The Microsoft Surface Book Review
by Brett Howse on November 10, 2015 8:00 AM ESTCompute with the Surface Book
When discussing Ultrabooks, the word Compute doesn’t get thrown around very often, and for good reason. Even the MacBook Pro 13 only comes with Intel Iris graphics (no GT3e yet) and although Intel’s GPUs have been a priority over the last couple of generations, just like in gaming there is only so much you can do when your TDP is shared with the processor.
With Surface Book, there is more of an opportunity here. If you opt for the model with the NVIDIA GPU, you gain access to CUDA, which is NVIDIA’s parallel computing platform. Quite a few applications that need strong parallel processing have CUDA available as an option. Adobe, for instance, has CUDA support in many of their professional products like Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro, and more. NVIDIA lists hundreds of applications on their site which can benefit from GPU compute power, and there are also OpenCL applications as well which would benefit from the more powerful dGPU.
Expectations need to be put in check of course, because the GPU available in the Surface Book is not a workstation class GPU, so we shall see how it compares on these types of tasks. This is not an area where we have an extensive database of other devices, and normally compute is not a heavy focus for Ultrabook reviews, but I feel the Surface Book may find a niche with content creators so it’s worth examining.
Compubench
From the makers of GFXBench is Compubench, and like GFXBench, there are a number of tests which can be completed with either the CPU only, or by choosing a GPU.
The results are a bit mixed. Some of the tests respond very well to having the NVIDIA GPU, but some of the others don’t get as much of a benefit. But where the GPU helps, it can help a lot. Several of the tasks are 50% faster, and the Video Composition sub-test is 212% faster on the discrete GPU.
Agisoft Photscan
This software performs photogrammetric processing of images, and it has an option to use the GPU or just standalone with the CPU. Of the entire benchmark, only one section actually leverages the GPU functions so that test has been highlighted.
Even the one accelerated test still only shows a 5% decrease in time with the GPU being used. This highlights that even though a task may be accelerated with the GPU, the overall impact may not always be what you are expecting, since not all tasks can be done in parallel.
Using the Surface Book NVIDIA GPU for Compute
There is no doubt that if you are performing work that supports CUDA, the NVIDIA option on the Surface Book is going to make an impact. The question of course is how much. Applications such as those from Adobe do leverage CUDA, but it’s not for all tasks. This is kind of the issue with considering the GPU for compute. If you are someone who uses Adobe Premiere on the go, and need something smaller than a typical workstation class notebook, the GPU is going to help out, but since it doesn’t get leveraged for all tasks, it is very dependent on the exact task that you are performing.
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s.yu - Sunday, November 15, 2015 - link
I want to upvote you, Anandtech should add the feature.Vicli - Thursday, November 12, 2015 - link
Whether the surface book PCMark8 work score is improved by its dGPU?how many scores will be improved compared to w/o dGPUeldakka - Thursday, November 12, 2015 - link
The configuration options seem terribly limited. Why can't the SSD options be completely selectable, 128GB-1TB, independent of the amount of RAM or CPU chosen?A 12.1" version (with suitably down-rated components as necessary for the smaller form-factor) with USB-C on the tablet would be tempting if priced right.
s.yu - Sunday, November 15, 2015 - link
I never reckoned this would bother someone. Anyone who only needs 8GB of RAM shouldn't need any more than 256GB of SSD, and anyone who needs 16GB of RAM shouldn't need less than 256GB of SSD, should be the norm.But the real reason should be to prevent people getting 16GB/128GB and swapping out the SSD by themselves ;)
This doesn't seem possible now, but should be possible in the future with more SSD models released, also in "free" markets like China they'll be available on the web when spare parts are abundant.
BrokenCrayons - Friday, November 13, 2015 - link
The problem with the Surface Book's top-heavy tendencies is only partly mitigated by the hinge. We have a couple at work and people who are using them say they're still pretty unstable. I think getting rid of the upper battery and removing the detachment mechanism would have gone a long way in giving the Surface Book better balance. The other problem the hinge design introduces is the gap which means that when the SB is closed, it won't have the benefit of the upper and lower halves of the system acting in a mutually supportive manner to forces accidentally applied to the top or bottom which might result in unintended bending that wouldn't have happened with a better hinge that allows the screen to rest onto the base.I really think Microsoft would have a better product in the second generation if they move all the electronics to the base and deepen it somewhat so the motherboard and battery can all fit. They could also recess the keyboard into the base so the tops of the keys are flush. The screen could be made thinner to make up for some of the extra base thickness and the hinge could be redesigned to remove the flaw of it's big gap that not only demonstrates sloppy design, but also is unappealing to the eye. A good target for Microsoft to model their computer after would be the Latitude e6440 laptop which is a lot more capable, suffers none of the balance problems, and has a very nice keyboard, but I don't think MS would be able to offer it at a competitive price point. The existing SB cost is extremely high for the given hardware and ought to be lower given the flawed hinge and poor design decision with the raised keyboard.
s.yu - Sunday, November 15, 2015 - link
You're absolutely right about those two issues. But since this still is a Surface, MS will have to make it part tablet no matter what, IMO.Instability in the lap is still reported occasionally in reviews, no doubt due to the top-heavy construction, and as I said before, they should use lithium alloy like Lavie Z only in the top portion to deal with this, but some fanboys disagree. Nothing's gonna change the design of their "ultimate laptop"!
One reviewer made the strangest decision to step onto the hinge with the Book open to see if it held. I think he's just a fanboy trying to deceive people into thinking the design is flawless because no force IRL would be applied that way. If he stood on the middle of the *tablet* section, with the Book *closed*, and the tablet section/Surface connectors still didn't snap, that would answer the question.
Total Meltdowner - Friday, November 13, 2015 - link
Slowly but surely, the mutation which is a "tablet computer" is evolving back into a regular laptop. Hilarious.chrisnyc75 - Friday, November 13, 2015 - link
Great review! But I'd like to see it updated with results vs the new Dell XPS 15 (skylake & 960m) rather than last year's Haswell model, at least on the gaming tests if not all of them (though I think it would be an apt comparison point for all of the tests as the XPS 15 is roughly the same size/weight as the Surface Book, and prominently features 4k touch-screen as a primary feature, even if it's not actually a 2-in-1. A lot of people are still going to see the XPS 15 (not just the 13) as a direct alternative to the Surface Book)s.yu - Sunday, November 15, 2015 - link
1. I don't think it supports pen input. Short as the battery life on the clipboard is it's useful for note taking.2.It's still noticably bigger, and...does it still have that big battery option from the old model? Otherwise the battery would be really small.
chrisnyc75 - Sunday, November 15, 2015 - link
All good questions, and exactly why I'd like to see the XPS15 added to the comparison. Sure, the SB detaches, which can be useful, but the very existence of the Surface Book is owed to the fact that tablet sales have been in rapid decline across the market. Putting that bit aside (which I realize is missing the whole point of the Surface Book), they're almost exactly the same size & weight, both ~4k resolution, both touchscreens, & both Skylake + nvidia dgpu. As long as you're only pitting the SB against other detachable devices, it's ALWAYS going to come out on top because MS hit a home run with that part....but does anybody care? Enough to overlook a cheaper option (Surface Pro) or one with more power (XPS)? I personally would like to see the nitty-gritty comparison of the two before I decide.