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Introducing Surface Book 2

blogs.windows.com

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Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#91

Post by seanmcdirmid »

itodd wrote: post #77
Jaqua wrote: post #21

Looks like a proper MacBook Pro replacement HW wise, but the OS is not one I would use for work.. =/ So attached to OSX for the past 6 years and cannot see me using a windows OS for work , but at home only for gaming. The new MacBook Pro has many flaws. Not sure how this compares in real use for it?

I recently left my macbook with the TSA after a frantic sprint through security. I was stuck with a windows 7 PC for the week. Armed with Putty and a browser, I only missed the touchpad of my macbook. I do most of my work in Jupyter and in vim. It's rather liberating to realize you are not tied to one ecosystem. My point is I thought I would never be productive without my mac but that simply wasn't true. I suppose I…

Good on the TSA!

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#92

Post by rayiner »

sitkack wrote: post #74
rayiner wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears to max out at 16GB for the same reason as the rMBP (current Intel processors are limited to 16GB of LPDDR3).

Many Lenovo Thinkpads and HP ZBooks, the mobile workstation lines, support 64GB of ECC memory when paired with a Xeon. And 64GB of non-ECC when using a Core processor. Hell even the "ultrabook" workstation from HP, the ZBook Studio supports 32GB of ram [0]. One has to trade capacity for speed. 16GB is such a wall now, it makes me think Intel crippled their latest chips because they are too good. [0] http://www8.hp.co…

Those machines are using regular DDR memory, rather than the low-power LPDDR3 memory that the Surface Book and MBP use. The ZBook Studio G3, for example, gets just over half the battery life of the MBP, while weighing 15% more: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-zbook-studio-g3.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#93

Post by digi_owl »

bostand wrote: post #67
kanishkdudeja wrote: post #62

I hope they decrease bezels and make it more sexy, like the Dell XPS, in future versions.

Please don't. It's a tablet, it needs some bezels.

In particular as Windows 10 in tablet mode makes use of gestures that involve swiping in from outside the screen edge.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#94

Post by staticelf »

So many negative comments just because it's Microsoft. If you don't like the OS, obviously this machine is not for you.

Personally I think it looks nice, but I have a Surface Pro 2 that works just perfectly fine and I love it. The hardware on it is still good and I don't see any reason to upgrade.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#95

Post by dingo_bat »

Jaqua wrote: post #34
pbnjay wrote: post #24

Why do no pics show the USB-A side of the system clearly? It's like they only want to talk about USB-C. Also I can't tell if it does USB-C Power Delivery or not? Or would I still need a separate charger for this? Would be really nice to only carry one charger for phone and laptop...

What phone charges with USB-C? From here: https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-book-2-tech-specs "Microsoft is still using its proprietary Surface Connect for power and the optional Surface Dock." aaah.. at the end: "Users can also recharge the Surface Book 2 with a USB Type-C charger as long as it is powerful enough. Devices can be charged from the Surface Book 2, such as a phone using USB Type-C."

> What phone charges with USB-C?

Almost every new phone.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#97

Post by fhood »

ksec wrote: post #83
Jaqua wrote: post #21

Looks like a proper MacBook Pro replacement HW wise, but the OS is not one I would use for work.. =/ So attached to OSX for the past 6 years and cannot see me using a windows OS for work , but at home only for gaming. The new MacBook Pro has many flaws. Not sure how this compares in real use for it?

Gaming, the world has changed and this generation of Apple users has way more Gamers then what they had before. Why do they continue to ignore Gamers on the Mac Platform.

They are working on it, but in typical apple fashion they will not capitulate to existing standards.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#98

Post by skywhopper »

yoz-y wrote: post #71

What is the main reason behind the 17 hour battery life, mainly in comparison to a MacBook Pro? Does this come mainly from the battery size, power management in the OS or components?

Given that the only battery life number they quote is for video playback (with no specs about the video format, bitrate, resolution, full-screen state, etc), I suspect that number just happens to be extra high when you choose the optimal video in the optimal format and play it full screen (so the OS can stop spending cycles on UI rendering). Note that Apple specifies 10 hours of "iTunes Movie playback" for the 15-inch Macbook Pro. It's probably possible to improve on that with some other format. Apple also gives a quote for "wireless web" usage (the same 10 hours). The 15-inch Surface Book 2 is also significantly thicker and about 5% heavier than a 15-inch Macbook Pro. So I'm sure more battery plays a role as well.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#99

Post by jjuel »

kanishkdudeja wrote: post #33
zeveb wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine that it can run Linux, right — if not now, soon. I personally much prefer Linux to both macOS & Windows, although obviously tastes differ. I get a tiling WM with no cruft, I can completely control my UI, I can get work done quickly and easily.

The stylus and the touch might not work perfectly with Linux.

If the parent is using a tiling WM I doubt they need the touch or the stylus much.

Re: Introducing Surface Book 2

#100

Post by MikusR »

mbell wrote: post #79
Jaqua wrote: post #21

Looks like a proper MacBook Pro replacement HW wise, but the OS is not one I would use for work.. =/ So attached to OSX for the past 6 years and cannot see me using a windows OS for work , but at home only for gaming. The new MacBook Pro has many flaws. Not sure how this compares in real use for it?

That seems to depend on the task. The highest end CPU available, even the 15", is the i7-8650U which is a 1.9Ghz @ 15W part. This is also how they pull off 17hr battery life, they are putting an ultrabook processor in a 15" laptop. Current 15" MBP can be had with a i7-7920HQ, 3.1Ghz @ 45W which I would expect to be quite a bit faster for multi-core workloads.

Which they run at 20W
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