![]() That's for 256GB of SSD storage and 8GB of RAM. The Surface Book with Performance Base starts at $2,399. It's time to payĪll of this comes at a price, though. Nonetheless, it's a lot of computing power and battery cells packed into a 13.5-inch laptop - it's smaller and lighter than many so-called pro-level laptops (looking at you, new 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro) but still brings all of the expected performance. When combined with the magnesium chassis the Surface Book feels substantial and premium. While a 3.6-pound laptop is not heavy per se, the Performance Base variant seems dense for its size, which is fine. Also heavier is the Surface Book itself, the Performance Base brings the weight up to 3.63 lbs (1,647g), a small jump from the previous 3.48lbs (1576g). That's also a good thing as this machine comes with a larger and heavier 102 Watt power supply (11.4oz/323g) versus the standard 65W (7.2oz/204g) one. That increased battery life means you can easily leave the AC charger at home. This is the new bigger 102W power brick for the Surface Book I have a gaming laptop that can do 90 minutes tops under those situations so again, the Surface Book here impresses. Note, however, if you tax the GTX 965M GPU at 100% e.g. That's also roughly the 30% increase I'd expect from the 7-8 hours of battery life I typically get on my older non-Performance Surface Book. When you consider that this machine is running 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an upgraded GPU, that is very impressive. In my tests over the last week, I consistently pushed 10 hours of real world productivity and went off the charger for two days. In real world testing, however, the enlarged battery makes a real difference. ![]() As usual, those claims are under ideal conditions. Microsoft claims this larger battery will power the Surface Book for 16 hours. To put that number in perspective: most Ultrabooks are in the 50 Wh range, and no laptop goes over 100 Wh due to airline safety restrictions. Combine that with the 18 Wh battery in the top half and you get an impressive 81.4 Wh of total power. Microsoft used the additional space to increase the primary battery by 30%, a jump from 52 Wh to 63.4 Wh. In a way, that physical change to the Surface Book is a blessing in disguise. You could also feel the heat on the bottom although it never became uncomfortable to use. ![]() ![]() The heat was isolated towards the upper center of the keyboard near the function keys. Heat-wise, the laptop peaked at 113° F (45° C) with 20 minutes of intense gaming in Gears of War 4. While the base comes up around the keyboard somewhat, the travel of the keys has not changed and typing feels the same between models. That means this variant doesn't feel too different when closed. Most of the increased sized is pushed to the empty gap created by the unique Surface Book hinge. ![]()
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