New Surface Laptop Studio

by helix2301

Posted on November 22, 2021

18

My laptop died over the weekend so I decided to buy the Surface Laptop Studio the i7 with the 16 gig ram and the 512 SSD. I have only had it a day but so far its been great I did not get the pen but bought the travel dock for my desk. If anyone else has one let me know what you think. This is my first time using Windows 11 I have not messed with it much most of my customers and our company is still on 10.

Comments (18)

18 responses to “New Surface Laptop Studio”

  1. George Coll

    You will have to share your thoughts on it after you have a chance to use it! Thanks for sharing.

    5 months ago
    1

  2. louiem3

    My Studio just arrived yesterday as my work system. My configuration is 32gb/i7/1TB SSD. I do a lot of work with SCCM/Intune and Client System work so having access to the performance is needed since I use Hyper-V. I wasn't too sure about the 14.4 screen size as I prefer 15/16 inch displays but it's been fine. (Docked with an external display helps) The 120Hz display is noticeable for me, it's been good.


    Also this is *the* best trackpad on a Windows device I've used that is equal if not better than a MacBook. I felt Surface devices in the past came really close but this one does a great job.

    5 months ago
    1

    • helix2301

      I work with SCCM a lot and I work with Hyper-v and term servers active directory group policy all this stuff is my day job.


      At work I have a i7 dell xps 9500 32 gig ram and 1 tb hdd



      5 months ago
      0

  3. wolters

    I've owned the last 3 Surface Book's and I generally loved them but they had their quirks. After much deliberation and research, I sold my Surface Book 3 and got the Surface Laptop Studio, Core i7, 32GB, 1TB model.


    I was concerned about the slightly smaller screen and DPI but wow, I really love this device. It seems more powerful than my SB3 as gaming and video editing has been much smoother and reliable.


    I do have the Surface Slim Pen 2 and it works great with it. I don't use it much so it stays "docked' and let me say, that magnet is great. It has never accidently fallen off and you often don't know it is there.


    I am so very glad with this purchase.

    5 months ago
    1

  4. angusmatheson

    What made the studio laptop appealing over a traditional form factor? Is it delivering on that?

    5 months ago
    0

  5. jwpear

    Enjoying mine so far. I decided to jump all in and get the i7 with 32 GB RAM and 1 TB storage.


    I love the larger, brighter display. It's very crisp looking and helps my aging eyes see better. I've really been surprised at how the extra one inch (approximately) and brightness has made the screen content so much easier to see, especially text.


    The CPU has been beautifully fast for development work. I haven't noticed any lags at all so far.


    I find that I enjoy the haptic trackpad, especially when switching between the SLS and Macbook Pro, more than I thought I would. And the keyboard is still one of the best.


    Battery life has been fantastic. I'm getting about 9 or so hours per charge with development, the usual browsing, and office work. I've been watching battery report to see how the estimates trend. So far, the predicted life seems in line with what I'm getting from use. Great battery life and total lifespan continue to drive me toward the Surface line.


    I was worried about heat and noise with the H series processor--I can't stand whirring and hissing fans--but I haven't noticed too much of either. I had one sitting early on where it was doing something (probably OneDrive sync, indexing, and updates) and got pretty hot. Even in that one situation, the fans were not unpleasant. There was no annoying whirring of the fan itself and the sound of the air moving through the vents was low-pitched. While the shelf form factor is very odd, I think heat and noise management is its strength.


    The large, bright 3:2 display, fast H-series CPU, modern Thunderbolt ports, 1080p video camera, great keyboards, great batteries, and convertability for pen and touch work were the primary reasons I bought the SLS (and stick with Surface hardware).


    I would have purchased the 15 inch Surface Laptop, but I couldn't get past some of the compromises for my use--the dimmer screen, middling 720p video camera, lack of tablet mode.


    5 months ago
    0

    • helix2301

      I could not justify the extra for the 32 and 1 tb drive I basically just use mine for python and c# coding mostly scripting stuff great machine so far I been hooking it to my 42 inch montitor at home been great with the Windows docking station

      5 months ago
      0

      • jwpear

        Nice dev setup with that 42" monitor!


        The 32 GB RAM and 1 TB storage is a tough one to swallow. I actually ordered the i5 with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB of storage initially, but after a little use for development, I second guessed the useful life of that configuration and sent it back.


        I've historically gone with the slightly bumped up i5 configuration when ordering the Surface Pro and Surface Book. I don't need a dedicated graphics card and find that the i5s of the last 4-5 years have enough horsepower to meet my dev and casual needs. The main thing I bump into now is storage and RAM limits on the i5 models. I find I manage those too much due to running tools and services I need for development. I do use the cloud some, but still like to have some things running locally.


        If I'm being honest with myself, the lower RAM and storage specs of the i5 configuration also made it easier for me to justify an upgrade sooner. This time I decided to go all in with a goal of having the machine for five years rather than the typical two to three. That would be more in line with the time I used to keep my desktops and is hopefully better for the environment (I always sell my devices on Swappa, so hopefully they get more use before going to the landfill). Interestingly, it's not a cost savings due to the premium to bump up the specs. Unless I push past five years.


        I really wanted the Surface Laptop to work. I do like the light weight and premium feel, but it just didn't quite meet all my needs. My wife has an original Surface Laptop and it is still running great four years in. The battery is at about 75 percent of its original capacity (and it sadly can't be serviced), but she refuses to give it up. She loves it! Of course, it won't be eligible for Windows 11 either. I expect another 12-18 months and she'll finally start to complain about the battery life being too short and she'll see me using Windows 11 with its cleaner look.


        We've been evaluating how long we keep our tech and trying to extend all of them longer. It just doesn't make sense to buy every 2-3 years (even though we buy used at times too). We've started buying better specs up front with that in mind. I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max that I also plan to keep for at least five years. I think I'll be able to do that with ease. The phone is more than enough and I'm not finding any desire to upgrade. I hope the same will be true for the Surface Laptop Studio.

        5 months ago
        0

  6. lvthunder

    How hot does it get when it's under load?

    5 months ago
    1

    • wolters

      Despite what some reviewers have said, I've rarely felt heat or even the fans for that matter...it does get hotter underneath than the SB3 did, but not that drastic.

      5 months ago
      1

  7. yaddamaster

    I get that the Surface Book hinge was a problem for many (I love mine). I also get that with the larger Surface Pro the need for a completely detachable screen in the other lines was diminished.


    But this form factor is just puzzling to me. It looks like a solution in search of a problem. It seems fragile and definitely not compact nor light when in "tablet" mode.


    It's just a bizarre form factor. I give it two years at the very most.

    5 months ago
    1

    • wolters

      As someone who loved the SB line, I took a chance on the Studio and I do wonder how the screen will hold up considering there are 4 positions for it...(laptop, tent, studio and reverse)...I am liking it so far...

      5 months ago
      1

    • lvthunder

      It's not for me. That mode is exactly how I use my Surface Book now. With Photoshop you want the extra juice from the battery and the dedicated GPU so you didn't run it with the screen detached. You would just put it backwards on the base.

      5 months ago
      1

  8. wolters

    I've had mine for about a month and really love it...but I've had some quirks:


    • Sometimes it overheats.
    • Sometimes I get phantom key presses that go on until I reboot.
    • I've had random lockups.
    • More recently, the soundcard dies and I have to uninstall it in device manager, reboot and it comes back.


    But that said, wow, I really love this device...sure does perform better than my Surface Books ever did.

    5 months ago
    1

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