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

huh. Can't find the pen setting your referring to.

 

https://m.windowscentral.com/how-calibrate-touch-enabled-display-windows-10

The second image in that article shows th Pen and touch I was referring to.
Then it's a matter of doing this:
https://www.top-password.com/blog/turn-on-off-press-and-hold-for-right-clicking-in-windows-10/

 

thanks! I hate this business of having setting scattered everywhere. Why the hell isn't that setting discoverable, oh, i dunno, /in settings/?
Got wintab working in photoshop. Result: no pressure! Sigh, it never ends. Anyone else who switched to wintab lose their pressure?

<edit> got it working. Downloaded and installed and OLD ASS wintab driver, from 2015. Pressure is back. And alt picking is fast, finally!

<edit part deux> can I just say: **** microsoft.

 

Could you try using the surface book 2 in a car by the window outdoors?

I'll be on a busride by the window for 2 hours everyday this summer for my internship in Massachusetts and plan to watch movies on a laptop.

I'm debating on the 17 inch dell 2 in 1 which is glossy but at least has 335 nits of brightness

vs the surface book 2 which I heard has 450 nits of brightness, higher resolution, but has a smaller screen

I don't expect to watch anything higher resolution than 1080p

What would you go with?

 

Is there a chance to see a Surface book 2 core i9?

 

Is anyone using a Surface Book 2 with Digital Audio Workstation Software (DAW), particularly Cubase?

I am thinking of buying a Surface Book 2 (15-inch, 1TB) and would be interested in learning more about "real world" performance in music production, specifically with Cubase.

SurfaceProAudio.com has lots of information on other Surface products, but Robin has never been able to get his hands on a Surface Book 2 to test it.

Thank you.

 

I bought the 13.5in SB 2 with i7, 16GB ram, 512GB SSD. Before I continue let me give you a brief history of my laptop ownership (does not include the many laptops I've tried out or tested), if only for your entertainment:

• iBook PPC
• PowerBook G4 15in
• MacBook (intel)
• MacBook Pro
• MacBook Pro
• Samsung tablet (Series 7 Slate I think) that ran Win7 or Win 8 preview - epic 2.5hr battery life on a good day (sold after 1 month)
• MacBook Pro
• Dell 13in Alienware (what was I thinking? sold it)
• MacBook Pro
• Surface Pro 2 (sold after 4? months)
• MacBook Pro
• Dell XPS 2-in-1 13in 9365 (returned for many reasons)
• HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 (returned because fan was so annoying and no pen)
• Dell XPS 2-in-1 13in 9365 (second try, stuck with it for 8 months, sold it because of variety of reasons)
• MacBook Retina (you can see my defeat here, where I pick an underpowered ultra-light laptop and give up on doing what I really want to do on a laptop).
• Surface Book 2 13.5in

Before the iBook I had desktop Macs back to the Mac Plus. I like(d) Macs. I love MacOS. I love that their hardware works so well with the software. I love their efforts to minimize noise. I love that Candy Crush Saga isn't installed as a part of the OS.

I hate HATE the new keyboards. As you can see from my history of fail I really want a mobile-touchscreen-2-in-1-laptop-thingy-preferably-with-a-pen and I am annoyed with Apple for steadfastly refusing to produce a computer that is similar to the 2-in-1 or Surface devices. I am annoyed that they use mediocre processors and charge top dollar.

So here I am again. Will I sell the SB 2 for a huge loss??????? History says yes, but I don't learn from history so I bought it anyway. Here are some observations from a Mac person:

• For the love of God why can't someone make a decent Windows laptop that wakes up when the lid is opened after extended sleep? I mean Apple has been doing it for how long?
• At least the power button is clicky and you can feel it click so you know you pressed it (I'm looking at you, Dell 9365, and your squishy nonsense button).
• It is silent but powerful (when not using the Nvidia graphics) - thank you!
• While I would like a 360 screen I'll take the detach-reattach/remove
• It feels kind of off balance even though it really isn't - there are some times in my lap where it is kind of pulling up at the keyboard end so my palms are holding it down, but on a flat surface it is never rocks up on the keyboard end.
• Windows Hello is stupidly fast. Suspiciously fast. Maybe it's that good?
• Trackpad is great, I have zero complaints.
• Keyboard is fantastic! So much better than minimalist-click-hell that Apple is forcing on everyone. Bonus: there are no dumb key placements (I'm looking at you, Lenovo Yoga, and your stupid right shift key).
• This is, by far at the start, the least problematic Windows laptop I've used (I realize this is not the case for some of you) that didn't need a year of driver updates to fix.
• Detachy-magic-screen-thingy works really well so far, some engineer must be super proud.
• It is heavier than I like, but I think the screen detaching will help me get over it and the fact that it can do so much more than other ultra-light laptops.
• I like the unwavering commitment to the blocky design that seems so German, yet their commitment to the fulcrum hinge and not allowing the laptop to close completely, which is so UN-German. I can only imagine the yelling in the design meetings.
• A windows laptop that doesn't randomly lose 3-8hrs after sleeping overnight? I don't know how this was so hard for some manufacturers, but thankfully Microsoft did it right.
• The WiFi: it just works! I mean it should just work, but that has not been my experience with other Windows laptops.

So this is close to my dream laptop. I want to do almost everything I can do on my Desktop PC. I want it to be capable of 2D design/art, 3D modeling (with limitations), notes, games, and DAW (FL Studio). On paper it can do all of that. It is clear from reviews and this forum it can handle most of the 2D stuff and more than I could want in terms of games. I'll update once I start really using the 3D modeling software and the DAW.

 

Thank you for the all of the information regarding your laptop computer experience blarbles. Finding the perfect computer can be quite a quest (and is always a moving target). I am also considering a Dell XPS 9570 and the latest HP Spectre x360 15t with the i7-8705G. I have an 8-year old MacBook Pro that is still capable of getting some preliminary DAW work done when I travel but neither my wife nor I appreciate the MacOS anymore. Personally, I have never used "sleep" mode. I am in the habit of turning my computers off at the end of the day.

I look forward to hearing your "detailed" experience with the DAW (and other software).

 

What kind of 3D modeling will you do? what software? solidworks?
I am very interested in how it fares in that test

 

Most of my modeling is for 3D printing, so I won't be rendering much. I mess around with other modeling, but it isn't my primary focus. AutoDesk Fusion 360, MODO, and maybe MOI3D when version 4 comes out and it still has good pen support.