I bought a SurfaceBook

[mrex]

Yeah...why on Earth would you carry your expensive tech, if you are worried about scratches or other ancillary damage, in a bag compartment with a bunch of loose garbage?

I'm not a fan of the gap due to its aesthetics but I'm not sure how anyone who takes even halfway decent care of their tech should be concerned about debris in that space.

**** happens, life is not perfect... I find lots of stuff from sand grains to paper clips from my bag from time to time. Im sure i didnt put them there on purpose but they still were there.

 

[mi7chy]

Nice product. It'll be interesting to see how the Surface Book line evolves. I prefer the 13.5" display size, dGPU option and extra battery over the Surface Pro 4. Once it gets a kickstand and longer battery life in tablet mode I may just switch over. At that point it begs the question if two product lines are even necessary.

 

[maflynn]

weird though it may be, is there for a good reason.

I'd say the'll abandoned the whole fulcrum hinge mechanism altogether and employee something more traditional.

Early on when MS rolled this out, I was bothered by the gap, but now that I own the laptop, I'm not really worked up over it.

 

[Loco Emperor]

My surface book is my favorite piece of tech r right now.

 

[Beeplance]

I'd say the'll abandoned the whole fulcrum hinge mechanism altogether and employee something more traditional.

Early on when MS rolled this out, I was bothered by the gap, but now that I own the laptop, I'm not really worked up over it.

Does anyone know about the Surface Team's rationale behind the engineering of the Fulcrum Hinge? Like its main advantage vs normal laptop hinges.

Is it to 1) making the screen more stable when touching/drawing, 2) make it easier to disconnect/reconnect the clipboard, or 3) some other reason I'm not aware of?

 

[tbayrgs]

Does anyone know about the Surface Team's rationale behind the engineering of the Fulcrum Hinge? Like its main advantage vs normal laptop hinges.

Is it to 1) making the screen more stable when touching/drawing, 2) make it easier to disconnect/reconnect the clipboard, or 3) some other reason I'm not aware of?

This is only my guess but I'd wager it provides added rigidity. A typical laptop display is far lighter as it doesn't house any batteries as is required in the Surface Book so that the display can be removed and used as a tablet. As a related example, I have the Zagg Slimbook keyboard to use with my 12.9" iPad Pro. The iPP is much heavier than a traditional laptop display and consequently, the hinge in the keyboard dock is ridiculously stiff to compensate for what comparatively is a top heavy setup.

 

[aced411]

i think the design is wierd. it has empty space between the keyboard and the screeen when closed.. im pretty sure that i would find every pencils, coins, paper clips!, etc between the screen and the keyboard with nice scrathes on the screen.

That doesnt make sense to me.

I could see using a sleeve if you stuff it in a messy backpack. Personally I think the gap looks cool.

 

[maflynn]

Does anyone know about the Surface Team's rationale behind the engineering of the Fulcrum Hinge? Like its main advantage vs normal laptop hinges.

Here's a write up of why they did it.
The Story Behind the Surface Book’s Crazy New Hinge

To convert into clipboard mode, the display would need to balance at the edge of the keyboard base. But to do that, and do it sturdily, the base would need to be bigger than the display, which would add considerably to the device’s weight.

 

[soulreaver99]

I am so glad I picked up the Surface Book. Sort of disappointed that Apple made no mention of their new line of Macs but I am pretty content on what I have now.

Nowadays I only use my Mac for Final Cut Pro, Aperture (still haven't let that go yet!!!) and Homebridge in Terminal for home automation stuff. I'm also running the GM of Sierra and haven't been too impressed with the OS. In fact I am running Window 90% of the time on both my Macbook and Macbook Pro!

 

[maflynn]

Sort of disappointed that Apple made no mention of their new line of Macs but I am pretty content on what I have now

I know a few folks who were wanting/waiting for the announcements, but Apple typically doesn't mix and match announcements. The Mac stuff will be in October (hopefully), the downside is that it will only be Skylake since Kaby lake isn't out yet.

 

[spinedoc77]

i think the design is wierd. it has empty space between the keyboard and the screeen when closed.. im pretty sure that i would find every pencils, coins, paper clips!, etc between the screen and the keyboard with nice scrathes on the screen.

That doesnt make sense to me.

Some strong rumors are saying they will get rid of that gap in the next version. I'm not a big fan of it either, makes it thicker than it needs to be.

 

[maflynn]

I'm now on my SurfaceBook as I'm traveling for my company. Using the SB on the plane was fine, it worked well on my lap. My seat assignment was such that I was on the first row, so I couldn't really test the seat tray.

One thing I noticed is the display does not tilt back as far as I want. Its ok, where its at, but I'm used to a bit more extension.

The performance is great, as is the battery life so far. I love the keyboard its working well.

Overall, its a nice laptop and its doing everythign I ask of it.

 

[Renzatic]

On a plane, provided I'm not doing any heavy work, I'd probably flip the tablet portion around, and use it primarily as a tablet with a solid lap base.

In cramped spaces, I'm all about the stylus and the finger.

 

[Queen6]

SurfaceBook or SurfaceBook 2 is highly likely going to be my next portable. Already have a Samsung TabPro S as my ultraportable which is replacing my 2015 1.2 rMB. SurfaceBook will replace the 2014 13" rMB, and potentially a ThinkPad P50/P70 for the 15" rMB in time, for the heavylifting.

Used a no name box to trial W10, had few if any issues, now the TabPro S is my primary ultraportable. Been waiting to update the rest of my own hardware for sometime, SurfaceBook tick`s all the boxes, equally as this will be a system used professionally so some caution required. MS look to have worked out much of the kinks and certainly the Samsung has proved to be super stable, putting it`s Apple counterpart to shame under the same workload. I also have my eye on the Samsung Spin 9, although I prefer the concept & dGPU of the SurfaceBook.

Have read that MS has now solved the fulcrum hinge, so "flat" closure is possible. That said I have no issue with the current design. Just considering the potential benefits of SB2; Kaby Lake, 4K, improved dGPU, USB C with TB-3 would be a clincher, pricing will likely remain, and SB pricing is becoming more attractive seeing some decent discounts in HK theses days.

As for Apple, really not sure of it`s direction with the Mac; far too highly priced for the average consumer, too diluted for many engineering & media content creators. Apple may have some grand strategy, equally personally I have lost all confidence in Apple as provider of PC hardware for business our purpose...

Q-6

 

[M5RahuL]

Congrats! I'm still chugging along with my trusty SP4!

 

[Mcdevidr]

I just picked up a used one with Dgpu for 1100 and I love it. It runs all my Steam games (I only play strategy games no heavy graphics ones) and the machine is gorgeous. The tablet section is perfect for reading music on. This is probably my favorite device I own right now.

 

[maflynn]

Just an update, as Oracle OpenWorld finishes up. My SurfaceBook handled the conference, and working remotely admirably. The battery life has been great, at times, I needed to put the display up full brightness, due to the ambient lighting, and yet I had hours upon hours of battery life. While using it most days to take notes or remote in, the worst I saw was 40%

I will say that I'm getting spoiled by Windows Hello, seems like such a no brainer feature that it should be been implemented sooner. It fairy quickly unlocks my computer without a need of a passcode or pin.

Wifi has been spotless, which was one concern I had.

I hadn't used it in tablet mode as much as I thought I would be at the conference, I thought I'd be writing more notes, but I type fairly quickly so I was able to keep up with the presenters.

Overall, its been a light, nimble laptop that has exceeded my expectations

I was having a tiny bit of buyers remorse over picking the low end, but I've not run into a situation where the laptop was unable to handle what I was expecting it too.

 

[aced411]

Just an update, as Oracle OpenWorld finishes up. My SurfaceBook handled the conference, and working remotely admirably. The battery life has been great, at times, I needed to put the display up full brightness, due to the ambient lighting, and yet I had hours upon hours of battery life. While using it most days to take notes or remote in, the worst I saw was 40%

I will say that I'm getting spoiled by Windows Hello, seems like such a no brainer feature that it should be been implemented sooner. It fairy quickly unlocks my computer without a need of a passcode or pin.

Wifi has been spotless, which was one concern I had.

I hadn't used it in tablet mode as much as I thought I would be at the conference, I thought I'd be writing more notes, but I type fairly quickly so I was able to keep up with the presenters.

Overall, its been a light, nimble laptop that has exceeded my expectations

I was having a tiny bit of buyers remorse over picking the low end, but I've not run into a situation where the laptop was unable to handle what I was expecting it too.

Thanks for the feedback. I've been trying to decide if I get one now or try and hold off for the next version.

 

[Renzatic]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been trying to decide if I get one now or try and hold off for the next version.

I'm gonna wait for the next rev. If it turns out to be a vast improvement, I'll be glad I waited. If it's not, then I can probably grab the already excellent original at a discounted price.

 

[maflynn]

I'm gonna wait for the next rev. If it turns out to be a vast improvement, I'll be glad I waited. If it's not, then I can probably grab the already excellent original at a discounted price.

My mobility needs were more immediate, and I felt getting one now with the bugs shaken out was a safe bet. I've not been disappointed.

I also saw a fair amount of folks who also owned the SB at OpenWorld, though I will say people bringing their MBPs out numbered them by a large factor.

 

[Renzatic]

My mobility needs were more immediate, and I felt getting one now with the bugs shaken out was a safe bet. I've not been disappointed.

Out of curiosity, how loud are the fans in the SB? One of the reasons why I went with the entry level SP4 is because it's a dead quiet device. My old iPad spoiled me in this regard.

I also saw a fair amount of folks who also owned the SB at OpenWorld, though I will say people bringing their MBPs out numbered them by a large factor.

Well, the MBP is still the top tier laptop to beat, since it's got the build quality AND the faster processor. I'm hoping MS manages to add an equivalent processor to the SB2, because that'll make it a much, MUCH closer race.

 

[RossMak]

I was looking at one for travelling. I need something I can use on the pull down tray on the train. I was kind of floating between this and the 12 inch MacBook. The storage is the main issue for me as when I am travelling I am loading up box sets.

The Surfacebook was going to be for ease of using all my work tools which are all done through windows.

 

[maflynn]

Out of curiosity, how loud are the fans in the SB? One of the reasons why I went with the entry level SP4 is because it's a dead quiet device. My old iPad spoiled me in this regard.

Very quiet, most of the time, I don't hear the fans, and its much quieter then my SP3's fans

 

[Renzatic]

Very quiet, most of the time, I don't hear the fans, and its much quieter then my SP3's fans

Yeah, I'm gonna buy one.

The more I use my SP4, the more I like it, and the harder I start pushing it. I originally bought it just for internet browsing, watching movies, and the occasional bit of word. For that, it's served me quite well. Though now I've recently started playing with Substance Designer and Blender on it, both of which can very quickly choke out the little Core M3 and 4GB ram. By this point, I'm thinking I might as take the plunge, and upgrade to the more beefy Books.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I was torn between the SB and rMB for my portable device...
Although an MS machine made more sense (I have a windows server at my workplace) I opted for the rMB because of my past SP3 experience.
I truly loved my old SP3 but I really could not rely on it. Somedays the battery lasted 8 hours and some only 3 ... with the same workload.
Although I am quite a a techie guy it was very frustrating to notice that my SP3 was hot and with 0 battery when it was most needed...