Microsoft Surface Book In-Depth Review - Hardware, Gaming, Video Editing

Buy it on Amazon - http://lon.tv/0w87o (affiliate link) - Microsoft has developed a new premium Windows 10 notebook tablet hybrid that’s truly every bit as a good as Macbook. See my followup video for an important update on my opinion: http://lon.tv/hskjv

VIDEO INDEX:

00:02 - Hardware overview
00:26 - Tablet overview
01:03 - Price and configuration options
02:13 - Stylus and tablet demonstration
03:20 - Battery life discussion (including tablet exclusive battery)
03:35 - Display / touch screen discussion
03:51 - Microsoft Word / Desktop Publishing demonstration
04:50 - Hinge design and operation
06:12 - Stylus magnetic stowage
06:20 - Weight
06:35 - Ports and card reader
07:00 - Magnetic power adapter and displayport adapter
07:30 - Keyboard and trackpad discussion
08:14 - Latching demonstration when GPU is enabled
08:55 - Video editing with Adobe Premiere
10:26 - Gaming with GTA (Grand Theft Auto) V
11:50 - 3DMark benchmark and comparison between tablet mode and GPU
12:45 - Kodi, Blu Ray MKVs, and h.265 sample
13:49 - Conclusion and Final thoughts

The Surface Book, like the other Surface products, is made out of lightweight magnesium and is relatively light. The gorgeous 13.5” 3000x2000 3:2 square display can detach into a full tablet, with a battery that can last for about 4 hours or so. The keyboard dock brings the USB and external display ports, so when the tablet is detached it won’t be able to connect to many devices with a wire. It does support Bluetooth, however.

The version I purchased came with an Nvidia graphics processor (GPU) that’s built into the dock. The GPU should bring a 30-50% performance boost in graphically intensive software that supports a separate graphics processor. It works with games too although it only has a gigabyte of onboard video RAM which is not ideal for demanding games like Grand Theft Auto V. But most games will see a boost in speed over the standard Intel GPU.

The keyboard is superb, the trackpad is almost identical to the one on my 2012 Macbook Pro, and the included stylus is excellent for graphics applications. It’s great for Photoshop especially for detailed work. I was able to lay the tablet flat on my table with the pen in hand, and it’s smart enough to ignore my wrist resting against the screen and look only for the pen.

While I remain a committed Mac user (primarily because of software that I use that’s exclusive to the Mac platform), I have to say this a real competitor to Apple’s hardware design dominance. If you’re a Windows user who’s lusted after the Apple design this Windows machine is every bit as good.

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