Is the Surface Book 2 just TOO expensive?

[Richard Toft]

Its a premium device with premium engineering and innovation, so no, not too expensive really. Before buying my surface pro 4 I tried to find comparable devices at a lower price point and yes I could save £30 but the look and feel of the surface more that made up for the £30 saving.

 

[mininv]

No! It's not too expensive. Have you priced out a Mac?

 

[esmjahan]

I was expecting to see a poll to choose Yes/No. Anyway, the price is just right because this device packs some amazing tech. Making a detachable device with that elaborate hinge is much more expensive compared to a straight laptop. Surface Book 2 is not the most powerful work-horse because the CPU must be inside the thin clipboard. First, a powerful CPU would need a spacious cooling system with large fans which do not fit inside the clipboard. Second, with a powerful 45 Watt CPU, the battery life with the tablet mode would be very short. So, do not compare this device with Dell Precision or Alienware. Surface Book 2 is a unique device in its own league. If it fits in your workflow, it is worth the price.

 

[GG002]

I've been with the Surface brand since the RT days. Call me biased, but I fell in love right from the start, and I still have an RT running in the house. Moved up to the SP3 when it came out, and this is still my daily driver with nigh a hickup. It might have cost a pretty penny, but seeing it's replaced 2-3 devices I used to have, and seeing it works flawlessly to this day, even with demanding tasks*, I don't see a problem with Microsoft's pricing strategy for the SB2. Personally of course I wish it were cheaper, but I also know I'd get what I paid for if I were to upgrade to the SB2.

*Photoshop, FHD video editing, electronics CAD, programming, Linux VMs... (i5/256)

 

[redevall]

Yes...way too expensive...and before some of you start talking about comparative to apple...wasn't it just a few years ago that MSFT had a laptop campaign against apple with all the TV ads talking about a laptop vs an apple and what they could do at a significantly cheaper price...so much so that Apple requested that MSFT pull the ads? It had a big impact on the market at the time. I understand wanting to compete, and the....wanting the "premium" feel, but I also have to agree with some of the folks that mentioned that MSFT has a bad history of abandoning its products.

 

[jmadriz]

So, we now know many of the official details on the new Surface Book 2, including the specs and pricing. And it looks amazing. But it's also REALLY expensive, with the 13-inch version starting at around $1,500 and the 15-inch version going all the way up to $3,000. Yeah, $3,000 for a laptop is kind of ridiculous, right?

This really isn't anything new, of course. Microsoft's Surface line has always been pricey, but it also delivers an unparelled Windows experience. Is the new Book too expensive? A Windows Central poll found almost the exactly same percentage of people who plan to buy the Surface Book 2 ASAP said "no way, it's too expensive." What do you think?

YES it is, It makes me wish it's software was a little better, and dominated by flawless graphic performance on desktop software, and UI consistency.

 

[lbp775]

The subject of whether the Surface line is worth it has been beaten to death. If you don't see value in all premium products whether it be cars, boats, clothing and electronics than you never will.

**edit** And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that...

 

[jkellywilkerson]

Being a developer, I will definitely be buying one and will pre-order 11/09. Pricewise, it'll be justified due to that one device replacing my 15" MacBook Pro, iPad Pro 12.3", and Surface Pro 4. I'll most likely order the 13.5" version with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, but could possibly move up to the 15" version...just not entirely sure yet.

 

[kennrhem]

You called it. There is only one 2-in-1 with a quad core. Vaio makes it & it hasn't been updated since they split from Sony. A piece of kit like this paired with a large screen [surface studio/Dell canvas] is all I've been waiting for... 3k is cheap when you price a Wacom mobilestudio and a cintiq pro

 

[LIEBER]

The Surface Book 2 with top specs costs -- some 3-400$ more than a Surface Pro (2017) or Surface Laptop with similar amount of RAM and disk space. For those 3-400$ you get (i) bigger screen/higher resolution, (ii) better battery life, (iii) 4 cores vs. 2 cores/more recent CPU, (iv) discrete GPU, (v) better keyboard (I assume...). The "downside" is that the Book is bigger and heavier. In my view, the Book 2 is not excessively expensive compared to the other offers in the Surface line. But of course, it is expensive.

 

[ZipZapRap]

"Expensive" is relative.

I can't afford a Ferrari. I can afford a SB2. So for me it's not expensive (and I can't wait to get one!!)

 

[Mr_Armageddon]

The Spectre x360 15t has a GeForce MX150, not a GTX 1050. Significant difference. That said, I'd say it's the best overall competition to the SB2 13-inch. The GTX 1060 in the SB2 15-inch puts it in another class entirely, though. Agreed that Thunderbolt 3 was a big ommission, but it's a bigger issue for the SB2 13 than it is for the 15 -- but note, I'm pretty sure the Thunderbolt 3 in the Spectre x360 15 (not the 13) is only two channels, not four, and so external GPU performance might be a little limited.

Yep, I forgot it is a MX150. Not as much umph, but still capable of gaming while traveling. The new (late 2017 version) of the Spectre x360 15t does in fact have 4x PCIe lanes enabled, so it will work perfectly with a eGPU dock via Thunderbolt 3. I already have the dock (AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 eGPU), and with one cable it will provide power, 4x monitor ouptputs, 4x USB 3.1 ports, and of course a desktop grade graphical boost.

Was really hoping to use the new SB2 in my office with this setup. I do think the price is a bit high, but not outlandish for what it offers. Unfortunately, the lack of Thunderbolt 3 is a deal killer for me, which is why I purchased the HP Spectre instead. Hoping the Surface Book line does well enough to merit a V3 next year, hopefully with Thunderbolt 3 at that point.

 

[wynand32]

Yep, I forgot it is a MX150. Not as much umph, but still capable of gaming while traveling. The new (late 2017 version) of the Spectre x360 15t does in fact have 4x PCIe lanes enabled, so it will work perfectly with a eGPU dock via Thunderbolt 3. I already have the dock (AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 eGPU), and with one cable it will provide power, 4x monitor ouptputs, 4x USB 3.1 ports, and of course a desktop grade graphical boost.

Was really hoping to use the new SB2 in my office with this setup. I do think the price is a bit high, but not outlandish for what it offers. Unfortunately, the lack of Thunderbolt 3 is a deal killer for me, which is why I purchased the HP Spectre instead. Hoping the Surface Book line does well enough to merit a V3 next year, hopefully with Thunderbolt 3 at that point.

Good news about the PCIe lanes on the Spectre x360. Do you have that set up already? I'd love to hear about your experience with that setup.

And I hear you about no Thunderbolt 3 on the SB2. It's not a big deal for me because for everything I do, a GTX 1060 is more than enough. But if you have need for anything greater, then I can see the SB2 being unfortunately gimped in this regard.

 

[skrishnasantosh]

So, we now know many of the official details on the new Surface Book 2, including the specs and pricing. And it looks amazing. But it's also REALLY expensive, with the 13-inch version starting at around $1,500 and the 15-inch version going all the way up to $3,000. Yeah, $3,000 for a laptop is kind of ridiculous, right?

This really isn't anything new, of course. Microsoft's Surface line has always been pricey, but it also delivers an unparelled Windows experience. Is the new Book too expensive? A Windows Central poll found almost the exactly same percentage of people who plan to buy the Surface Book 2 ASAP said "no way, it's too expensive." What do you think?

Was just checking.. Macbook Pro with Touch ID and Touch Bar - with Dual Core 7th Generation i7 'U' processor Processor and 512 GB SSD cost about $2800 - Graphics is Intel Iris 650... Surface has a 8th Generation Quad Core i7 Processor and more screen resolution... With nVidia Graphics card.. $200 more for 50% more power - aint bad..

 

[wynand32]

Was just checking.. Macbook Pro with Touch ID and Touch Bar - with Dual Core 7th Generation i7 'U' processor Processor and 512 GB SSD cost about $2800 - Graphics is Intel Iris 650... Surface has a 8th Generation Quad Core i7 Processor and more screen resolution... With nVidia Graphics card.. $200 more for 50% more power - aint bad..

If we're talking about the MacBook Pro 15-inch at $2800 ($100 less than the similarly equipped SB2), then the processor is an HQ quad-core variant. So it's faster (and less efficient) than the 8th-gen processor in the SB2. And the RAM is a bit faster, but not by much. The GPU is the Radeon Pro 560.

Of course, the GTX 1060 wipes the floor with the Radeon Pro 560. That's true for both gaming and for the kind of creative apps people are going to use on these machines. If the app supports the GPU, then that should more than make up for the slower processor.

Toss in the 2-in-1 aspect, the pen and the dial, and what's likely to be significantly better battery life, and I think the 15-inch SB2 competes well against the 15-inch MacBook Pro. But it's not quite so clear-cut if you're a MacOS person.

 

[terreos]

I’ve been considering getting a surface book 2. I currently have the Razer Blade 14 and I used it for CAD and gaming. But, I’ve had so much problems with Razers support that I’m going to be selling it and moving to another laptop.

I’m looking at the 15” Surface Book 2 as it’s a similar size and weight to my current Razer Blade 14. And while it will be a bit of speed decrease due to the 8650u being slower compared to the 6700HQ the increased battery life is a selling point. Plus I could get rid of my IPad too since thus will work as a tablet too.

Has anyone heard if the 1060 in the surface book 2 is a Max Q model?

 

[FXi2]

Pretty sure it's a Max Q 1060 because that's the only one that fits the wattage specs after the cpu wattage

 

[terreos]

Pretty sure it's a Max Q 1060 because that's the only one that fits the wattage specs after the cpu wattage

Yeah that’s true. Double checked that myself once you mentioned it. Even then it seems really close doesn’t it? Wonder if they undervolted some of the parts even more? That’s a shame.

 

[FXi2]

You can still get a bargain on the old models if you need one cheaper.

 

[terreos]

The difference in performance wouldn’t be worth it in my mind. Hence one of the main reasons I didn’t bother with the gen 1 Surface Book.