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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Manch - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Pure magnesium in powder form just like aluminum is very flammable and dangerous. In solid blocks they are less so but can still be ignited with enough heat. These however are alloys so don't worry, you're quite safe.vFunct - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Can they catch fire with the occasional exploded Li-ion battery?tipoo - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
You'd have to grind it to a powder for it to be flammable. Also: Don't light it on fire :PFollow these two rules and you can sleep safe.
Ytterbium - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
It's magnesium alloy, which has max of 13% magnesiums.yu - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
I've seen a bicycle frame with more than 80% magnesium.Cobalt Wraith - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Only one huge thing is missing here, and everywhere else I've seen good benchmarks. Why is there no numbers for the i5 WITH the GPU? How much of that battery life difference has to do with what base is attached, which is where most of the batteries are located? How much of the difference in graphics capabilities is because of just the GPU, regardless of which CPU model is attached? You wouldn't even need to buy another unit to test, just hook the i5 up to the i7's keyboard and power supply and run the tests again. Is there any ways those results could please be added to this review? Those numbers haven't been recorded anywhere I can find.leoblaze9 - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
I'm really glad to see an increase in color accurate displays. Its about time!!nerd1 - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
In 3:2 aspect ratio as well. The screen alone (almost) justifies the premium price.s.yu - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
You gotta be kidding me, it's just sRGB, many Ultrabooks meet the standard. What are you so excited about.nerd1 - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
Its factory calibrat3d 3:2 13.5 display with 450 nits of brightness. Nothing ever comes close.