Surface Book to replace 15" Retina Macbook Pro + 12" Macbook

[zipro]

Hi guys,


has anyone switched over from a 15" Macbook Pro? My (maxed out) rMBP is a great machine. I've only had it for about half a year, to be honest, but I've had two problems with it: it's not very portable - and it's loud as hell. Even watching youtube videos makes the fan spin up full throttle and sometimes it won't "calm down" until I perform a reboot. I also have a 12" Macbook that I carry to work every day - that one's ok, but rather slow (even scrolling through longer MS Word documents causes it to start lagging).

My idea now is to replace both computers with one Surface Book.


Two things, though:


- how's the touchpad? Some reviewers say it's as good as the Macbook's, some say it's a catastrophe - so which one is it? My problem with every single PC laptop I've ever used hasn't been Windows itself, but the touchpad. It's the only reason why I've been using Macs exclusively over the last 15 years.

- How's the screen real-estate? This would be my only computer and I do quite a lot of work on it (I'm a language teacher and a freelance photographer). Anyone using this as his / her main machine? I don't believe in external monitors etc. I'm a bit of a purist and I don't work well in cluttered environments - I'm most productive when all I have in front of me is the laptop. The 13.5" screen is a weird format, I guess - how does it compare to a 15" rMBP? Obviously it's slightly smaller, but how does the 3:2 aspect ratio influence use for, say, MS Office and Adobe Lightroom?

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Hi guys,


has anyone switched over from a 15" Macbook Pro? My (maxed out) rMBP is a great machine. I've only had it for about half a year, to be honest, but I've had two problems with it: it's not very portable - and it's loud as hell. Even watching youtube videos makes the fan spin up full throttle and sometimes it won't "calm down" until I perform a reboot. I also have a 12" Macbook that I carry to work every day - that one's ok, but rather slow (even scrolling through longer MS Word documents causes it to start lagging).

My idea now is to replace both computers with one Surface Book.


Two things, though:


- how's the touchpad? Some reviewers say it's as good as the Macbook's, some say it's a catastrophe - so which one is it? My problem with every single PC laptop I've ever used hasn't been Windows itself, but the touchpad. It's the only reason why I've been using Macs exclusively over the last 15 years.

- How's the screen real-estate? This would be my only computer and I do quite a lot of work on it (I'm a language teacher and a freelance photographer). Anyone using this as his / her main machine? I don't believe in external monitors etc. I'm a bit of a purist and I don't work well in cluttered environments - I'm most productive when all I have in front of me is the laptop. The 13.5" screen is a weird format, I guess - how does it compare to a 15" rMBP? Obviously it's slightly smaller, but how does the 3:2 aspect ratio influence use for, say, MS Office and Adobe Lightroom?

I can't comment about the touchpad but you get the benefit of having a touch screen as well as the option to use the surface pen
Additionally, the 3:2 ratio will be pleasant to use for reading, editing and typing.

 

[zipro]

I can't comment about the touchpad but you get the benefit of having a touch screen as well as the option to use the surface pen
Additionally, the 3:2 ratio will be pleasant to use for reading, editing and typing.

Thanks! I have to say I'm not too big on touch screens. They're nice to have once in a while and I'll definitely use the SB's tablet mode to show stuff to my students etc., but from my experience with the Surface Pro 4, the touch screen isn't a replacement for a good touchpad in my usage scenario. In any case, depending on how late I have to work tonight I'll be picking the SB up tonight or tomorrow night and will find out myself

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Thanks! I have to say I'm not too big on touch screens. They're nice to have once in a while and I'll definitely use the SB's tablet mode to show stuff to my students etc., but from my experience with the Surface Pro 4, the touch screen isn't a replacement for a good touchpad in my usage scenario. In any case, depending on how late I have to work tonight I'll be picking the SB up tonight or tomorrow night and will find out myself

You can't test it out in a store where they are being sold? See how the trackpad behaves and other features. Perhaps a MS store

 

[zipro]

You can't test it out in a store where they are being sold? See how the trackpad behaves and other features. Perhaps a MS store

No Microsoft Stores here in Switzerand (this is Apple country :-/ I briefly tried one at a local shop and found the touchpad to be excellent, but there's a huge difference between trying something in a store for a few minutes and working with it over a longer period of time.