Microsoft Surface Book i7 2016 assessment

this year, Microsoft, while releasing the surface Stuidio, also updated the Surface book, looking more like a traditional hardware update. But in fact, the design of the Surface Book 2016 has also undergone some changes.

The base keyboard is thicker than last year

At first glance, Surface book seems to continue to be the design language, the change is not small, but after comparison can be seen, it is significantly thicker than last year, and thickening, weight of this part, is actually the base keyboard.

Why does Microsoft want to do the opposite when rivals are thinning? In fact, it is to increase flexibility, in short, is the shape of deformation.

Last year's Surface book, due to its thin shaft, could not flip the screen to Lenovo Yoga and use the base as a support, but this year. The flat part of the disassembly down, flip on the base, you can easily deformation, use to see video, play the game is very good.

In addition, this design also allows Surface Book to retain a more comprehensive interface, including two USB 3.0, a usb-c, a mini DisplayPort and an SD card slot, does not leave the hub as Apple's new MacBook Pro can not be used.

Flat Plate part unchanged

The flat section of Surface Book 2016 is almost consistent with last year's support for pressure-sensitive operations, as well as the use of stylus pens, which are ideal for artistic creation, design and drawing. The high-resolution screen with a 13.5-inch 3000*2000 pixel is very clear and visually superior.

Performance enhancements but is still not a VR gaming computer

Although Surface Book 2016 upgrades the Intel Core i7 processor, it should be noted that it is not the newest Kaby lake and is still the sixth generation of Skylake.

In addition, it also carries the Nvidia GTX 965m graphics card, the graphics performance is stronger, may run some basic 3D games. A VR? Sorry, Surface Book 2016 is actually a hybrid. Of course, maybe next year Microsoft's own VR platform will be compatible, but not very promising.

Overall performance, Surface Book i7 2016 is still slightly inferior to the ultra, mainly because the processor is not a quad core, Geekbench more than 7377 points in 3 cores, slightly inferior to Dell XPS 13 and Ray Snake Blade Stealth, But stronger than Apple's new MacBook Pro.

Summary

Surface Book 2016 basically only to the base design optimization, can achieve support viewing form, the other overall performance is also more powerful. But it also makes it more expensive, starting at about 2399 dollars (about 16,400 yuan), or even more than the basic version of the new MacBook Pro, which is its biggest drawback.

If you do not consider a flat + notebook mixing experience, and do not need a stylus, Dell and other Windows Ultra-extreme is actually a more affordable choice.