Trying to find the right category for hybrid laptop-tablet Microsoft Surface Book always involves certain difficulties. Here and now, holding a new hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review, I find it hard to come up with a niche, for which he would fit best.
Before delving into the details, I would like to note that the extremely fast hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review. For performance, it is no less than two times faster than the original Surface Book, which at one time on speed and left all his rivals behind. In addition, Microsoft’s new product is characterized by a remarkable lasting battery life. None of our tested notebooks could keep up with him in this regard.
So what? It turns out that all the competitors are sorry lagging behind? Not really. After all, the world is not the same as it was a year earlier. Competitors hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review are not asleep, and Microsoft hybrid device in some respects far from ideal.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT
If you still do not know, said the hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review – this is the second iteration of the “transformable” Microsoft notebooks. The upper half is a very beautiful tablet with perfect proportions and a touch screen «PixelSense» with a diagonal of 13.5 inches and supports the electronic pen.
Inside the base unit with the keyboard (it is called here Performance Base) is a discrete graphics chip, whereby Surface Book and outperforms any other portable computer.
These two components are connected by means of the same hinge, which is present in the first Surface Book. There were rumors that Microsoft will abandon the “hinge axis with a dynamic” and eliminate a gap, but still remained the same, and the proposed design, as before, is one of the main features of the Surface Book i7.
Whether you like a joint or not, but it gradually migrated in the new model Surface Book i7. It seems that compared to last year (pictured), its design has not changed
OLD AND NEW
The hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review looks identical to the previous version. Outwardly, nothing has changed. Screen PixelSense provided with the same IPS panel with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels. Behind the screen lies a dual-core processor Intel’s sixth-generation Skylake Core i7-6600U. Volume LPDDR3 memory (8 or 16GB) and solid state drive (from 256GB to 1TB), customers can choose according to your taste. (We got a model with 16 GB of memory and solid state drive capacity of 1 TB, which is offered on Amazon for $ 3,300.).
Fans of the latest equipment, probably deem this processor complete disappointment. Why, at a time when laptops are based on Intel processors seventh generation Kaby Lake already being manufactured a variety of manufacturers, Microsoft has suddenly lost contact with reality and chose the old processor?
It seems that in the first place, Microsoft decided to pay attention to upgrade the graphics subsystem. The original version of the Surface Book supplied with a discrete processor, Nvidia GeForce, which was made to order, but, by all accounts, very much like the GeForce GT 940M.
New
hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review chip is equipped with
Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. Now, the graphics processor is much faster, but also heated at the same time stronger. In Microsoft reported that effective cooling had to add a second fan and the housing Performance Base from the increase in the size of the fan became thicker than that of the original model.
Under load the fan noise louder, but in general the acoustic background is normal. A little bit rather tartly, but perfectly acceptable. It seems that fans cooled the graphics processor is good enough. On the Surface Book i7, I performed a load test of the GPU within an hour. In this notebook, of course, it is hot, but before that it was impossible to hold in their hands or use, it did not come. So that the proposed technical implementation of Microsoft rose to the occasion
PERFORMANCE SURFACE BOOK I7
Performance CPU hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review can be described with just one phrase: it is a dual-core Intel chip. Sixth-generation processor Skylake about 10% slower than a comparable Kaby Lake seventh generation. In most situations, this difference is not particularly noticeable.
HANDBRAKE
The chart shows the performance of hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review in comparison with the best laptops available on the market. For greater contrast and variety I have included here as a large quad Dell XPS 15 and Microsoft Surface 3 with quite anemic by today’s Atom X7 processor. During testing, the size of 30 GB MKV files to convert using Handbrake 0.9.9 software.
Most dual-core laptops (including models from Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360 with Kaby Lake processor) to perform the test took more than two hours. Because the chips are heated during the test, and their performance has dropped, the performance difference was minimal. This does not mean that there is any difference in general no, but Skylake sixth-generation chip proved to be very worthy.
The diagram shows how little has changed since the first version of the Surface Book. In the test, Cinebench R15, which also evaluates the performance of the CPU, the results Surface Book of the year of manufacture were absolutely identical to its last year’s version.
ALL OF THE GRAPHICS PROCESSOR
But what we really care about, it’s the performance of the GPU, hidden in the Surface Book i7 under the keyboard. All we were hoping for a revelation on the part of the new graphics processors AMD and Nvidia and the GeForce GTX 965M does not disappoint us.
3DMARK SKY DIVER
The synthetic test 3DMark Sky Diver, developed by Futuremark, assesses performance graphics PC. Despite the fact that video games are real engines are not used, the test is one of very illustrative. For comparison, I ran it on the Dell XPS 15 – 15-inch laptop with a quad-core CPU and graphics components of the GeForce GTX 960M, which is much thicker and larger. As an overall assessment depends largely on the number of processor cores, the XPS 15 has gained the upper hand here.
Yielding XPS 15, Surface Book nevertheless broke away from the rest. Thank for it must be GeForce GTX 965M graphics chip, which is almost three times the performance of integrated graphics for other laptops.
The composition of
3DMark is included and a separate test to evaluate the performance of the graphics subsystem without reference to the central processor. And when we have learned four cores of the brackets, Surface Book i7 won. Not such a landslide, as expected, but still good. Thus, it can be argued that the Surface Book i7 very fast.
Not everyone, however, trust in our time the synthetic tests, so I decided to turn to the old, though (she was already three years), but it is still my favorite game Tomb Raider. at my disposal, Comparable computers were few, but you can see how the two models of the XPS 13 behave in the game at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and High settings. The slowest appeared laptop processor Kaby Lake seventh-generation graphics and HD 620. When you go to Dell XPS 13 with a processor Intel Core i7-6560U and Iris 540 graphics we get a decent performance boost. The original Surface Book with the GeForce GT 940M is even faster but produces only 35.4 frames per second. Play with these parameters, I would not like. But everything changes on the Surface Book i7, which shows already a really good rate to 80.8 frames per second, and even ahead of the Dell XPS 15 with a GeForce GTX 960M.
LONG OBSCENELY
As mentioned earlier, in the flatbed of the hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review has not changed, and it is running the same battery capacity of 18 Wh. Modernization has undergone block Performance Base, the thicker profile is allowed to install the higher capacity battery. And if the original Surface Book with GeForce cards come with a battery capacity of 53 Wh, the new model battery capacity increased to 63 Wh. Thus, in the amount we get quite a respectable 81 Wh. To see how this will affect the duration of the work, I ran the standard VideoTesT Surface Book on the last and the previous generations.
During the test, we reproduced the film in a circle with a resolution of 4K using Windows 10 Movies & TV app. The choice of this application was due to its super-efficient video player. Before performing the test, the laptop was transferred in airplane mode, and brightness is set at a typical day for viewing at home or at the office level of 250-260 nits. The sound was turned on, but we used a couple of small headphones.
And what is the result? Battery life was a long obscene. The movie for 13 hours was a new record for us. The original Surface Book worked deserve respect 10 hours, while the nearest competitor Dell XPS 13 is turned off, barely topping the mark of 11 hours.
PROJECT ARA, WHICH CAN BE PURCHASED
Since the new tablet hybrid laptop, Microsoft Surface Book i7 review looks exactly the same as in the original version, I naturally wanted to know whether it is possible to connect the unit to the updated original Performance Base, who underwent the basic modernization. As expected, both parts perfectly approached each other, and after loading multiple drivers all earned. Do not believe me? As proof, take a look at a snapshot of last year’s tablet screen Surface Book, connected to the new Performance Base from the GeForce GTX 965M.
With some stretch hybrid laptop, Microsoft Surface Book i7 review can be called the first modular notebook. Theoretically, to modernize enough to buy a new base part. All in the same way as that of the deceased the project Google Project Ara, but in front of us a product that really can be bought at the store. The only problem is that Microsoft does not sell the base part separately. And this is bad because the company failed to open her capabilities. Many of those who purchased the Surface Book last year, quite happy and tablet processor Skylake part, but the components of the GeForce GT 940M is already obsolete. If I was interested in graphics performance, in the presence of the original, I would not fail to buy as an upgrade Performance Base from the GeForce GTX 965M.
WHAT’S WRONG
The most obvious problems still have not disappeared. The
original Surface Book impressed everyone at the time of issue, but for many months disconnection and re-connection of the tablet were associated with certain difficulties. By changing the firmware developers long time correcting errors identified with the connection and disconnection of the tablet, as well as the transition to sleep mode and exit from it.
I must admit that for the past ten months, I regularly translate the original Surface Book (though not the one that we used in the writing of this review) in various modes. The problems were not so much, but from time to time they arose, and sometimes just drove me crazy.
Are these issues directly with the Surface Book, or from Windows 10 Insider Preview, I do not know. However, in spite of everything, the Microsoft product is, in my view, deserves close attention.
Although there is something to complain about. The most significant drawback I think the lack of Thunderbolt interface 3 or at least faster port with a capacity of 10 Gbit / s. With this level of performance “professional” ports must include in the package.
Another deterrent to buyers is the price of Surface Book i7. We tested the computer with a Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, solid state drive capacity of 1 TB and graphic components of the GeForce GTX 965M is $ 3,300.
But! MacBook Pro 13 with similar specifications will cost you $ 2,900, and this is a real premium product sold at a premium price.
You can, of course, to throw off the price Surface Book i7 $ 500., Reducing the capacity of the SSD half. Or restrict configuration with 8 GB of RAM and a solid state drive capacity of 256 GB for $ 2,400. But this price is absolutely not competitive compared to the price that is asked in the market for laptops of comparable equipment. Naturally, it should be taken into account that nothing like the Surface Book i7 no PC maker does not offer.
LIGHTWEIGHT AND TOUGH AT THE SAME TIME
This is followed by touch size and weight of the hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review. When weighing devices that took part in our survey, the balance showed a 1 kg 645 This is 57 grams more than the original Surface Book, but the body of the new laptop is much more cumbersome. Dell XPS 13 model is a seventh-generation processor and a non-touch screen easier to approximately 450 g
If you move in the other direction, we will see that
MSI GS63VR Stealth quad chip skylake, 15-inch screen and more powerful video card GeForce GTX 1060 weighs only 200 grams more than the Surface Book i7.
This MSI Computer Surface Book i7 superior in everything except for the duration of battery life and build quality. Well, the screen quality.
The eternal rival Surface Book i7, Apple’s MacBook Pro 13, has recently been put on a diet and are now weighs about 1 kg 360 g In this situation, the updated Surface Book i7 is a rather strange intermediate position. Its weight is small enough so that some buyers excluded from consideration larger quad alternatives, while others have stopped paying attention to even the lighter competitors.
CONCLUSION
When Microsoft unveiled details
Surface Book i7, I was quite disappointed as the average specifications. But after testing, I concluded that he must have prepared for a long and successful life. The performance of the graphics subsystem hybrid laptop Microsoft Surface Book i7 review ahead of a large 15-inch laptop with discrete graphics, and it is impressive. If you add the tablet mode, luxurious hinge support pen, beautiful screen and shiny duration of battery life, how not to recall that the Surface Book, we fell in love at first sight.
