Is it worth buying a Gen 1 Surface Book

[zachthebomb13]

I'm going to be in the market for a new laptop here soon. My HP ultra book is getting old, and so it's time for an upgrade. My budget is $1,000, and my initial plan was to get something with a Gen 8 i5 or i7. As much as I love the Surface book form factor, I just don't have the money for a brand new Gen 2 model. Then, this morning I had an idea. What if I get a used Gen 1 for cheap? Is it worth it?

I don't game and I don't really do anything video heavy. I surf the web, and use Microsoft Office. In the next year, I'll probably start on my Masters Degree, and having the detached screen is very tempting for reading textbooks on the kindle. And, on both Amazon and Swappa you can get the i5 version for less than $800, and the i7 version for right at $1k.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is how the Gen 6 Intel processors will hold up. I want this to last me a few years. With the Meltdown and Spectre flaws, I'm worried that their performance will be hurt badly.

So, any thoughts? Is $800-1k worth a Gen 1 Surface book today? Thanks all!

 

[DQuiLon]

I'm going to be in the market for a new laptop here soon. My HP ultra book is getting old, and so it's time for an upgrade. My budget is $1,000, and my initial plan was to get something with a Gen 8 i5 or i7. As much as I love the Surface book form factor, I just don't have the money for a brand new Gen 2 model. Then, this morning I had an idea. What if I get a used Gen 1 for cheap? Is it worth it?

I don't game and I don't really do anything video heavy. I surf the web, and use Microsoft Office. In the next year, I'll probably start on my Masters Degree, and having the detached screen is very tempting for reading textbooks on the kindle. And, on both Amazon and Swappa you can get the i5 version for less than $800, and the i7 version for right at $1k.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is how the Gen 6 Intel processors will hold up. I want this to last me a few years. With the Meltdown and Spectre flaws, I'm worried that their performance will be hurt badly.

So, any thoughts? Is $800-1k worth a Gen 1 Surface book today? Thanks all!

In my opinion it is still a great machine... I use mine for personal work and play... For 3d designs, drawings, sketches and Microsoft office stuff...
Additionally i play games that aren't too demanding, such as Outlast 2, BioShock Infinity, Dying Light... So definitely not cutting edge, but very satisfactory for low-medium settings.

I love it even though it has its quirks, occasional windows bug and such... But I wouldn't trade it for anything else other than the next model.

 

[xandros9]

Anything can be worth buying if the price is right so you'll have to decide that for yourself. (I got a 2012 MacBook Pro)

My only concern is that the battery can't really be replaced so beware of that. Otherwise, it's still a competent machine.

 

[Theo Nik]

I am having the same conundrum right now. In my country the first gen Surface book i5, 8gb,256gb hard drive with nvidia dgpu costs the same as a new surface pro with i5, 8gb,256 gb without the keyboard and pen. So the surface pro is actually 250 euro more expensive right now, but has a newer cpu. I am really tempted by the surface book since the prices went down. I also wonder how it fares today comparing to the surface pro. If anyone has any insights, i am all ears

 

[DQuiLon]

Well, having the dGPU is a clear advantage if you are going to make use of it.... I do.
As for the CPU, the newer Surface Pro has an edge, but not as much as the 8th gen do.

For my type of use I would go with the Book, but that is my opinion.... I use the Laptop mode more than in tablet mode.... and that would be basically the main difference (I also use a lot the pen, specially after customizing the shortcuts to the button).

The Pro is more portable, but I carry my Book everywhere with a compact case.....

The bigger display is also a delight, and having 2 USB-A ports is also very helpful when transferring data between 2 external drives...