Introducing Surface Book 2, the Most Powerful Surface Book Ever

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
Microsoft has announced the latest in the Surface family: Surface Book 2 – a powerhouse laptop with amazing graphics and up to 17 hours of battery life. Now available in a 13” and 15” option, Surface Book 2 is the most powerful Surface ever built. With the latest 8th Generation Intel Dual-Core and Quad-Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, Surface Book 2 has up to five times the graphics performance of the original Surface Book and is twice as powerful as the new MacBook Pro.

We made no compromises building the most powerful Surface laptop ever. When the team talks about Surface Book 2 they call it Beauty and the Beast. Gorgeous design meets unstoppable power in this laptop. With the latest 8th Gen Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 and 1060 discrete graphics options, Surface Book 2 is up to five times more powerful than the original and is twice as powerful as the latest MacBook Pro. All this power and Surface Book 2 still provides all-day battery life – up to 17 hours of video playback. That’s 70% more than the latest MacBook Pro.
 
Hidden in the Microsoft propaganda is Mixed Reality headsets - very interesting:
This looks to be rather awesome, will have to check out the Microsoft Store here once they become available.

Looks like the following prices, availability mid November:

https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2...werful-surface-book-ever/#xV6kR4dVWIb2zgac.97

Book 2 (13.5 inch)

• 7th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB, integrated GPU - $1,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, discrete-GPU - $1,999 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, discrete-GPU - $2,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core, i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, discrete-GPU - $2,999 USD ERP

Surface Book 2 (15-inch)

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, dGPU - $2,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, dGPU - $2,899 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, dGPU - $ 3,299 USD ERP
​
Seems rather steep in price, plus the price increases for upgrades seems ridiculously high are my first thoughts.
 
Very nice, I wonder if these are even beyond the 1060 Max-Q binning? Or what the clocks look like. Mickeysoft has some of the best built hardware and slickest panels out, I have just had so many firmware issues with the SP’s I hesitate buying right off the bat. But, a 1060 and i7 man that would be sweet!
 
Gotta wonder about the cooling. Specs sound like real ball scorchers.
The first couple generations of Surface devices killed it for my company and there's no way they get another chance at these price points.
 
noko said:
​
Seems rather steep in price, plus the price increases for upgrades seems ridiculously high are my first thoughts.
Click to expand...

Non-Cheapo Surfaces were always expensive. You'd be paying a lot of money for an i7, with high memory and high storage.
 
dang, the 15" pretty much ticks all the boxes for me. Too bad they waited so long, I bought something else. Also, probably would have bought something else anyway at that price. $2,899 is a really steep.
 
noko said:
Hidden in the Microsoft propaganda is Mixed Reality headsets - very interesting:
This looks to be rather awesome, will have to check out the Microsoft Store here once they become available.

Looks like the following prices, availability mid November:

https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2...werful-surface-book-ever/#xV6kR4dVWIb2zgac.97

Book 2 (13.5 inch)

• 7th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB, integrated GPU - $1,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, discrete-GPU - $1,999 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, discrete-GPU - $2,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core, i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, discrete-GPU - $2,999 USD ERP

Surface Book 2 (15-inch)

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, dGPU - $2,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, dGPU - $2,899 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, dGPU - $ 3,299 USD ERP
​
Seems rather steep in price, plus the price increases for upgrades seems ridiculously high are my first thoughts.
Click to expand...

It's actually not bad at all. A surface pro 4 with an i7-7660U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD is already$1600. For a discrete GPU in that form factor and the base unit, $400 isn't terrible(consider that the pro 4 needs at least a keyboard and the official one from MS is like $130 or so).
 
Wait the Surface Book 2 is more powerful than the first one!!! Shocking!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: noko
like this
Mugato said:
Very nice, I wonder if these are even beyond the 1060 Max-Q binning? Or what the clocks look like. Mickeysoft has some of the best built hardware and slickest panels out, I have just had so many firmware issues with the SP’s I hesitate buying right off the bat. But, a 1060 and i7 man that would be sweet!
Click to expand...

Yeah a friend of mine bought a surface book less than a year ago and it's nothing but trouble. Poor wifi reception and doesn't work properly with bluetooth devices. My macbook is nothing but trouble free use.

I could browse normally at literally twice the distance from the surface book.
 
$2k for an upper-midrange notebook with discrete graphics? No thanks. $3200 for a 15" with a 1060 and tb ssd? All of which are in a product line with a spotty reputation? NO BLOODY THANK YOU.
 
Well at least they're dropping the pretense of the regular Surface Pro's and not taking on additional losses by issuing a Surface Pro 5, since those were glorified laptops anyway - nobody really used the touch features or tablet mode - I never saw one in public without the keyboard attached.

Touch on windows has always been DOA.
 
So these limp out at a secret event, with highest graphics being a 1060 and no thunderbolt for a graphics dock... "Totally committed to Surface", "not stepping away from hardware", "something else the lawyers said we need to say to comply with a contract somewhere" ...

Watch random Microsoft executives twitter for the other shoe to drop sometime next year.
 
I'll wait till they get 1080i on this and I'll consider it. especially for that price.
 
DPI said:
Well at least they're dropping the pretense of the regular Surface Pro's and not taking on additional losses by issuing a Surface Pro 5, since those were glorified laptops anyway - nobody really used the touch features or tablet mode - I never saw one in public without the keyboard attached.
Click to expand...

They released a Surface Pro "5" back in June. Where have you been?

"Microsoft built the Surface Pro around a new 7th-generation Kaby Lake processor and its associated Iris Plus integrated graphics, and boy, do they shine. Especially in graphics, the new Surface Pro almost doubles the performance of the two-year-old Surface Pro 4, and challenges notebooks like the original Surface Book and 15-inch HP Spectre x360, both of which use a dedicated graphics chip."
 
Love my first gen. And I do use the "tablet mode" primarily just flipping the screen and plugging back on the docking station as a stand (and the extended battery and dgpu). Too rich for my blood though, gen 1 will last me a few more years.
 
I'm gonna guess the pen and that spinner gizmo are still sold separately after your wallet gets shoved up your own wazoo for buying one :ROFLMAO:
 
  • Like
Reactions: HoffY
like this
ND40oz said:
Great, well considering no one else can tell what your talking about either, at least your amusing yourself.
Click to expand...

hahaha. it's amusing that 1080i still relevant to a resolution since we are moving forward to 4k mostly. But back topic and rephrase my comment. I'd consider it if they could put a "graphics card" as powerful as close to "1080ti GTX" especially for that price. :D
 
Last edited:
Betauser said:
hahaha. it's amusing that 1080i still relevant to a resolution since we are moving forward to 4k mostly. But back topic and rephrase my comment. I'd consider it if they could put a "graphics card" as powerful as close to "1080i GTX" especially for that price. :D
Click to expand...
You mean a 1080 ti? No wonder no one knew what the hell you were talking about.
 
Ordeith said:
They released a Surface Pro "5" back in June. Where have you been?

"Microsoft built the Surface Pro around a new 7th-generation Kaby Lake processor and its associated Iris Plus integrated graphics, and boy, do they shine. Especially in graphics, the new Surface Pro almost doubles the performance of the two-year-old Surface Pro 4, and challenges notebooks like the original Surface Book and 15-inch HP Spectre x360, both of which use a dedicated graphics chip."
Click to expand...

That wasn't the Surface Pro 5. MS didn't believe in a minor spec bump enough to market it as Pro 5.

And at the rate Surface Pro's have been losing the company money, and the way they've been downplaying a successor at the last couple events, they're pretty much over as Surfacebooks take the focus. Good riddance buggy, overpriced, glorified ultrabooks.

The Surfacebook is a product that makes a lot more sense, since it drops the tablet pretense. Hopefully the hardware doesn't require a hundred firmware updates like its Surface Pro predecessors.
 
Last edited:
noko said:
Hidden in the Microsoft propaganda is Mixed Reality headsets - very interesting:
This looks to be rather awesome, will have to check out the Microsoft Store here once they become available.

Looks like the following prices, availability mid November:

https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2...werful-surface-book-ever/#xV6kR4dVWIb2zgac.97

Book 2 (13.5 inch)

• 7th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB, integrated GPU - $1,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, discrete-GPU - $1,999 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, discrete-GPU - $2,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core, i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, discrete-GPU - $2,999 USD ERP

Surface Book 2 (15-inch)

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, dGPU - $2,499 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, dGPU - $2,899 USD ERP

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, dGPU - $ 3,299 USD ERP
​
Seems rather steep in price, plus the price increases for upgrades seems ridiculously high are my first thoughts.
Click to expand...


Ya, thought the same thing. $500 for an extra 8 GB of memory and 256 GB storage. I do wish it was actually customizable.

I'd like the i7, with 16 GB of ram, 256 gb storage, and discrete graphics. I'll probably end up with the $2500 13.5" one. I'll wait to see what kind of deals pop out for the holidays. Maybe get that bastard for $2k or something. Be nice at least.
 
DPI said:
Well at least they're dropping the pretense of the regular Surface Pro's and not taking on additional losses by issuing a Surface Pro 5, since those were glorified laptops anyway - nobody really used the touch features or tablet mode - I never saw one in public without the keyboard attached.

Touch on windows has always been DOA.
Click to expand...


Cause you never saw me rolling around with my SP3. I almost never used the keyboard. It was just a glorified screen cover for me. I have to use it now though, as I dropped my SP3 and cracked the screen. Touch no longer works.

Used the pen for maybe 2 mins. It's somewhere in my apartment, not a clue. Haven't touched it since the first day I received my tablet.

Granted, mine is mostly a glorified media consumption device, with a little bit of work related things when/if I traveling for a corporate training class.
 
I was actually toying with the idea of getting a surface book a little while back when someone else was asking me about Surface pro, always wanted a tablet but android tablets are patchy at best these days (in addition to being expensive for decent ones) and iPad being too closed to my liking, Surface pro and book were my main options.

With a 1060 base I could be... persuaded to get one, especially if I can just use the screen as a normal Surface pro (pretty sure it can use the surface pro keyboard and has a kick stand).
 
chenw said:
I was actually toying with the idea of getting a surface book a little while back when someone else was asking me about Surface pro, always wanted a tablet but android tablets are patchy at best these days (in addition to being expensive for decent ones) and iPad being too closed to my liking, Surface pro and book were my main options.

With a 1060 base I could be... persuaded to get one, especially if I can just use the screen as a normal Surface pro (pretty sure it can use the surface pro keyboard and has a kick stand).
Click to expand...
Unless things have changed, I didn’t read the entire release mind you, the GPU is in the base.
 
Merc1138 said:
It's actually not bad at all. A surface pro 4 with an i7-7660U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD is already$1600. For a discrete GPU in that form factor and the base unit, $400 isn't terrible(consider that the pro 4 needs at least a keyboard and the official one from MS is like $130 or so).
Click to expand...

Surface book 2 is coming with 8650u, according to intel, it's 4C8T CPU, rather than 2C4T that is 7660u, the only thing lower is its base clock speed (1.9GHz vs 2.5Ghz).
 
DPI said:
Touch on windows has always been DOA.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say its DOA. I've wanted touch in windows for a decade. But not for serious work. Simply to make basic operations and casual use far more enjoyable and efficient etc.

Its great for entering numbers in excel while i'm flying heli's or reading web pages in bed or on the go etc.

They need to drop 1000$ off these things though. Thats just highway robbery. They are not doing themselves any favours.
 
I would fucking love this...however i will NEVER pay that much for a machine...ever
Who the fuck can afford that...

I'll wait 4 years for it to get reasonable...and then maybe get one :)
 
At $2-3k, I am not sure what kind of people are they targeting..
 
DPI said:
Well at least they're dropping the pretense of the regular Surface Pro's and not taking on additional losses by issuing a Surface Pro 5, since those were glorified laptops anyway - nobody really used the touch features or tablet mode - I never saw one in public without the keyboard attached.

Touch on windows has always been DOA.
Click to expand...

I am still somewhat iffy on touch on windows per se. I fall back onto pulling out the stylus semi-frequently personally when using my Surface Pro.
Although I seriously doubt if you've not caught someone using Surface as intended, being that you write on the screen.
 
I actually don't find the prices too bad.

A similar Surface pro and a laptop with a GTX 1060 GPU costs about the same overall, so it's just a matter of whether you'd prefer one single device or two completely separate devices.

I lean towards the former mostly for convenience reasons.

Bear in mind that I didn't take the fact that surface book's CPU is an 4C8T over Surface Pro's 2C4T, nor Pro's potentially better iGPU than Book's into account.
 
I went with a big iPad Pro. Don’t do much doodling any more, and iPad/iOS platform has superior support most musical instrument interfaces. Especially if you’re a Line6 junky like me :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top