While the older surface book models were useful for general productivity and a bit of photo and video editing with a. Best build edit with custom pc builder based on the most popular components from 9,004 user systems. It is pretty interesting that microsoft decided to offer a discrete gpu in the base of the surface book. I am using my 15 surface book 2 i7 with gtx 1060 display to play football manager 2020 through steam. The book is a functional, but not ideal, mobile video rig. With the discrete graphics chip in tow, the surface book can play rocket league at 30 frames per second fps in full screen and medium settings. Its almost hard to believe how much gpu microsoft stuffed in this updated version of the laptop. Honestly, you can get the same experience at a much cheaper price, spending what you saved on games or even an external gpu box and a. I simply had to test out killer instinct, due to the fact it was one.
Posted on january 27, 2017 by paul thurrott in games, microsoft surface with 6 comments. Hows the gaming performance on the surface book with the dgpu. Surface book 2 battery drain while gaming microsoft. I have a highend surface book with an intel core i76600u dualcore cpu.
Below is a list of all the configurations microsofts currently selling. No one can touch the surface book 2s battery life, which clocked in at a full hours of running time based on a fullscreen video playback test. Surface book 2 tips for gaming guide gtx 10501060965m duration. Type nvidia into the start menu to find the nvidia control panel. I know that i wont able to run games at native resolution since the display res is almost 4k but wanted to find out how the performance was with current games at reasonable resolution. Microsofts surface book 2 drains the battery while gaming. Mzflw256hehp000mv 256gb samsung bench 106%, 3,086 samples. The best match for microsofts new surface book 2 is apples macbook pro. Gpu performance the microsoft surface book 2 15inch. The surface book 2 comes equipped with an nvidia gtx 1050 gpu, a step up from the previous models gtx 965m and a common chip for entry.
While the surface book isnt designed or marketed as a gaming machine, microsoft couldnt resist demonstrating its. On this test, the core i7 model scored an impressive 121% higher than the core i5 with just integrated graphics. Its a luxury laptop which provides a great of power and functionality. For this series of tests, were using a highend surface book. We play games on it and show whether or not it can game on the go with the best of them. Simply put, this is the most powerful 2in1 laptop weve ever tested, capable of going.
Thats crushed by the surface book 2 15 results, while the yoga 920 was lightly slower in the. The custom nvidia graphics card in the new surface book isnt really intended for gaming, but dont let that stop you. Book 2s battery life, which clocked in at a full hours of running time based on a fullscreen video playback test. Microsofts new graphicsboosted hybrid is a morepowerful version of last years machine. Possible microsoft surface book 3 rocking all amd hardware. Hp spectre x360 15bl002xx asus ux310uqfc396t microsoft surface book with performance base apple macbook pro 2016 2. Take a closer look at how surface book 2 is the ultimate laptop for running office apps and demanding graphics software, and writing and navigating with surface pen and touch. How to force your laptop to use the powerful discrete nvidia. The innovative microsoft surface book offers comfortable ergonomics, a big, beautiful screen, more than 15 hours of battery life, and the power to make short work of everyday and multimedia tasks.
This is pretty much the thinnest device out there with an nvidia. The processor bump will help performance in gaming, video editing, and. I have tried to force launching the game with gtx 1060 but however it seems not. Oct 21, 2019 the only gaming hardware in the surface lineup right now is the older surface book 2. Nov 23, 2015 microsofts surface book is tested but not just in the normal way. Depending on what youre doing, if you slide the power settings to maximum performance then the fans will immediately. The performance difference on the most gpu demanding test, fire strike, over the gtx 1050 is also a huge leap. It appears to be a test laptop, and the leaker reckons we are looking at microsofts upcoming surface book 3 one of the configurations, anyway. With a dedicated gpu, naturally the first tests we conducted were gaming ones. Not that you should buy the surface book 2 for gaming.
Something similar to the geforce 860m960m would make the surface book a legitimate gaming contender. The surface laptop 3 for business equipped with an intel core i71065g7 processor scored a 19,298 on the geekbench 4. Im looking into getting the mid range model surface book with the i5dgpu and was curious how the gaming performance. Oct 24, 2017 when combined with a quad core chip, the surface book 2 is likely to have as much function as it does form, with the specs indicating it will make light work of video editing and gaming alike. Its hardly a top of the line graphics card, and it should be said that the significantly more powerful nvidia geforce gtx 1070 can be. With roughly double the performance of the integrated graphics, the surface book core i7 goes from unplayable, to playable, which, for some, is what they want. The custom nvidia graphics card in the new surface book isnt really intended. I purchased the surface book 2 for graduate school and some gaming when i travel.
The gpu in the surface book isnt just about gaming. Get the best surface laptop for pc gaming titles like sea of thieves and playerunknowns battlegrounds with the latest intel core processors and nvidia. This is evidenced by its 1,868 point fire strike score compared to. Lets see how well the surface book runs several different games. Jan 27, 2020 thanks to the extra boost from the discrete graphics chip, the surface book also has more than double the performance for gaming. The gtx 1060 is a massive improvement over the original gt 940mx based surface book, and moves it out of being somewhat better than integrated, into a laptop with some serious gaming potential. Nov 21, 2017 the surface book 2 is a feat of design, a topoftheline premium convertible 2in1 laptop thats fast, long lasting, versatile, and portable. Surface book 3 might pack ryzen 4000 cpu watch out, intel. If youre thinking about gaming on the surface book, it might suffice for the lightest of needs, but will disappoint any heavy gamers. Oct 02, 2019 microsofts surface laptop 3 15inch has an amd ryzen processor and amd vega graphics.
Oct 21, 2015 the engadget score is a unique ranking of products based on extensive independent research and analysis by our expert editorial and research teams. While the surface book isnt designed or marketed as a gaming. Bench your build size up your pc in less than a minute. You dont expect a detachable 2in1 ultraportable laptop to offer a quality gaming experience, but this device does. Popular components found in the microsoft surface book 2. Open the full task manager by clicking more details, if needed. The big surprise when it comes to the surface book 2 is definitely its gaming performance. Surface session ep 06 surface book test before and after.
Thanks to the extra boost from the discrete graphics chip, the surface book also has more than double the performance for gaming. What good is a touchscreen tablet and stylus if you cant really draw. The fan is a bit noisy when its in full flow in contrast to the devices almost eerie. The new 15inch surface laptop 3 from microsoft looks like a sleeper. Dec 09, 2016 if youre thinking about gaming on the surface book, it might suffice for the lightest of needs, but will disappoint any heavy gamers.
An attempt to show how much better the surface book is after tweaking. Due to their abysmal viewing angles tn panels are all but extinct in premium laptops aside from dedicated. Click manage 3d settings is selected in the left column. The gpu in the surface book is a custom nvidia gpu that benchmarks similarly to the geforce 940m with 1gb of vram, based on the maxwell architecture. Microsofts surface book is tested but not just in the normal way. The only gaming hardware in the surface lineup right now is the older surface book 2. Like other gtx 1060 laptops, the surface book 2 was capable of at or around 60 frames per second fps on the heaven and valley gaming tests on high settings in 1080p. Yes, what everyone says about the surface book 2 is true.
Nov 16, 2017 i recently built a dedicated gaming pc, and yet if this surface book 2 came with a better power supply i could easily use it as my main pc hooked up to my monitors to play the latest games or get. We answer that question by taking a look at the hardware. On this test, the surface book 2 offers excellent framerates, even on our maximum settings, and offers almost double the performance of the. Surface book 3 might pack ryzen 4000 cpu watch out. Honestly, you can get the same experience at a much cheaper price, spending what you saved on. Realworld benchmarks submit by owners of this system. The surface book is available in four configurations, offering for levels of performance. The clipboard and its skylake processor have more than. It has already been noted that the surface book 2 charging brick is not powerful enough to keep the laptop charging while gaming. Microsofts surface book 2 isnt an inexpensive piece of kit. Jan 27, 2017 microsoft surface book with performance base. I ran a gpu torture test on the surface book i7 for more than an hour and although it got warmer, it didnt get uncomfortable to touch or use.
I simply had to test out killer instinct, due to the fact it was one of the first titles. Its power is unmatched by anything else in its category, its build quality is first rate, and the quality and accuracy of its enlarged. Its a slow drain but still enough to have to stop gaming short of the time i would game for. Microsoft surface book with performance base wired. I have first hand experience with this playing mass effect andromeda. That device is still on the docket for a refresh which means if you want a true mobile gaming laptop. I checked my ingame preference setting, it detected the 3d graphic performance of my sb2 as only 1 star out of 5. I show a demonstration of pro tools and cubase running reaktor with the surface book untweaked and then again after i tuned. Microsoft surface book 2 features a 8th generation intel quad core i7 processor, 1 tb of storage, 16 gb ram, and up to 17 hours of video playback enhanced graphics performance with nvidia geforce gtx 1060 discrete gpu w6gb gddr5 graphics memory the fastest surface book yet, with 4x more power. Is microsofts 15inch surface laptop 3 a gaming laptop in. Its three times as fast microsoft figured out how to put a discrete gpu into the surface book, and it paid off. If you are a gamer though, there are better options for less money, but they will bring their own compromises as well, such as being thicker, heavier. You can game on many laptops, but your graphics sliders will be higher or lower based upon the relative power of the device. Microsoft surface book with performance base gtx 965m.
Under the processes tab, there should be a gpu engine column. Dec 21, 2017 heres where the surface book 2 gets really interesting. On cinebenchs opengl graphics test, the surface book with performance base reached 78. Hows the gaming performance on the surface book with the. Surface book 2 performance, battery and conclusion. Surface book 2 battery drain while gaming microsoft community. Sure, thats a nice bonus over integrated graphics, but the gpu really plays to other applications that need more graphics performance. In the case of the 15in variant of the surface book 2 theres a less powerful in, which is not realistically gamingcapable, the base also contains a moreorless fullfat 6gb nvidia geforce gtx 1060. Nov 10, 2016 the surface book i7s geforce gtx 965m mashes the competing inch laptops in gaming performance. Microsofts surface laptop 3 15inch has an amd ryzen processor and amd vega graphics. Heres how to force your surface book to use your nvidia gpu, and check whether your games are using it as appropriate. Nov 10, 2016 its a similar story for web performance. Aug 29, 2016 beneath the surface can you really game on a surface book.
Apps that are using a gpu will list the number of the one they are. Microsofts surface book isnt the dream videoediting. Test microsoft surface book core i7, 940m convertible. Mar 20, 2020 the surface laptop 3 for business equipped with an intel core i71065g7 processor scored a 19,298 on the geekbench 4. The surface book 2 is a simply awesome 2in1, hybrid laptop. You can open task manager to see what gpu each app is using. I ran our standard video rundown test on both it and the lastgen surface book. Gaming is the only time i have really heard the surface book 2s fans. Uhd graphics 620 mobile kaby lake r intel bench 6%, 191,720 samples. The surface book 2 is a feat of design, a topoftheline premium convertible 2in1 laptop thats fast, long lasting, versatile, and portable.