Surface Book 2 Discussion Thread (13.5" and 15" models)

A lot of reviews are mentioning that the Surface Book 2 doesn't supply enough power to game without also reducing the battery... While forgetting that a LOT of previous Asus and MSI gaming laptops did the exact same thing. Odd.

 

Yep but that's no excuse of MS weeknesess of current situasion.
Other gamer laptop don't have that issue.

''As a control, we also we also set up a Gigabyte Aero 14 with a Core i7 7700HQ and a GeForce GTX 1060, similar to what’s inside the Surface Book 2, and ran the same stress tests. The difference was the charger: the Aero used a 150W power brick, and suffered no battery drop or performance loss as a result.

But the Surface Book 2 also had one last wrinkle for us. By default, at its highest-performance mode, the Surface Book 2’s Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 chip runs at about 1.4GHz. After a few hours, the Surface Book 2 throttled it back to about 1GHz—enough that the Surface Book 2 stopped dipping into the battery, but also stopped delivering the sort of performance that the Aero did.''

When you advertized something as ''ultimate laptop thouse power issue are unacceptable for a 2500+ machine.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/323...softs-surface-book-2-has-a-power-problem.html

Nice article and mention also another issue.


''Ironically, there is a solution to the problem: Nvidia’s Max-Q technology, which includes “optimizations such as a low voltage optimized clock curve that wrings out gaming performance while reducing power,” according to Nvidia. But the Surface Book 2 doesn’t include a Max-Q chip, at least not yet.

It seems odd, though, that a premium device would have this compromise. Is this a defect, or something else, such as the inability of Surface I/O-power connector to pass enough power? We simply don’t know. Whether Microsoft plans to recall and replace the current power brick, and design a higher-power Dock, remains to be seen.''

And the best one MS responce.

''In discussing our findings with Microsoft, the company seems to be backing off any implication that the Surface Book 2 could be considered a gaming machine. "Surface Book 2 was designed to deliver unmatched power and performance for anyone who needs a powerful machine to work and create, making it a great option for STEM professionals (designers, developers, engineers)," Microsoft said in a statement.''

But in that case MS should stop calling it the ''ultimate laptop.''

''What this means for you: Anyone who spends more than $3,000 for a laptop understandably would expect to receive all of the performance they’ve paid for. What seems to be happening with the Surface Book 2 is a disconnect between what the laptop could do and what Microsoft allows it to do. Some early Surface Book users could wind up being pretty frustrated.''

 

Unfortunately, such is the life of the artist...they even made an exhibition about it: "The Artist and his Bleeding Heart".

But maybe there is hope?

You can order the SB2 on UK MS Store. Since GB is still part of the EU (for now), doesn't this mean you can import this into Italy relatively hassle free?

 

I have the feeling @Azzart wants the big brother and not the small little child 13.5”

And yes since UK is still in EU at least until March 2019 everyone can advantage shopping from them without any extra tax and customs danger.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

Ah yes, the 15" is only available in eaely 2018 in the UK:

(TrustedReviews)
"Microsoft’s Panos Panay has confirmed that the 13-inch Surface Book 2 goes on sale on November 16 in the UK, with the 15-inch model coming later – “early next year”, according to the Surface chief."

Darn Americans, always enjoying their desserts before everyone else...

 

Wow.. so we get a "full" GTX 1060 instead of the MaxQ version?
Sweet...
Now all we need is for MS to provide us with 150W power adapter....

 

Or we can find a descent adapter from another model with this power.

 

120 watts should be adequate since the Book 2 uses a 15 watt CPU rather than the usual 45 watt CPU you'd ordinarily see coupled with a GTX 1060. The GTX 1060 requires a max of 80 watts.

 

Huh, so then what could be the problem? Some flaw in the charging circuit design, or - hopefully - something that can be fixed in firmware?

 

<<...120 watts should be adequate...>>

...Not likely a flaw; more likely a designed-in limitation, probably to limit heat or avoid adverse battery conditions...