[tastyminerals2]

I disagree in case of Surface Book. I didn't try Go.

This is a powerful premium laptop which can be used not only for pleasant programming experience due to good keyboard and 4k screen but also gaming due to powerful GPU card. It does not get hot and loud as much as any traditional gaming laptop with the same GPU card because GPU and CPU are separated (GPU under the keyboard and CPU in the detachable screen). I mean this is like the biggest advantage of all Surface Book laptops that makes them powerful, silent and cool at the same time. It might be not as powerful as dedicated gaming laptops but it is better because it is not even half as hot and loud. And which of your gaming laptops can run at least two hours without a socket? Honestly, the battery life of my wife's Mac Air 2019 is laughable in comparison.

It is also a good tablet. The only disadvantage for as a tablet is battery life which is far less than in iPads and Android devices. But neither of them is 15 inch and is equipped with an iCore.

There is no alternative on the market for Surface Book 2. Recent Surface Book 3 might not be more powerful as the audience expected but I would go for it all the same just because how much more malleable this machine is. If you need a mobile pc, this is the one.

[Ididntdothis]

Funny how different people come to different conclusions. I have a Book 2 and I regret it almost every day. The dock constantly runs out of USB resources, when I detach the tablet the external screen configuration gets f...ed up in random ways forcing me to rearrange screens and font sizes for a few minutes, the tablet mode feels very awkward to use and for its spec and price the Book 2 is not very fast.

My company also HP Zbook laptops. Next time I will get one of those those again instead. Not a very elegant laptop but it works.

[tastyminerals2]

Emm, screen config not retained is an OS issue and not a laptop tbo. I agree that tablet mode is not convenient but you are free to stay in desktop mode. USB resources are not enough but I never ran out of USB ports because I have no use for them. I connect everything via Bluetooth, mouse, headphones. Mini display port for external monitor.

Yes, for the price of ~2k you can buy a more powerful laptop. But how less powerful a 1.5 year old Surface i7 with GTX1060 even nowadays? I think the whole performance debate is a big exaggeration unless you're getting into high-end gaming on 4k resolutions or deep learning. If I needed power, I would never go with a laptop no matter how powerful it is. Buy a PC because this is what they are for.

I am personally over with classical monoblock laptops with GPU and CPU squeezed together. It feels just dated.

[Ididntdothis]

“Emm, screen config not retained is an OS issue and not a laptop tbo”

My HP Zbook didn’t have these issues with the same OS. I could take it to a meeting, plug it back into the docking station and things would be like before. With the Surface in 80% of cases something gets messed up. I suspect it has something to do with the drivers.

The high res screen on it also causes problems forcing me to constantly adjust the font scaling.

In general, what’s the point of getting a very expensive Surface Book if it’s not really better ?

[reaperducer]

Emm, screen config not retained is an OS issue and not a laptop tbo

It is when the same company is making both.

[stronglikedan]

> pleasant programming experience due to ... 4k screen

I opted for a 4k 15" screen when buying a new laptop, precisely for this reason. I was so disappointed to find out that I could barely see anything on the screen at 4k without using the magnification function, and that was before I needed reading glasses. I've been using it in 1080p ever since, and I regret not getting a 1080p native resolution, because mixed resolutions are a pain with multiple monitors.

[kitsunesoba]

> I've been using it in 1080p ever since, and I regret not getting a 1080p native resolution, because mixed resolutions are a pain with multiple monitors.

This is mainly a problem with Windows and some desktop Linux setups. macOS handles mixed DPI displays without issue.

[freeone3000]

I have a 1st-gen surfacebook, and this thing for sure is not quiet or cool. It can barely run MTG Arena at 720p, much less stream it at the same time. Forget about any serious game. It gets incredibly hot, especially on the GPU, as there's only one fan for the keyboard area pointing at the screen, and it's tiny. The fan on the tablet portion is woefully inadequate for an i7, so spins up shortly after start and never spins down. And the full metal chassis means the entire computer gets hot.

Perhaps the battery life might matter more if it actually slept when it was closed, but the large number of spurious wakeups in bag caused me to assume the battery will be drained whenever I arrive.