Good Review and Cheap Touch Screen Laptop Deals
Microsoft's own laptops accept often set the example for how to design and build the best laptop, and the Surface Laptop Studio is no exception. It has an innovative pattern that really works every bit a ii-in-1 device. These devices that combine the functions of a laptop and a tablet are usually compromises, offering some of the benefits of both, but with downsides like awkward folding, increased weight and full general clunkiness. The Surface Laptop Studio doesn't have nigh of these issues. Information technology is easy to switch from laptop to tablet and is very usable in both configurations. But it still has one compromise: the price.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: price and availability
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio starts at $1599/£1449/AU$2399 with an i5 processor and 256GB SSD, upward to $3099/£2879/AU$4649 for the i7 processor and 2TB SSD version. The model that I tested came with an i7 Processor, 512GB SSD drive and a NVidia 3050 Ti GPU, and was priced at $1999.99/£1899/AU$3149.
The iii main positions for the Surface Laptop Studio
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: design and screen
Firstly, permit'southward talk about that fold-over screen, the highlight of the Surface Laptop Studio. Open up the laptop, and it looks like many other modern laptops: large 14-inch screen, practiced-sized keyboard and touchpad in a magnesium and aluminum alloy instance. Pull the bottom of the screen forward, however, and you see what the fuss is nearly. A swivel on the back console lets the screen motion frontwards, while the back of the screen stays in identify. This naturally falls into the second configuration of the laptop – tented, where magnets hold the tilted screen in identify just in front of the keyboard. That'south the perfect angle for watching a moving-picture show or playing a game with a game controller or just the touchpad.
Pull the screen further forward and it snaps into tablet mode, again held in identify by magnets. In this config, the back panel of the screen folds right over so the screen is flat against the keyboard. Well, almost: in that location is a very slight forward tilt to the screen in this position, towards the touch panel side of the laptop. That's fine if you lot are using information technology in landscape mode, but information technology feels a picayune odd in portrait mode, like writing on a piece of paper on a wonky tabular array.
It too succeeds in one area that the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 fails in: the lap test. You can't actually use a Surface Pro 8 sitting up on your lap because the tablet border digs into your leg, and doesn't stay stable. Even with the keyboard attached, it falls over very easily considering all the weight is behind the screen. The Surface Laptop Studio doesn't have this problem. Most of the weight is in the base, so it sits nicely on the lap, and can also be used in tablet mode.
The 2400 by 1600 pixel touch screen itself is excellent, with decent brightness and bright, vivid color. I measured the maximum effulgence at almost 270 cd/m2, which is a bit less than the 343 cd/M2 of the Dell XPS thirteen. That might exist an issue if you lot often use the laptop outside – the brighter the screen, the more visible information technology is in sunlight. The screen of the Surface Laptop Studio tin can run at up to 120Hz, double the screen refresh frequency of most screens, which means smoother movement in games, and the screen looked great running at 120Hz in games like Doom Eternal, with realistic blood splatters and parademon guts flying everywhere.
(Image credit: Richard Baguley )
The base of the laptop has a slightly odd design: there is a notch between the edge of the case and the lesser of the base all the mode effectually, like an inverted step pyramid. This serves two functions: information technology provides a spot for the air intakes (and then they don't go blocked when information technology is sitting on a lap) and the notch under the touchpad provides a mounting spot for the Surface Pen 2, an optional ($130/£120/AU$190) pen that works with the affect screen. More magnets hold the pen in identify, and information technology is charged wirelessly when stored in place.
At that place are 4 connections to this laptop: two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the right side and the Surface Connect port and headphone socket on the left. In that location are no older-style USB-A ports, no SD Carte du jour and no other connections, so you have to do everything through the Thunderbolt or Surface Connect port with an adapter. Fortunately, these are pretty flexible. Microsoft offers the Surface Dock two, which uses its Surface Connect port and adds charging, 1GB Ethernet and a variety of USB ports of various shapes and speeds. Alternatively, you lot could employ a Thunderbolt dock like the Belkin Thunderbolt iii Dock Pro.
Yous do not, all the same, become any way to adapt the Thunderbolt 4 or Surface Connect to work with older devices in the box. That seems a bit stingy on Microsoft'southward part. Other laptops similar the Dell XPS 13 come with a USB-C to USB-A adapter included. These are cheap to purchase, but it is frustrating non to accept one when you start out.
One other point to note here is that you lot can charge the Surface Laptop studio through the proprietary Surface Connect port or the Thunderbolt 4 ports. It comes with a 110W Surface Connect charger, but I also used a variety of USB-C chargers without bug, except that the laptop complained that the charging would exist slower than with the dedicated charger. That is true, every bit the amount of juice they could output was less than the dedicated charger, but information technology is certainly more convenient, as you can use the same charger you use for your phone to charge the Surface Laptop studio, albeit more slowly.
Used in tablet way there is still a slight angle to the screen
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: performance and battery
The Surface Laptop Studio has decent functioning. I found that both apps and games performed well on the i7 with Nvidia 3050 GPU configuration I tested. Programs similar Adobe Premiere were fairly fast when editing video, and the laptop achieved a score of 4833 in the PC Mark 10 benchmark. Running the Geekbench 5 benchmark, it achieved a score of 4625 in the multi-core test. That's a fiddling faster than the Microsoft Surface Pro 8, which scored 4133. The Surface Laptop Studio uses the Intel 11th gen Core i7-11370H, which is a little faster than the Intel Cadre i7-1185G7 processor the Pro 8 uses.
Operation in modern 3D games from the NVidia 3050 GPU was also pretty skilful. Doom Eternal managed a frame charge per unit of about lx to 70 frames per second running at 1080P resolution in High graphics mode and was very playable. Lowering the resolution down a bit pushed this higher, producing very fluid, smooth gameplay. The Surface Laptop Studio managed a 3D Mark score of 4302, which is much, much better than the 1328 of the Surface Pro 8. While the Pro viii would struggle to run many modern games, the Surface Laptop Studio could run them at a decent resolution and speed.
The battery life of the Surface Laptop Studio is pretty good, too. I measured the battery life at 11 hours and 32 minutes while playing back a video. That'south with the screen set up to most 200 cd/m2 brightness; four clicks off the maximum. That's plenty to go along yous tickled over a cross-state flight with a couple of movies. Don't await to be gaming for an entire flight, though. Running Doom Eternal on the default settings, I was only able to get about fifty minutes of gaming before the Surface Laptop Studio ran out of juice.
The mid position is ideal for gaming or movie watching.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: verdict
The Surface Laptop Studio is a quite awesome laptop that looks great and performs well. The folding screen works well to make information technology usable in both laptop and tablet fashion, without calculation much in the manner of weight or bulk: y'all really don't meet the hinge until yous movement the screen.
The trouble is the price. The laptop itself is expensive because the spec. Yous can pick up a Dell XPS xiii with a similar spec for less. And that'south before yous start calculation the price for the accessories: the Surface Dock and Surface Slim Pen two, both of which are really required to get the well-nigh out of this very capable laptop.
So, if yous want a device that can work as both a laptop and tablet without too much majority, the Surface Laptop Studio is a great option. Nevertheless, nearly users would be amend off deciding if they desire a laptop or a tablet and saving money past picking one or the other.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: as well consider
There are a number of similar laptops available, from the tablet Windows Surface Pro 8 to the standard laptop-style Dell XPS xiii. The Microsoft Surface Pro viii is cheaper (although you do accept to purchase the keyboard and pen separately) and uses a like processor. It also offers Thunderbolt 4 ports. The clip-on keyboard is much less comfortable to use than the 1 congenital into the Surface Laptop Studio, though and you really can't use it on your lap.
The Dell XPS 13 9310 is a more standard laptop than the Surface Laptop Studio and includes a more than attractive OLED screen (a 2-in-1 version is as well bachelor) . The xiii-inch screen on the XPS is smaller than the Surface Laptop Studio, though, and that tin can be of import for those who want to use the bear on screen and pen with apps like Photoshop and Illustrator that need lots of screen existent estate.
Source: https://www.t3.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio
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