Not everyone wants their laptop to surf the web; others like to do a bit of everything such as work and gaming. While some laptops cater to one group, few cater to both. And that’s where the Microsoft Surface Book 3 shines the most. It has the processing power to work well in a work environment, and graphic power to play some great games. Is it the best ultrabook? Let’s find out.
Why We Like It – Microsoft Surface Book 3
The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is a chameleon; it can be a workhorse one day, has the graphic power to game, and jumps into tablet mode when you want a tablet.
- Laptop to tablet conversion
- Powerful graphics card
- Excellent battery life
- Design is too simple
- So-so speakers
Performance
The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is ready to handle anything you throw at it. Daily use? Absolutely! You can save a little by choosing an Intel Core i5, or you can beef up the processing power with the Intel Core i7, fitted with 8, 16, or 32GB of RAM. Gaming? Microsoft surprised us with its NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti, though that’s limited to its i7 13.5-inch and or 15-inch models. Battery life on the Microsoft Surface Book 3 is rated at 15.5 hours. When sent it through a battery test, it definitely performed at and around that number. Overall, it outperformed the ASUS Zenbook 14.
Design
The design of the Microsoft Surface Book 3 is certainly sleek, with its silver finish, but the 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 is simple, though notably better looking than the Lenovo Yoga 720. To be fair, it has to be. It’s designed for functionality over looks. Detaching the screen from the keyboard base turns it into a tablet, and feels like a Surface Pro. Fit it with a Surface Pen and you’ve got yourself a design station. It’s equipped with two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one USB C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and an SDXC card reader; in addition to Wi Fi and Bluetooth, something the 13-inch MacBook Pro lacks.
Value
The value of the new Surface Book 3 fluctuates based on the specifications you choose. For example, you can pick an Intel Core i5, but the Surface Book 2 had one. By fitting it with a 10th gen Intel Core i7, you’ll experience the major strides in performance Microsoft was aiming for.
Instead of Intel’s integrated graphics, the Surface Book 3 is fitted with some serious graphic power with its NVIDIA GTX Max Q, outclassing every laptop on our list—even the Razer Blade Stealth 13 gaming laptop. In other words, it has excellent value. It might cost a pretty penny, but gives a lot in return, even more so with a Surface Connect attached to its Surface Connect Port.
Microsoft Surface Book 3 Wrap Up
While design is simple and speakers could use some help, we wrap up our Microsoft Surface Book 3 13-5-inch review with one clear thought: Microsoft improved every aspect the Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 had to offer, from battery life to graphical power. The laptop-to-tablet conversion is great for an artist, and its battery life is excellent.
