Microsoft went all-in on Windows 10 devices today, unleashing a torrent of premium computing products in various sizes and form factors. Arguably, the Surface Book, Microsoft's first ultrabook-tablet hybrid, came in most unexpected. Yes, Microsoft finally made an actual computer of its own, which is a moment in history that some of you may have been waiting for decades! Let's get the lowdown on this powerful and impressive Windows 10 device.



Design


If you like how the Surface Pro 4 looks, but aren't interested in a tablet for some reason, you might just love the Surface Book. The hybrid laptop is built out of aluminum and very much resembles the MacBook Pro's iconic design, only there is a hinge on this laptop that you've never seen anywhere — not even on borderline alien-looking devices, such as Lenovo's Yoga line. The "Dynamic Fulcrum" hinge allows for the laptop's screen to be fully detached from the body (by pressing a dedicated button), but you won't be able to rely on the discrete NVIDIA GPU in this mode of operation. Still, this design is quite innovative!

In addition to its detachment superpowers, the Surface Book features a glass-covered trackpad with five-point multitouch. There are two USB 3.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort, an SD card reader, and SurfaceConnect ports available as well.

Dimensions-wise, the Surface Book measures 12.30” x 9.14” x 0.51 - 0.90” (312.3mm x 232.1mm x 13.0 - 22.8mm) and weighs at least 3.34 pounds (1,516 grams) including the keyboard. The more expensive models are presumably heavier.

Display


The Surface Book has a 13.5-inch display with a pixel density of 267 pixels per inch, achieved with an extra-high 3000 x 2000 resolution. The display is touch-sensitive and is able to work with the Surface Pen, which can, once again, be docked to the top of the screen via magnetic connection.

Hardware


Touting it "the fastest 13-inch laptop anywhere on the planet", Microsoft packed a lot of powerful internals in the Surface Book to be able to afford this claim. The computer is powered by Intel's 6th-gen Core series Skylake processors and runs with the chipset's integrated HD Graphics 520 GPU, or the discrete Nvidia GeForce GPU. Memory-wise, the laptop comes with up to 1TB of SSD storage and up to 16GB of RAM. There's also a built-in TRM chip for enterprise security uses. Battery life on the Surface Book is rated at 12 hours.

Additionally, this powerhouse has a 5MP front-facing camera, an 8MP rear cam, two microphones and front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby audio. There are also a bunch of sensors - ambient light, accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer.

Price and release date


The Surface Book starts at $1,499 (N298,376) for the base model (Core i5, no NVIDIA GPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD), while the most expensive model goes for $2700 (N537,435) and includes a Core i7 chip, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB/1 TB SSD. The Surface Book will start shipping on October 26.

Its not clear if it would be made available for the Nigerian market but there is a 90% chance, since previous Microsoft devices were sold in Nigeria.

www.phonearena.com/news/Microsoft-announces-the-Surface-Book-a-13-inch-laptop-that-becomes-a-Surface-tablet_id74461

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVfOe5mFbAE&t=3

ROFLLLL definitely not the fastest laptop though. Maybe fastest ultrabook/ultra thin portable.

Fastest laptops are those big 18-inch laptops with beefy desktop/ridiculous laptop processors, running on raid 0 on PCI-E SSDs operating at close to 4,200 MB/sec (typically a mobile workstation or gaming laptop).

Cc lalasticlala

Wow

Nice.

Fulaman198:
ROFLLLL definitely not the fastest laptop though. Maybe fastest ultrabook/ultra thin portable.

Fastest laptops are those big 18-inch laptops with beefy desktop/ridiculous laptop processors, running on raid 0 on PCI-E SSDs operating at close to 4,200 MB/sec (typically a mobile workstation or gaming laptop).

Dude with 16 GB RAM, Intel i7, and Nvidia GeForce ? Trust me, there is no Game in the world this PC can't handle without a pinch of stress.

runzlord:

Dude with 16 GB RAM, Intel i7, and Nvidia GeForce ? Trust me, there is no Game in the world this PC can't handle without a pinch of stress.

I can name several.

Not all nVidia GeForce are the same my brother.

Crysis 3 is one game this will have issues with, FarCry 4, Metal Gear Solid 5, GTA 5, there are so many titles that this thing can't play on even medium settings. Also I'm pretty sure that the Core-i7 in this thing is a "U" core-i7 processor and not and MQ/HQ processor. Meaning that it is an ultra portable.

For about 95% of the world's population it will be fine, but this thing is definitely not in the same realm as gaming laptops or mobile workstations.

kayaya 1k4 nonsense ego

Fulaman198:


I can name several.

Not all nVidia GeForce are the same my brother.

Crysis 3 is one game this will have issues with, FarCry 4, Metal Gear Solid 5, GTA 5, there are so many titles that this thing can't play on even medium settings. Also I'm pretty sure that the Core-i7 in this thing is a "U" core-i7 processor and not and MQ/HQ processor. Meaning that it is an ultra portable.

For about 95% of the world's population it will be fine, but this thing is definitely not in the same realm as gaming laptops or mobile workstations.

I'm pretty sure the laptop has all these in-dept features you are listing, microsoft did not just say its the fastest for nothing...

Fulaman198:
ROFLLLL definitely not the fastest laptop though. Maybe fastest ultrabook/ultra thin portable.

Fastest laptops are those big 18-inch laptops with beefy desktop/ridiculous laptop processors, running on raid 0 on PCI-E SSDs operating at close to 4,200 MB/sec (typically a mobile workstation or gaming laptop).

Hmm u really know your thing. . .

MuhdG:

Hmm u really know your thing. . .

You will tell if you continue with your Electrical Engineering program....

Who knows you may be the one designing the motherboards on these amazing devices one of these days my younger brother.

runzlord:


I'm pretty sure the laptop has all these in-dept features you are listing, microsoft did not just say its the fastest for nothing...

It's for marketing bro, believe me. Apple does the exact same thing. They meant fastest ultraportable.

The fastest notebook/laptop is either the MSi GT80 Titan or the Origin Eon-X 17 (though I would say the MSi GT80 is better suitable for gaming because it has 2 nVidia GTX980/980Ms in SLI configuration and the Origin-Eon X 17 has a Skylake Intel Core i7 6700K desktop CPU for number crunching and processing huge data sets).

Fulaman198:
ROFLLLL definitely not the fastest laptop though. Maybe fastest ultrabook/ultra thin portable.

Fastest laptops are those big 18-inch laptops with beefy desktop/ridiculous laptop processors, running on raid 0 on PCI-E SSDs operating at close to 4,200 MB/sec (typically a mobile workstation or gaming laptop).

How I wish na me know all these things My brother no vex but I dey envy you oo

Fulaboy:
How I wish na me know all these things My brother no vex but I dey envy you oo

I'm older than you though bro, with age comes more wisdom. You will know these things with time as well my younger brother (Although some youth do surprise me with their level of knowledge).

I'm still a young man sef, but you are only 19 or so right? I encourage you to study Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering.

We all start somewhere. We do not know these things unless if we learn them by reading, learning and acquiring the proper knowledge.

Fulaman198:


You will tell if you continue with your Electrical Engineering program....

Who knows you may be the one designing the motherboards on these amazing devices one of these days my younger brother.

Hehe. Or generating more power for naija

... i'm in power systems

MuhdG:

Hehe. Or generating more power for naija

... i'm in power systems

Very good field to be in and just as productive. Electrical Engineering is flexible in what you can do. You can be a Computer Engineer, a Power Systems Engineer, a Network/Telephone Systems Engineer, there are so many fields you can follow.

But keep it up. I urge you to design your own microprocessors and embedded systems on your own off time though.

Fulaman198:



I'm older than you though bro, with age comes more wisdom. You will know these things with time as well my younger brother (Although some youth do surprise me with their level of knowledge).

I'm still a young man sef, but you are only 20 or so right? I encourage you to study Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering.

We all start somewhere. We do not know these things unless if we learn them by reading, learning and acquiring the proper knowledge.

Yes That its I've this zeal and passion for all these Techy things too I'm quite literate on them but not like you guys but I believe with time I will make it there too Insha Allah

Fulaman198:


It's for marketing bro, believe me. Apple does the exact same thing. They meant fastest ultraportable.

The fastest notebook/laptop is either the MSi GT80 Titan or the Origin Eon-X 17 (though I would say the MSi GT80 is better suitable for gaming because it has 2 nVidia GTX980/980Ms in SLI configuration and the Origin-Eon X 17 has a Skylake Intel Core i7 6700K desktop CPU for number crunching and processing huge data sets).

Can't argue with you, until the full review is carried out. Cos the laptop was announced with these specs, tho they are different variations as you pointed out, nothing was said about it, and it may well turn out it came with the better spec and beat you analysis.

Even PC MAG called it a Gaming laptop.....
www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2492656,00.asp

Fulaboy:
Yes That its I've this zeal and passion for all these Techy things too I'm quite literate on them but not like you guys but I believe with time I will make it there too Insha Allah

Insha'Allah you will get there bros and I believe you can. I wasn't always a techy guy. You just need someone to steer you in the right direction. What are you currently reading in school? You seem very sensible. Hakkilo a wodi sam!

Fulaman198:


Insha'Allah you will get there bros and I believe you can. I wasn't always a techy guy. You just need someone to steer you in the right direction. What are you currently reading in school? You seem very sensible. Hakkilo a wodi sam !

Muchas Gracias Well I'm currently studying Economics in Kaduna state university but I secured an admission in a private university outside nigeria so I'm leaving KASU for the private uni...



@The bolded

Fulaboy:
Muchas Gracias Well I'm currently studying Economics in Kaduna state university but I secured an admission in a private university outside nigeria so I'm leaving KASU for the private uni...



@The bolded

I said you are very intelligent bro in Fulfulde.

Fulaman198:


I said you are very intelligent bro in Fulfulde.

And now you're flattering

You're my best Nairalander so far right from the time I was a guest here. Before I joined NL your posts alongside with Omarbah and Pagan9ja's always caught my eyes

Your pulbe is fluent, you're very vast in your tribe's knowledge and history and now here you're again a Techny Guru

I never knew I was that dull till now

N500k+ for a laptop...God!!!!

augster:
N500k+ for a laptop...God!!!!

Are you joking? Go to xoticpc or any other boutique PC customization site and see what prices PCs can go up to. I remember circa 2004 when I saw the apple powermac g4 ads on TV (in the UK) and went to their site to configure it. Good Lord! Prices went up to about £6000 - mind = blown! Nowadays, it's normal to me.

Back on topic, this is a sexy hybrid. The color scheme is similar to my current Asus N550J and I love it. Sites are reporting that the GPU is an Nvidia GTX 960m which would make this an extremely balanced system.

Fulaboy:
And now you're flattering

You're my best Nairalander so far right from the time I was a guest here. Before I joined NL your posts alongside with Omarbah and Pagan9ja's always caught my eyes

Your pulbe is fluent, you're very vast in your tribe's knowledge and history and now here you're again a Techny Guru

I never knew I was that dull till now

Mi yetti ma dedirawo, Allah sabinane!

I really appreciate your comments brother and would like to sincerely thank you. I'm just a man and I hope that I can continue to contribute well to this site. I thank Allah for whatever wisdom I may have. I know that you yourself will definitely get there as well.

Samunosuke:


Are you joking? Go to xoticpc or any other boutique PC customization site and see what prices PCs can go up to. I remember circa 2004 when I saw the apple powermac g4 ads on TV (in the UK) and went to their site to configure it. Good Lord! Prices went up to about £6000 - mind = blown! Nowadays, it's normal to me.

Back on topic, this is a sexy hybrid. The color scheme is similar to my current Asus N550J and I love it. Sites are reporting that the GPU is an Nvidia GTX 960m which would make this an extremely balanced system.

Try some devices with 2 980Ms in SLI config like the MSi GT80 Titan, now that's a real monster. If it is truly using an nVidia GTX 960M, then all I have to say is that's not bad for a business class notebook. You should be able to play a good amount of games on it with high settings, but not some of the most demanding games.

technology is really moving fast!

Fulaman198:


Try some devices with 2 980Ms in SLI config like the MSi GT80 Titan, now that's a real monster. If it is truly using an nVidia GTX 960M, then all I have to say is that's not bad for a business class notebook. You should be able to play a good amount of games on it with high settings, but not some of the most demanding games.

What about a liquid-cooled desktop 980 in a laptop? For me, that's all besides the point of the SB hybrid. For those who want to run the latest and future games at 200fps on 120Hz 4k monitors, they all know where to get their fix. There will never be one device to rule them all. Each has their place.

What's the battery life of the GT80? Weight/portability? How's the physical design? Can I take it to a meeting with fellow business executives and not feel out of place? Can I annotate and make notes o it's screen? The list goes on.

Technically, it's a multimedia notebook not business. I personally prefer devices that are well balanced in every aspect. Go out with it for some light/casual browsing a work, come back home plug it in for some gaming etc.
Horses for courses, different strokes for different folks.

I'm just seeing a laptop that has too much specs to be called a laptop.its too much for a single laptop.with the price,its reign may not last.it isn't even student friendly in terms of price.all the specs suits a student more than a biz man but it still not stud friend.the maintenance will be high.gaming will be easy though but it can be easily pushed to one side when buying a gaming lappy cz some with low specs play the latest games#microsoftthink.

Samunosuke:


What about a liquid-cooled desktop 980 in a laptop? For me, that's all besides the point of the SB hybrid. For those who want to run the latest and future games at 200fps on 120Hz 4k monitors, they all know where to get their fix. There will never be one device to rule them all. Each has their place.

What's the battery life of the GT80? Weight/portability? How's the physical design? Can I take it to a meeting with fellow business executives and not feel out of place? Can I annotate and make notes o it's screen? The list goes on.

Technically, it's a multimedia notebook not business. I personally prefer devices that are well balanced in every aspect. Go out with it for some light/casual browsing a work, come back home plug it in for some gaming etc.
Horses for courses, different strokes for different folks.

There really is no one notebook that fits all purposes super well. If you want high-end gaming with no overheating issues you will typically need a bigger laptop to accommodate any issues with the CPU or GPU overheating.

I'd say that Razer comes close for that all purpose machine, but since their laptops are so thin, they have inadequate cooling. They are intended for gaming but are as thin as a Macbook Pro.

16gb ram, 1tb ssd, i call this a beast with 12hrs dedicated battery life.