Microsoft Windows 10 hardware event Oct 6th 10 am EST

I think it may just be the 1GB now that I'm re-watching it. He almost sounds like he is making the case in the stream even though he doesn't specify it. It's the part when he talks about the best engineers that get the most out of the GPU to work in a mobile device.

 

To put it into perspective, how many detachable tablet devices even have dedicated memory for the GPU? Or even a discrete GPU?

Hell how many laptops exist with greater than 10 hour battery life have dedicated memory for a discrete GPU (if they even have a discrete GPU with that much battery life), much less one with greater than 1 GB of GDDR5 available to it? Pretty much non-existent.

MS isn't making a desktop replacement gaming "laptop" that has 2-4 hours of battery life.

Regards,
SB

 

After letting the conference sink in a little more, I'm torn between these two SP4 models:

i5/256 GB/16 GB RAM = $1500
i7/256 GB/16 GB RAM = $1800

Will the i7 upgrade be worth it for the integrated GPU ooomph.

There is also the i7/256 GB/8 GB RAM model for $1600, but which is more important. More RAM or the CPU along with the updated integrated graphics?

 

The middle tier i5 should really be enough for me, but the temptation of the better iGPU in the SP4 i7 model is so tempting. I was going to pre-order tomorrow, but will maybe give it a week until some ppl get some gaming benchmarks.

 

After watching more of the presentation, I think the most disappointing thing about the Surface Pro 4 and Surface book is that they don't feature any USB Type-C ports for external devices (I don't care if it doesn't use it for charging at the moment). But it doesn't quite feel like a cutting edge device when it doesn't have ports for devices that are slowly starting to enter the market. Granted it may not be hugely relevant in the next year, but if I were to get one, I'd want it to last at least 3-4 years as most of my mobile devices do. That makes it less appealing, as I assume that over the next 2-3 years, USB Type-C devices will potentially explode in popularity.

Other than that, those are some really nice devices. And some fantastic upgrades to the Surface Pen. Now if only they were using Windows 8.1 instead of Windows 10...

Regards,
SB

 

Yeah it is a shame about the USB C thing. I need a new laptop and was thinking the SP4, but now I am debating between that and the book. I wish I knew how well it would last. It seems awesome. Though perhaps I would really enjoy the SP4 as much. Glad to see some amazing options though.

 

Also, it looks like the Nvidia GPU used is the GTX 960m, which is basically GTX 860m with a very slight clock boost. Someone on another forum just got off the phone with their sales staff and that's what they were told.

The Verge also reported that the tablet part of the Surface Book is incredibly light. Also that it's pretty hefty when attached to the keyboard. So the keyboard dock is likely a lot heavier than the tablet portion, which is a good thing as that should make it far more stable when used as a laptop.

Regards,
SB

 

I guess some sites are reporting this as more of an iteration than a true upgrade which is I agree is true. Same number of ports (was hoping for at least 2 USB 3.0), slightly bigger/better screen, better pen and next generation of Intel CPU.

If it were possible for the SP4 to also be able to upgrade the keyboard dock to something similar to the Surface Book (SB), then at least you get a sense of future proofing if they release one next year with a type USB-C.

For most tasks, the SP4 should be good enough.

Edit: Also "Hybrid Cooling" sounds gimmicky.

 

This is a straw man argument.
The Surface Book being an unique product does not invalidate the fact that spending money, volume and power budget on a discrete GPU just to cripple it with 1GB of VRAM is ridiculous.
Even more when it's supposed to render to a 3000*2000 screen.

 

I think the ports might have been limited by the promise to fit the sp3 docks. Not sure though.

It is almost frustrating to me they released the book since it makes me confused Before I was willing to give up lapability to get the nice tablet with stylus interface. I am in no way a good artist, but I enjoy drawing and quit in some cases simply because I did not want to deal with paper so I was excited to fiddle around with Krita.

 

PC world has a close up of the pen and tips.


http://www.pcworld.com/article/2989...elf-with-more-power-and-refined-features.html

 

Cool gf! I also got wife approval, but need to make a decision. If the i7 is significantly better in benchmarks/gaming, I may go for that. Otherwise, I'm going with the mid-tier you pointed out i5/256 GB/16 GR RAM.

I figure we should get some proper hands on within the week, so will wait at least that long.

 

Sean Ong, a Surface enthusiast, on youtube has a vid of the internals.

Nice...so what would the total discount be? I don't know what the student discount is, but would have to enroll first before I'm eligible I guess.

 

So almost 20% if you get all the potential discounts for you. That's pretty good.

Edit: This is going to be an expensive year for my tech fix.