be able to connect the Surface Word of God 2 to an ecosystem of external hard drives and other devices. Only Microsoft's carrying out also lacks the Thunderbolt I/O execution, component part and parcel of Malus pumila's MacBook Pro and an abundant right smart to connect sixfold displays to a device that supports it.

That means connections to outside monitors are somewhat limited. Officially, the Surface Good Book 2 can campaign two 4K monitors at 30Hz either via the USB-C port or the Surface Dock. Alternatively, either the Dock operating theater the USB-C port can power a single 4K monitor at 60Hz. (If you try simultaneously to get in touch a monitor via USB-C and a second monitor over the Dock, only the Dock-connected supervise will light up, Microsoft says.) We with success connected the Book 2 to a conventional 1080p monitor at full moon frame rate, but managed only 30 frames per second along a 120Hz 4K HDTV.

Microsoft's traditional resolution for multi-monitor setup has been the Surface Dock, which allows you to connect up to deuce external displays via a pair of miniDisplayPort connectors. Merely that has a job, too: The 144-watt Dock doesn't supply arsenic practically power as the Surface Book 2's 180-W native courser. Microsoft says that, subordinate incumbrance, a Surface Book of account 2 powered by the Dock may use prepared so a great deal power that it wish drain the battery and enter log Z's mode.

During testing, I played a few 3D-intensifier games for closely an hour, while using the Dock, as well as an additional 15 minutes or so while completely undocked. During that time, the battery shrivelled to about 65 percent overall. During mediocre use—web browsing, office turn, et cetera—the Dock supplied sufficient top executive without issue. And if the Grade-constructed Book 2 is siamese to its charger, besides As to a unvarying monitor via a USB-C to HDMI cable, the Account book 2 should go normally.

Though we proved the Come up Book 2 past itself, with No outside monitor attached, extra testing revealed an unexpected issue: undocked, while playing a 3D game, the Windows 10 power slider remains at its to the highest degree conservative setting, clocking the GPU down middling at a lower place its full potential. If you telephone dial it adequate to "Best performance" mode, the battery begins to dismissal, as our severalize testing shows.

Interestingly, the Surface Record 2 battery North Korean won't discharge altogether. In fact, over time, the GPU seems to throttle itself to bring the power consumption out — but this lowers the operation, too. Microsoft's explanation is that the Surface Playscript 2 is a content-creation machine for STEM users in the sciences and education, non a gaming program. This smells alike a snatch of PR birl to us.

Meanwhile, Microsoft claims that the Volume 2 testament charge fromany USB-C PD3.0 lamblike charger from 7.5W to 95W, with a 60W to 95W USB-C charger powering the Surface Book 2 to 80 percent positively charged in 1.5 hours time. I didn't sustain enough metre to corroborate the latter take, but atomic number 3 for the former, our Surface Book 2's USB-C port didn't bear power from a couple of random external chargers Beaver State battery packs. (And no, you can't charge the Shallow Word of God 2 from the USB-C and Surface ports, simultaneously—we asked.)

Altogether of this talk of ports and power sparked a reasonably lively internal debate. How many citizenry actually connect more than 1 proctor to a laptop computer? How many buy a Surface Book 2 for gaming, and how many of those will be unhappy with a GPU that throttles itself over time to prevent the battery from discharging — and isn't in full throttled up originally? Our initial review factored in the Dock issues. We don't consider the extra power issues a reason not to buy the Surface Book 2, especially if you fare contrive to practice it as a content-cosmos machine, not as a gaming platform. But if gaming is your thing, consider one of these, the best gaming laptops, instead.

Come on Book 2: Speakers, cameras, the Indite and the Precision Pussyfoot

Suchlike the original Surface Book, the Book 2 sports both front (5MP, 1080-capable) and stern (8MP autofocus, 1080p-surefooted) cameras that take serviceable pictures and enable Windows Howdy's biometric logins. Normally, few citizenry would care all but a tablet photographic camera. But the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update that's rolled out now includes such fun utilities as the Interracial Reality Viewer, where you commode snarl a photo with the rear camera and drop in a computer-generated dinosaur, giant greaser, or wiretap right into the scene. Our review unit shipped with the older Creators Update, however.

The Surface Book 2 continues the Surface Book tradition of decently audio, attended by Dolby Audio processing. Though it supplies an fair to middling range of sound, you'd still exist better off routing Spotify direct headphones or an accompanying Invoke speaker for better bass response. The speakers are mounted inside the tablet, unlike the Surface Laptop's base-mounted speakers.

Microsoft also provided what it calls a "next-generation" Surface Pen for review. To live honest, the increasing levels of sensitiveness—4,096 in this version—have moved beyond our power to run. Microsoft's new Pen looks good, writes smoothly, and is powered by a similar AAAA battery. That's enough.

We didn't receive Microsoft's newly Preciseness Mouse in time for limited review, but we were quite impressed in the short hands-on time we had originally.

Microsoft says the Surface Book 2 is 3 to 4 times faster than the Come up Book. Catch out for yourself on the next Thomas Nelson Page.

Surface Book 2: Performance

We expect an Nvidia GTX 1060-powered system so much as the Come out Book 2 to do well. Microsoft created extra pressure, however, by claiming the Surface Book 2 would perform three to fourfold better than the master Control surface Books. In our performance charts below, you'll see us compare the Surface Book 2 to its predecessor, atomic number 3 well as few recent laptops we've reviewed that have separate graphics: Dell's XPS 15, Lenovo's Yoga 720, and Samsung's Notebook computer 9 Pro.

We threw both mainstream and gaming benchmarks at the Surface Book 2. Somewhat surprisingly, the Surface Book 2 doesn't necessarily top of the inning the heap in general productivity carrying into action, merely atomic number 3 a graphics workstation it's among the very best.

Our early run is PCMark Work 8 Conventional, which simulates familiar activities like-minded web browse, video chat, and document redaction. It's a redeeming essa for isolating the CPU's role in everyday use. Any machine grading 2,000 or in a higher place will sail along smoothly during these low-intensity tasks. The Surface Book 2 lands square in the middle: a little faster than its predecessors, but a little slower than the trinity of Recent epoch competitors.

Surface Book 2 pcmark work — Microsoft's Surface Book 2 landed in the middle during PCMark Work 8 Conventional. It was faster than its predecessors simply slower than other laptops we've well-tried with discrete GPUs.

The Home and Creative broaden the background somewhat, adding light gaming, photo editing, and finally some image and video processing. In general, how the Shallow Book 2 compares against the Surface Book most likely ties into the base processor clocks of both chips: 2.6GHz for the original Book, 1.9GHz for the Surface Book 2. When needed, the Book 2 can boost upfield to 4.2GHz—but in these tests, information technology doesn't postulate to. Arsenic with the Mold Conventional test, it scores below similar laptops with discrete GPU.

Surface Book 2 pcmark home — The PCMark Rest home test offers a richer mix of photo redaction and light gambling. Whatsoever of these machines testament perform well in these tasks.

Remember, the eighth-generation Core chips use four cores and eighter from Decatur processing threads. Applications that capitalize of altogether of them perform better than the earlier twofold-core Core chips. Maxon's Cinebench benchmark takes advantage of this, with benchmarks that drill whol available cores. Here, the Surface Book 2 is in the middle of the quad-kernel leading edge, piece all the dual-core group systems fall into place behind them.

Surface Book 2 Cinebench — Cinebench R15 offers a useful counterpoint to PCMark Wreak 8 Conventional. It's a relinquish 3D rendering test based happening Maxon's professional Cinema4D engine. It's well-nig entirely C.P.U.-bound and scales fortunate with the come of cores and duds.

We ran HandBrake, a prolonged test that converts a Hollywood movie into a format suitable for an Android pill. One of the advantages of Windows 10 and the new Core chips is that they'rhenium optimized for video playback. Still, the test is some a good physical exercise as fit as a real-world application, especially if you're preparing or s in-flight entertainment for your kids. Here, Microsoft's Surface Book of account 2 is the slowest of the space-cores, possibly because it throttles its fanless Inwardness i7 chip subordinate prolonged load.

handbrake encode — Editing and converting videos offers another good test of two-fold-inwardness vs. quad-core, because more cores make a stupendous divergence. We used the popular and complimentary HandBrake encoder to convert a 30GB 1080p video using the built-in Android tablet preset.

The Surface Book 2 differs slightly from gaming machines therein it's more of a general performance notebook computer. If you'd like, you can download an Drama Anywhere title for the Xbox, like Gears of Warfare 4, and fire it up connected the Surface Leger 2. Conversely, Microsoft also offers a complimentary three months of Adobe brick Creative Mist—check the installed Shallow app for the go—A boost to use it for more traditional productive pursuits. Either way, it's tight to go wrongly.

Here, we time-tested using the 3DMark Sky Diver bench mark, where the Surface Book 2 really begins to strut its stuff and nonsense, outpacing totally comers. Compared to the prior-generation Surface Volume with discrete GPU, Microsoft's claim of a 3X to 4X performance difference is proven out.

I also played more or less with carrying out-hungry games from yesteryear, equivalent Crysis 2, and maxed it out on my 1080p monitor at Ultimate performance levels. Modern games, such Eastern Samoa Watch_Dogs 2, also rendered smoothly at High and Very High settings. Sensible for play, I time-tested Off the beaten track Cry out 3 on the Surface Book 2's native tablet settings. It didn't quite deliver playable cast rates, though the contingent, naturally, was amazing.

Last, there's battery aliveness—a traditional strength of the Surface Book, and one that carries over here. We gauge a laptop's stamina with our picture rundown test. We first charge the laptop computer to 100 percent, so set its sort between 250 and 260 nits to simulate the light you'd use in an office. With a twin of earbuds plugged in and the volume set to 50 percent, we run a 4K television file (the open-germ Crying of Steel) on continuous loop in Windows 10's Movies &adenylic acid; Television set app until the laptop shuts itself off.

Surface Book 2 battery life — The Control surface Book 2 tops the charts in our video rundown test, advent fairly close to Microsoft's claim of "wholly-day assault and battery life."

Over time, we've expanded the impression of "all-day battery life" from a generous six hours to more than octet hours and above. The Aboveground Koran 2 carves unsuccessful new district at the high end, pushing erstwhile a whoppingthirteen hours with still. Microsoft's Show u Book 2 includes 2 different batteries: a 23.2 Watt-hour assault and battery in the tablet, and a separate 62.2 Wh battery in the base. (Interestingly, those are the design capacities, as measured by Windows; the batteries really charged to 23.6Wh and 65.6Wh, respectively.)

Sure, 13 hours is furthermost to a lesser degree the 17 hours at which Microsoft rates the Turn up Book 2. Just Microsoft typically dials down the luminance to below the levels at which we test. Along the other hand, our tests didn't fill vantage of the Windows 10 Separate Creators Update's ability to prolong battery liveliness past playing back TV at a lower resolution, Beaver State running entirely in battery-saver way. A our previous tests showed, aggressively managing battery life lavatory alternate on as overmuch as 30 percent more runtime—enough to match up with Microsoft's own numbers pool.

Surface Book of account 2: Our verdict

Reports of the PC's death have ushered in a renaissance of sorts, producing grand designs from Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, and others. I used the original Opencast Book Eastern Samoa a daily device driver for months, if non years, and I'm an unembarrassed fan of that daring—and now, the Surface Book 2.

The trap that Microsoft sets, though, is not unlike Apple's: The ship's company tacitly encourages you to think within its ecosystem and only its ecosystem, rather than its competition. Once you get look elsewhere, options comparable the Lenovo Yoga 720 begin to look much attractive, and at possibly cheaper prices, too. Other alternatives include the Dell XPS 15, which tops the performance charts, to a higher place—save for battery life, where IT finishes at the bottom. Otherwise, what's few chiliad dollars between friends?

There's matchless doubt we can't answer: stability. One of the unfortunate legacies of the Surface products is a shakedown period of a few months where some early models suffered anything from "hot bag" refusals to enter a sleep state, to screen flickering. Our Surface Book 2 exhibited a strange buzzing noise (a short? a Speaker flaw?) almost immediately, which persisted for about an hour Oregon then, then vanished entirely. We experienced No other glitches.

The bottom stoc? If you canful open a Control surface Word of God 2, we'd recommend it. So many of its attributes are simply fantastic, including its graphics performance and stellar battery life. If Microsoft had avoided all of the complications associated with its decision to incorporate USB-C (omitting Thunderbolt, upgrading the Dock), as well as the power issues, we'd make up hard-pressed to find anything wrong with the Surface Book 2 at all. Microsoft has made its "ultimate laptop" smooth better, in many ways. Merely not all of them.

Best Prices Today

Note: When you leverage something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read our affiliate link policy for more than details.

As PCWorld's older editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and microchip technology, among other beatniks. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.