There are many reasons to buy a Microsoft Surface Book 3. It is the newest Surface laptop released on 21 May 2020 and is capable of handling intensive tasks.
KAMPALA | NOW THEN DIGITAL — In this Microsoft Surface Book 3 review, we’ll discuss the ‘Fulcrum hinge’ design, 3,000×2,000 resolution, and 512GB PCIe SSD. What are some of the limitations of this laptop?
- You can edit large video files and enjoy the most advanced gaming experience. If you are not sure which one to buy, read on to find out more. Read on to learn the advantages and disadvantages of the new Surface Book 3.
- The Surface Book 3 comes with a quad-core processor and a good 17.5 hours of battery life. The laptop supports Windows Hello, which logs you in with a simple glance. The touchscreen and lid open with a single touch.
- As far as performance is concerned, the Surface Book 3 is an all-round performer. The 512GB NVMe SSD is good for 2GB read and 780MB/s write speeds. This means that you can run multiple browser tabs without running out of memory.
- Although it can turn into a tablet or vice-versa, its most notable flaw is its battery life. The Surface Book 3 offers an impressive 15 and a half hours of battery life if you can use both modes simultaneously. When closed, the Surface Book 3 has a disappointing eight hours of battery life, which falls short of the best conventional laptops with similar specs.
- The Surface Book 3 is difficult to categorize, and is unlikely to appeal to many consumers. The Surface Book 3 defies easy categorization. Regardless, it has some great features, and a good price to boot.
This Surface Book 3 review will tell you how it stacks up against its competitors. It will also let you know how well the tablet is suited for video editing and gaming. But will it be enough to make you reconsider your purchase?
‘Fulcrum hinge’ design
Microsoft’s ‘Fulcrum hinge’ design pushes the boundaries of hybrid devices. The hinge is made of aluminum, and works adjacent to a muscle wire lock to balance the display.
This innovative design requires a larger base than other laptops, adding weight and complexity to the Surface Book 3.
The Dynamic-Fulcrum Hinge is the primary reason for the laptop’s impressive performance. Its unique design is both functional and attractive.
The hinge is designed to hold the screen at the desired angles while maintaining its shape. Despite the design’s perks, one of the Surface Book 3’s biggest complaints is its ‘Fulcrum hinge’ design, which leaves a gap between the screen and keyboard when closed.
The ‘Fulcrum hinge’ design of the Surface Book 3 helps a laptop keep its shape while being opened and closed. Unlike conventional hinges, the Surface Book’s dynamic fulcrum hinge binds the keyboard and screen together.
When opened, it extends, forming a support base for the tablet section. Microsoft acknowledges that this is an issue for some users.
Intel Core i7-1065G7
The Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor in the Surface Book 3 is capable of some very impressive performance. With 32GB of RAM and NVIDIA Quadro graphics, the laptop has the power and flexibility you need.
But there are limitations to the Surface Book 3’s performance. If you’re serious about your gaming or video editing, the Surface Laptop 4 may be the better option.
Although the Microsoft Surface Book 3 is lightweight and has a detachable display, it’s not a lap-friendly device. Its display wobbles a little bit when you’re trying to pull it out of the laptop mode, but it won’t move drastically.
The detachable display, on the other hand, is not the best solution for Netflix viewing. However, it’s still a great option for drawing and watching Netflix without sacrificing any of the other features of the Surface Pro.
The Surface Book 3’s performance falls a bit when performing CPU-intensive tasks. It performs well overall, but falls short when it comes to tasks that require high-resolution graphics.
Cinebench R15 tests use all cores and threads to measure processor performance. The MacBook Pro and ZBook Studio both outperform the Surface Book 3, making them the more impressive options in this respect.
Despite this, the Surface Book 3 still offers decent graphics performance and support for Adobe applications.
512GB PCIe SSD
The Surface Book 3 512GB PCIe is one of the fastest laptops from Microsoft. Built for performance, it can handle the most intensive tasks, such as editing large video files. It can also deliver the most intense gaming experience.
If you’re looking for the best laptop for gaming, this one is a great option. Read on to find out more about the features of the Surface Book 3 512GB PCIe SSD.
While the Microsoft Surface Book 3 is claimed to be gaming-ready, you’ll have to adjust the resolution to 1080p if you want to play games.
While 32GB of RAM is plenty for most users, it’s overkill for the Surface Book 3’s performance. Video editing and photo editing applications will chew up a lot of RAM, and its GTX 1660 Ti graphics card isn’t the best choice for everyday users.
The display of the Surface Book 3 is also impressive. The PixelSense(tm) touchscreen display offers an immersive Dolby Atmos sound system and a slightly higher resolution than most laptops.
With a pixel density of 2,680 x 1,080, the Surface Book 3’s screen is above average. Despite its weak processor, this laptop proves that laptops have made significant improvements over the last few years.
The Surface Book 3’s predecessor was an excellent rival of the MacBook Pro, but its display was unsurpassed. Both of these laptops have excellent components and cutting-edge features.
3,000×2,000-pixel resolution
While the MacBook Pro and the Surface Book 3 are essentially the same computers, the iPad Pro and the Surface Book 3 are very different in their features.
For one, the MacBook Pro can’t be converted into a tablet and vice versa, but the Surface Book 3 does. Aside from the Intel-based processor, the Surface Book 3 comes with a touchscreen interface and extra rear-facing cameras.
These include an ultra-wide 12MP camera and a wide 10MP camera. Additionally, the Surface Book 3 also features LiDAR technology, which can be used to measure the distance of objects from the air.
The Surface Book 3 retains the infamous hinge gap, and it looks very premium. But the device is neither thin nor light – it weighs 3.62 pounds. You can choose the GPU you want, but the Core i5 model only has integrated graphics.
If you’re looking for an impressive gaming experience, the Surface Book 3 may be your best bet. Moreover, it has a 3:2 aspect ratio and 3,000×2,000-pixel resolution.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU
The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is equipped with a powerful GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU. While the GTX 1060 is still a good choice, it’s not a gaming laptop.
The Surface Book 3’s screen is only three-quarters as large as the GTX 1660 Ti. That said, the Surface Book’s GPU is more than enough to run most applications.
While it’s not as powerful as the top-end GTX 1660 Ti, the GPU on the Surface Book 3 is faster than the lower-end GTX 1650.
Both of the new GPUs offer a similar amount of performance, but the GTX 1060 has a higher frequency and a smaller number of CUDA cores than the GTX 1660 Ti.
Both GPUs also have the same amount of memory bandwidth, so it’s important to note that the Max-Q version of the GTX 1660 Ti is 15 percent slower than the full-fat GPU.
If you’re looking for a powerful gaming PC, the Microsoft Surface Book 3 is an excellent option. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU on the Surface Book 3 should be able to handle demanding games like Far Cry 5, which is extremely demanding.
In fact, this game’s GPU only became fully-usable 8% of the time in our test run. The Surface Book 3 can connect to two 4K monitors at 60Hz.
USB-C
In this Microsoft Surface Book 3 USB-C review, I’ll discuss the pros and cons of this detachable PC. The device has a sturdy build, with a hidden hinge and a detachable display that can be used as a tablet or a laptop.
The Surface Book 3 can easily handle heavy Photoshop work and double digit use when connected to a power source. Its battery is located in both the base and screen, which work together to ensure that the screen is fully functional.
As for the performance, the Surface Book 3 doesn’t quite match the XPS 15 or the MacBook Pro. It scored 3,831 on the multi-core Geekbench 5 test, which doesn’t compare favorably with the XPS 15 and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
But then again, a regular keyboard can’t compete with the performance of a Surface Book. So how does it stack up to its competitors?
Full-size SD card slot
Microsoft Surface Book 3 has a full-size SD card slot, unlike the previous model’s microSD card slot. This is a welcome change from the MicroSD card slot that was hidden under the kickstand.
This slot is for temporary file copies and does not expand the Surface Book’s storage permanently. If it was permanently used, Windows would automatically use external storage for all types of files.
However, this new slot is not compatible with the previous Surface devices.
The Surface Book’s full-size SD card slot is useful for long-form work but has a few drawbacks. The SD card hangs out about half an inch from the device. This means that it won’t fit in your pocket or your bag.
In addition, there’s no mechanism to secure the card. If you’re using your Surface Book as a photography and video recording tool, you might want to consider investing in a higher capacity MicroSD card.
Surface Book 3 Battery life
The battery life of the Surface Book 3 is better than the previous model. The base model can handle 17.5 hours of continuous web browsing or 9 hours of continuous video watching.
While Windows cannot tell you the exact battery life, it can display a percentage of the remaining life. But it’s always better to know the actual battery life of the device before you use it. Here are some things to consider when considering the battery life of a Surface Book 3.
The Surface Book 3 has excellent battery life, even though it’s not an ideal tablet. During our battery life tests, the device lasted 11 hours and ten minutes, which was longer than the Surface Laptop 3, Yoga C940, and Dell’s XPS 15.
The battery life of the Microsoft Surface Book 3 falls short of the best conventional laptops, though. The high-resolution touchscreen limits the amount of time you can use the device.
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The Review
Surface Book 3
Microsoft Surface Book 3 is a hard-to-beat 2-in-1 if you're looking for all-powerful pro-specs.
PROS
- The design is beautiful
- The keyboard is comfortable to use
- It has a gorgeous screen
- Exceptional performance
- Battery life is very good
- A 3:2 aspect ratio detachable screen
CONS
- U-series processors are weak
- Trackpad is tiny
- A lackluster sound system
- The price is extremely high
- There is no support for Thunderbolt 3
- The design is becoming dated
