Microsoft Surface Book replacement ?

[James Blonde]

I've got a 1st gen Microsoft Surface Book, i5 6300U, 256gb SSD, 8gb RAM. Unfortunately the keyboard base with the integrated nvidia GPU has stopped working. I've run through diagnostics and Microsoft have done their checks remotely - it can't be fixed.

They've offered an identical exchange replacement for £568 ($790), but it seems they don't offer a route to upgrade / modernise.

It seems like a decent price after googling it, however I'm still buying a 5 year old laptop.

It was originally bought for photography - photoshop / lightroom / plug ins, maybe a bit of video, a bit of light gaming, and general productivity / work / surfing. I've got a half decent 9700k gaming / creative desktop as well, so have an alternative for heavy lifting. But that also meant I didn't use this laptop often.

Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome laptop in terms of build quality and screen and I love the touch screen and pen. However it's impossible to upgrade, and 256gb SSD is pretty poor in this day and age. And ironically the screen res was arguably too high for its size as I could barely read menus in photoshop (though I probably should have persisted with this)

So what do you think? should I take the Microsoft upgrade - is it still decent value for money and current enough to do what I want?? Or should I maybe consider something else?? Appreciate your thoughts!

 

[hang-the-9]

For almost $800 USD for a 1st gen Surface, no.

Are you looking for a 2 in 1 like the Surface or just a regular laptop. There are a ton of options in either format for your price, especially if you look at used also.

 

[James Blonde]

Not too fussed about having a 2 in 1 to be fair as I prefer a keyboard input (though not completely against detachable either), but having a touch screen is great, and really like the high precision pen functionality. Budget isn't the biggest issue on the planet here either, just don't want to waste the money on an old spec device if it's not worth it.

Would also be good if it was something that was even vaguely upgradable, at least in terms or ram and storage!

 

[hang-the-9]

The good color accurate screen laptops are pretty expensive, but if your main use is going to be photo editing that is what you would want. You are probably going to be looking at used models. Dell XPS, Lenovo Legion has good screen, if you don't care about gaming then the newer Surfaces are good for a 2 in 1. Just do a search for color accurate laptops and go from there.

 

[James Blonde]

Just wish Microsoft would give a route to upgrade rather than a straight exchange - would make life a bit easier! Might ask again.... Will have a look at dell and lenovo as well though, and do a search on colour accurate, but to be honest, I've got a decent colour accurate monitor on my desktop so colour accuracy isn't as critical as it might have been if it was my only option.

 

[James Blonde]

Seeing whether my insurance will cover this as keyboard stopped working it was dropped. So might have a decent budget or might be forced to get a like for like replacement, who knows! But either way, should be cheaper than the microsoft replacement route.

 

[James Blonde]

Apparently the insurance company repairer say it can be fixed, so don't need to worry about the upgrade right now! Good and bad.... Will start a new post for the next question...

 

[James Blonde]

Ah, had a call (thats a lie - I had to call as I'd heard nothing) from the insurance company telling me that my surface book can't be repaired after all... So back in the market for a laptop.

But an important question - and something my surface book failed miserably on - how upgradable are other high end, colour accurate laptops? I'm thinking primarily of storage and ram - my assumption is that nothing else is likely to be upgradeable, but can I even upgrade the basics??

 

[hang-the-9]

Ah, had a call (thats a lie - I had to call as I'd heard nothing) from the insurance company telling me that my surface book can't be repaired after all... So back in the market for a laptop.

But an important question - and something my surface book failed miserably on - how upgradable are other high end, colour accurate laptops? I'm thinking primarily of storage and ram - my assumption is that nothing else is likely to be upgradeable, but can I even upgrade the basics??

Most better laptops you can upgrade the RAM and change the drive in, that's about it for any laptop. Even higher end systems now come with soldered RAM and maybe one RAM slot available, which I think is a horrible design. Really just find what you like in a screen and core specs, then check on the build with what it can take.

 

[James Blonde]

I think what's annoyed me most about my surface book is that literally nothing can be upgraded or opened, even my a repairer. Even by Microsoft.

My bad for buying it in the first place!

 

[USAFRet]

I think what's annoyed me most about my surface book is that literally nothing can be upgraded or opened, even my a repairer. Even by Microsoft.

My bad for buying it in the first place!

Thin+light = no upgrades.
That is the same with just about every device in that realm.

A RAM in a socket is literally larger than surface mounted RAM.
Same with the CPU/SSD and everything else.

It is what it is.

 

[James Blonde]

Hurrah and huzzah! Insurance are paying out £1500, so thats my budget for a new laptop!

I'm going to see if I can get the old device back, because the screen still worked and that could mean I can retain my touch screen / pen input for photography, meaning it's not as critical in a new laptop. Not holding out much hope, but.... Hey! Who knows!

Any other devices out there accept surface pen input for detail??

 

[James Blonde]

For what it's worth, going to give this a try...

https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/asus-rog-flow-x13-xg-mobile-ryzen-9-5980hs

Seems to cover most of my bases, though not perhaps as upgradable as I'd ideally want, and a bit of a smaller form factor too.... But will see how I get on! Bit more than the surface book, but a lot leas than as advertised here, and far higher spec than similar devices, and far higher spec to price compared to my original surface book I'd say!