surface book 2 or new suface book I7

[surfacefanboi]

Actually, I think Kaby Lake is more efficient than Skylake and so would perform at least as well with the same thermal design. Going dual-core Kaby Lake to replace dual-core Skylake is a net benefit. Now, if Microsoft wanted to go quad-core, then that would be a different story.

I'm starting to think maybe we'll see a higher-end Surface Book 2 with, say, a 15" screen. SB with Performance Base will become the "entry-level" machine, probably at a lower price point than currently. That would account for SBPB just now being sold in Europe, in that it's going to remain in the inventory, and then also for the rumors that an SB2 is coming soon.

And if _that's_ what happens, then Surface Book would probably be priced outside of what I can legitimately spend on a new machine. Since my own decision is based on wanting a larger display than the Surface Pro 4, I'll probably give serious thought to HP's new Spectre x360 15", which looks like it'll be roughly half the price of SBPB with pretty much all of the functionality -- only with a tablet mode that's a bit chunky.

It was the 4 core I was thinking of with the extra heat . I looked at the Spectre, but I need Photoshop tools in 3D , a non discreet gpu does not seem to have enough power or RAM to run that, so SB is still the only show in town for me.

 

[wynand32]

It was the 4 core I was thinking of with the extra heat . I looked at the Spectre, but I need Photoshop tools in 3D , a non discreet gpu does not seem to have enough power or RAM to run that, so SB is still the only show in town for me.

Gotcha. Yeah, quad-core would definitely require a rework. Now, I'll add that maybe if they make a larger 15" SB2, then perhaps that would provide more space for a better thermal design. So, that fits my own prediction. Also, a larger base would accomodate something like a GTX 1050. But again, for me, that would be a very expensive machine.

Note that the _new_ Spectre x360 15" coming in February does have a dedicated GPU, but it's only GTX 940MX 2GB. That's enough for what I need to do with my mobile machine (I do higher-end stuff on my desktop already). And it only comes in a 4K option, which is important to me because really I just need two high-res windows snapped side-by-side for my workflow (OneNote for writing copy on the left, research source in a browser on the right). But a 940MX running a 4K display might not be sufficient for the kind of work you do.

Really, I wish that Microsoft would come out with an SB2 with a 15" 3:2 display and that I had the money to buy it. But I have a feeling that whatever comes next will be like the Surface Studio. Absolutely amazing, and incredibly expensive. Surface Studio showed Microsoft that they can sell really expensive hardware, and really, Microsoft just wants Surface to push the Windows 10 ecosystem, and OEMs are responding nicely. Surface doesn't have to be a huge seller for Microsoft to be successful.