Surface Book 2 or Elitebook 1040 x360 G5

[suiMarc]

Hi everyone

I’m looking for a new notebook and I can’t decide between the MS Surface Book 2 and the HP EliteBook 1040 x360 G5.

Both are 2in1, have an i7, have enough RAM, a good keyboard, a good screen and both are similar in pricing.

The main advantage I see in the Surface is the detachable screen while the EliteBook has 4G connectivity.

Which one would you prefer and why?

 

[Ryujingt3]

Welcome to the forums, @suiMarc!

I've always wanted a SurfaceBook, so I'd pick that. I also don't use a PC to play games so the SB2 would be fine for my needs. What I like about the SurfaceBook is what you said, that fact that it is detachable so you can still do work without being tethered to a desk. That's a big plus for me and is why I'd pick the SB2.

 

[ochhanz]

Hi everyone

I’m looking for a new notebook and I can’t decide between the MS Surface Book 2 and the HP EliteBook 1040 x360 G5.

Both are 2in1, have an i7, have enough RAM, a good keyboard, a good screen and both are similar in pricing.

The main advantage I see in the Surface is the detachable screen while the EliteBook has 4G connectivity.

Which one would you prefer and why?

, the elitebook is a good choice if you want to service, upgrade or repair your own device. The surfacebook is a good choice if you value a 3:2 screen and detach screen function. Both are expensive so it is advised to wait for a sale or buy refurbished.

 

[Ryujingt3]

, the elitebook is a good choice if you want to service, upgrade or repair your own device. The surfacebook is a good choice if you value a 3:2 screen and detach screen function. Both are expensive so it is advised to wait for a sale or buy refurbished.

Very good points made! I think most people would want the service and upgrade ability. Personally, I prefer the detachable screen option.

 

[ochhanz]

Very good points made! I think most people would want the service and upgrade ability. Personally, I prefer the detachable screen option.

, if only 3:2 screens would be more popular or the surface book would be serviceable. With the lack of mortar & brick Microsoft Stores in non-US regions and lack of repairability, I cannot justify spending so much money on a laptop but it seems to be perfect otherwise for me.

 

[Ryujingt3]

, if only 3:2 screens would be more popular or the surface book would be serviceable. With the lack of mortar & brick Microsoft Stores in non-US regions and lack of repairability, I cannot justify spending so much money on a laptop but it seems to be perfect otherwise for me.

I do wonder why the SurfaceBook is not that serviceable. Was it intentional or by design?

 

[ochhanz]

I do wonder why the SurfaceBook is not that serviceable. Was it intentional or by design?

, good question, I think there are multiple possible reasons:
- could be that it would create a structural weakness in the frame/body, since a hole/opening has to be cut and they don't want to make the tablet part heavier with a thicker frame.
- could be that they want to prevent people from upgrading ram and repairing the device themselves etc.
- or perhaps for visual reasons for people that despise seams / screws. :>

Still they could have at least added a small hatch for the m2 ssd or such.
I still kindy get it for Surface Book in the sense that it is a tablet, for the Surface Laptop I think it is unacceptable however. And for the Surface Pro I think a hatch could have been added behind the kickstand without adding to many issues.

 

[Ryujingt3]

, good question, I think there are multiple possible reasons:
- could be that it would create a structural weakness in the frame/body, since a hole/opening has to be cut and they don't want to make the tablet part heavier with a thicker frame.
- could be that they want to prevent people from upgrading ram and repairing the device themselves etc.
- or perhaps for visual reasons for people that despise seams / screws. :>

Still they could have at least added a small hatch for the m2 ssd or such.
I still kindy get it for Surface Book in the sense that it is a tablet, for the Surface Laptop I think it is unacceptable however. And for the Surface Pro I think a hatch could have been added behind the kickstand without adding to many issues.

Maybe they will make it more serviceable in the future? Doing that would definitely give them an advantage over Apple at least. However, if you can upgrade say the RAM, would you then buy the next iteration?

 

[ochhanz]

Maybe they will make it more serviceable in the future? Doing that would definitely give them an advantage over Apple at least. However, if you can upgrade say the RAM, would you then buy the next iteration?

, well it would make me want buy a Surface device new which I atm won't .
I did do a ram upgrade once for my current laptop so I guess otherwise I would have bought a laptop with more ram, that being said with ram currently being offered at 16 gb in quite a bit of laptops, I doubt upgrading ram is relevant for most users .
But it is more about the option to repair objects after it possible fails after 2-5 years. A friend of mine has a 3 year old Spectre laptop where recently the SSD died, if it would have been glued together like the Surface he had to throw the whole device away.
Broken ram can also happen. Not entirely sure though what happens when you have 2 rams slots installed and only 1 goes bad, I guess you would still get errors?
A shame though most new ultrabooks get harder to upgrade/service with every new generation, makes me want to buy a business laptop except they don't seem come with touchscreen + geforce/radeon gpu's (only expensive quadro gpu's).

 

[Ryujingt3]

, well it would make me want buy a Surface device new which I atm won't .
I did do a ram upgrade once for my current laptop so I guess otherwise I would have bought a laptop with more ram, that being said with ram currently being offered at 16 gb in quite a bit of laptops, I doubt upgrading ram is relevant for most users .
But it is more about the option to repair objects after it possible fails after 2-5 years. A friend of mine has a 3 year old Spectre laptop where recently the SSD died, if it would have been glued together like the Surface he had to throw the whole device away.
Broken ram can also happen. Not entirely sure though what happens when you have 2 rams slots installed and only 1 goes bad, I guess you would still get errors?
A shame though most new ultrabooks get harder to upgrade/service with every new generation, makes me want to buy a business laptop except they don't seem come with touchscreen + geforce/radeon gpu's (only expensive quadro gpu's).

For me, if I can upgrade the RAM of a device then I will keep it longer. These days it seems like most devices are designed where everything is all glued together and if one part fails the whole thing has to be thrown away. Yes, you would still get errors if one RAM slot was broken. People these days see technology as disposable and manufacturers now design them that way to keep consumers buying the latest models.

 

[Naloe]

I am lucky enough to have both in i7 16g 250gb. I love everything about my surface book. The screen resolution and detach options are amazing features. I use it a lot for artwork. I also love my EliteBook x360 1040 G5 just as much. The glare reduction (almost eliminates reflections) on my screen and the backlight brightness is really great too. I almost don't care about detaching it since its so slim and light I don't even notice to be honest.

So which would I choose ? EliteBook is my choice. The battery replacement and repair options can't be beat. When my battery life expires I can simply replace it for about $50. The battery of my Surfacebook is starting to fail and my only option will be to replace the whole unit (over $ 2500) which is a huge waste of money for a simple battery if you ask me. I love Surface book but they really need make their books more accessible.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I am lucky enough to have both in i7 16g 250gb. I love everything about my surface book. The screen resolution and detach options are amazing features. I use it a lot for artwork. I also love my EliteBook x360 1040 G5 just as much. The glare reduction (almost eliminates reflections) on my screen and the backlight brightness is really great too. I almost don't care about detaching it since its so slim and light I don't even notice to be honest.

So which would I choose ? EliteBook is my choice. The battery replacement and repair options can't be beat. When my battery life expires I can simply replace it for about $50. The battery of my Surfacebook is starting to fail and my only option will be to replace the whole unit (over $ 2500) which is a huge waste of money for a simple battery if you ask me. I love Surface book but they really need make their books more accessible.

That's awesome! If it was me, well, I'm biaised, I'd go for the SurfaceBook over the HP. I know the HP has better upgrade and repair options though and is clearly the better choice. I am just very impressed with the Surface brand and I don't really have any need to upgrade systems I buy as I don't use them for anything demanding. So the base spec is usually enough for me.

 

[ochhanz]

I noticed that x360 degree hinge and business devices are also getting lighter (HP Dragonfly, latitude 9000 series, acer spin 5 etc) which might make them good enough to use as a tablet. Also the Spin 5 has a 3:2 screen and Wacom pen. It only uses Intel instead of the new AMD apu otherwise it could have been a good budget replacement for 13.5 inch Surface Book with good all-around performance.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I noticed that x360 degree hinge and business devices are also getting lighter (HP Dragonfly, latitude 9000 series, acer spin 5 etc) which might make them good enough to use as a tablet. Also the Spin 5 has a 3:2 screen and Wacom pen. It only uses Intel instead of the new AMD apu otherwise it could have been a good budget replacement for 13.5 inch Surface Book with good all-around performance.

Unfortunately I've only ever had bad experiences with Acer products. I found the build quality to be plasticky and hardware failed on me as well. But I've heard otherwise good things about the Spin. I'd stick with the Surface Book personally.

 

[ochhanz]

Unfortunately I've only ever had bad experiences with Acer products. I found the build quality to be plasticky and hardware failed on me as well. But I've heard otherwise good things about the Spin. I'd stick with the Surface Book personally.

, well Acer had a really bad rep 'ages' ago but they have a better rep now, personally never owned anything of them yet. I do have always liked their 2-1 ideas, but aside from their newest stuff they often had some weird design choices (like their 13.5 inch tablet with a mx150 sounded awesome at the time but it is passively cooled / too hot and way too heavy).

 

[Ryujingt3]

, well Acer had a really bad rep 'ages' ago but they have a better rep now, personally never owned anything of them yet. I do have always liked their 2-1 ideas, but aside from their newest stuff they often had some weird design choices (like their 13.5 inch tablet with a mx150 sounded awesome at the time but it is passively cooled / too hot and way too heavy).

Yes, Acer do sometimes make strange design choices. My friend has an Acer 2-in-1 (Acer Swift?), and he is very happy with it. It does rip off the Surface so much, but it's also a lot cheaper too.