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Surface Book vs. Surface Book 2: What's different?

Surface Book 2 is out now! If you want to know more about how the new Surface Book 2 compares to the first-gen Surface Book, here is a side-by-side comparison between both devices.

BY Evan Forrest November 10, 2023

Surface Book vs. Surface Book 2

The new version of Microsoft Surface Book 2 is finally out now. It now comes in 2 sizes, the same old 13.5-inch, and a new 15-inch. The overall look of the new Surface Book 2 is almost the same as the original Surface Book, however, many things have changed inside.

The new Surface Book 2 now has a better hinge design reducing screen wobbling while you work on the lap and when you interact with the screen. One more interesting change is the Mini DisplayPort replacement with a USB Type-C 3.1 Gen-1 (no Thunderbolt 3 supported) for Video Out and Charging.

If you are looking for a great laptop and struggling to choose between a cheaper original Surface Book and the new Surface Book 2, here we have a detailed specs comparison between both devices.

Surface Book 1 vs Book 2: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Book See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Book 2 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	Performance Info Up to 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6600U (2-Core, up to 3.40Ghz w/Turbo Boost) Up to NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU (1GB GDDR5) Up to 1TB SSD Up to 16GB (1866Mhz LPDDR3 RAM) Up to 12 hours battery life (69Wh) The most powerful Microsoft's Laptop Surface Book is a high-performance laptop with exceptional power and unprecedented versatility as a laptop, powerful tablet, detachable touchscreen, and a portable studio. Best-in-class screen 13.5-inch PixelSense™ display with 6 million pixels (3000x2000), 1700:1 contrast ratio, and 100% sRGB color gamut. It supports 10-point multitouch and Surface Pen with 1,024 pressure sensitivity (magnet attached to the side of the screen). More Features Magnet charging connector, Full-size USB 3.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0, 5MP front and 8MP rear camera.	Performance Info Up to 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U (4-Core, up to 4.20Ghz w/Turbo Boost) Up to NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5) Up to 1TB SSD Up to 16GB (1866Mhz LPDDR3 RAM) Up to 17 hours of battery life New Size Now available in 15-inch with the same beautiful PixelSense display. Better Performance Surface Book 2 has up to 5 times more graphics performance than the original Surface Book. Longer Battery Life Lasts up to 17 hours. USB-C Allows you to charge, transfer data, and video out. More Features Updated hinge design for reducing screen wobbling. Supports the latest Surface Pen with 4096 levels of pressure. Supports Surface Dial on-screen interaction. Xbox Wireless built-in (15-inch only).
What's missing		MiniDisplay port replaced with a USB-C port

Availability	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Released	2015	2017
Release Info	Introduced: October 7, 2015 Pre-ordered: October 7, 2015 Released: October 26, 2015	Introduced: October 17, 2017 Pre-ordered: November 9, 2017 Released: November 16, 2017
Pricing	Starting at 1,499$	Surface Book 2 13.5”: Starting at 1,149$ Surface Book 2 15”: Starting at 1,999$

Surface Book Price
	Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum By Microsoft $699.00 $919.99 24% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft $309.95	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5" Touchscreen - Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Renewed) By Microsoft $432.00 $459.00 6% OFF	See at Amazon
Surface Book 2 Price
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5" Touchscreen - Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Renewed) By Microsoft $432.00 $459.00 6% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft $309.95	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 15" (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512 GB), Silver By Microsoft $499.00 $799.99 38% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Size	13.5 Inches
Info	Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (6M Pixels) Display Density: 267 PPI PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1700:1 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch	Surface Book 2 13.5” Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (6M Pixels) Display Density: 267 PPI Surface Book 2 15” Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160 (7M Pixels) Display Density: 260 PPI PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1600:1 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Size Comparison
Dimensions	12.3” x 9.14” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm)	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) 12.3” x 9.1” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm). Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) 12.3” x 9.14” x 0.59”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 15 mm-23 mm). Surface Book 2 15” 13.5” x 9.87” x 0.57”-0.90” (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm).
Weight	Tablet Only: 1.6 lbs (726 g) Surface Book: 3.34 lbs (1,515 g) Surface Book with dGPU: 3.48 lbs (1,578 g)	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) Total: 3.38 lbs (1,533 g) Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g) Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) Total: 3.62 lbs (1,642 g) Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g) Surface Book 2 15” Total: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g) Tablet: 1.80 lbs (817 g)
Colors	Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad	Keyboard: Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel. Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard. Trackpad: Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
Ports	2 x Full-size USB 3.0 2 x Surface Connect™ 1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base, both supports charging and docking. 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Headset jack 1 x Full-size SDXC card reader (UHS-II performance)	2 x Full-size USB 3.1 Gen 1 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort. 2 x Surface Connect™ 1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base, both supports charging and docking. 1 x Headset jack 1 x Full-size SDXC card reader UHS-II Performance

Internal Specs	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Processor	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.40 → 3.00 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6600U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U Intel® HD Graphics 520 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6600U Intel® HD Graphics 520 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U Intel® HD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Discrete Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU Maxwell Architecture, 1GB GDDR5 128-bit, 954 - 993 MHz, 384 CUDA Cores.	Surface Book 2 13.5” NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Pascal Architecture, 2GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1354 → 1493 MHz, 640 CUDA Cores. Surface Book 2 15” NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 Pascal Architecture, 6GB GDDR5 192-bit, 1404 → 1670 MHz, 1280 CUDA Cores.
Memory	8GB 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	128GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD	128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB PCIe SSD

Connectivity	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
		Surface Book 2 15” Only: Xbox Wireless built-in

Battery	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Size	Total: 69Wh Clipboard: 18Wh Base: 51Wh	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) Total: 69Wh Clipboard: 18Wh Base: 51Wh Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) Total: 75.3Wh Clipboard: 18Wh Base: 57.3Wh Surface Book 2 15” Total: 90Wh Clipboard: 23Wh Base: 67Wh
Battery Life	Up to 12 hours of video playback	Up to 17 hours of video playback Up to 5 hours in tablet mode
Power Supply	Surface Book 36W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port. Surface Book with dGPU 65W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port.	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) 44W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port. Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) 100W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port. Surface Book 2 15” 102W power supply with USB-A 7.5W) charging port.

Software	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
OS	Windows 10 Pro	Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update) Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Camera	Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio	Dual microphones Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	Dual microphones Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones

Misc	Surface Book	Surface Book 2
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 1024 levels of pressure Magnetic storage	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security	HW TPM chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface Book Surface Pen Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Book 2 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Supports Surface Dial Supports off-screen interaction only.	Supports Surface Dial Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.

Surface Book 1 vs 2: Intel Core i5 Comparison

The new Surface Book 2 now only has one configuration that comes with Intel Core i5 and Microsoft still uses the 7-Gen chip for that configuration while the Intel Core i7 uses the 8-Gen chip. However, it is still a better upgrade than the 6-Gen chip available in the original Book.

Processor	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U

Launch Date	Q3'2015	Q1'2017
Base Frequency	2.40 GHz	2.60 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	3.00 GHz	3.50 GHz
TDP	15 watt
Level 1 Cache	128 KB
Level 2 Cache	512 KB
Level 3 Cache	3 MB SmartCache
# of Cores	2
# of Threads	4
Bus Speed	4 GT/s OPI
Max Memory Support	32 GB
Max Memory Bandwidth	34.1 GB/s
GEEKBENCH 4
Single-Core Score	3,374	3,967
Multi-Core Score	6,431	7,736

Surface Book 1 vs 2: Intel Core i7 Comparison

The 8-Gen Intel Core i7 inside the new Surface Book 2 is a significant performance boost over the 6-Gen Intel Core i7 in the original Surface Book. It now has real 4 cores and 8 threads that significantly improve performance for professional-grade applications and high-end gaming titles.

Processor	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6600U	8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U

Launch Date	Q3'2015	Q3'2017
Base Frequency	2.60 GHz	1.90 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	3.40 GHz	4.20 GHz
TDP	15 watt
Level 1 Cache	128 KB
Level 2 Cache	512 KB
Level 3 Cache	4 MB SmartCache	8 MB SmartCache
# of Cores	2	4
# of Threads	4	8
Bus Speed	4 GT/s OPI
Max Memory Support	32 GB
Max Memory Bandwidth	34.1 GB/s
GEEKBENCH 4
Single-Core Score	3,672	4,956
Multi-Core Score	7,147	14,377

Surface Book 1 vs 2: Integrated Graphics Comparison

As most Surface Book models come with discrete graphics, in terms of processor selection Microsoft didn't focus much on integrated graphics selection. All models are all using general Intel HD graphics instead of Intel Iris or Iris Plus graphics found on Apple MacBook Pro.

Processor	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U/i7-6600U	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U	8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U

Graphics	Intel® HD Graphics 520	Intel® HD Graphics 620	Intel® UHD Graphics 620
Base Frequency	300 MHz	300 MHz	300 MHz
Max Dynamic Frequency	i5-6300U 1.00 GHz i7-6600U 1.05 GHz	1.10 GHz	1.15 GHz
Graphics Max Memory	32 GB
Graphics 4K Support	Yes, at 60Hz
Graphics DirectX	12
Graphics OpenGL	4.4
# Display Supported	3
Graphics Technologies	Quick Sync Video Clear Video HD Technology Clear Video Technology InTru™ 3D Technology	Quick Sync Video Clear Video HD Technology Clear Video Technology InTru™ 3D Technology	Quick Sync Video Clear Video HD Technology Clear Video Technology InTru™ 3D Technology

Surface Book 1 vs 2: Discrete Graphics Comparison

The new Surface Book 2 finally comes with the latest and VR-Ready discrete graphics GeForce GTX 10 Series. With the GeForce GTX 1060, The new Surface Book 2 is now able to play most high-end games at 1080p at 60 fps. It also makes Surface Book 2 is the first Surface PC that able to use Windows Mixed Reality Ulta.

GPU	GFEFORCE GPU	GEFORCE GTX 965M	GEFORCE GTX 1050	GEFORCE GTX 1060

Architecture	Maxwell		Pascal
Memory Size	1 GB GDDR5	2 GB GDDR5	2 GB GDDR5	6 GB GDDR5
GPU Engine Specs
NVIDIA CUDA® Cores	384	1024	640	1280
Base Clock (MHz)	954 MHz	935 MHz	1354 MHz	1506 MHz
Boost Clock (MHz)	993 MHz	1150 MHz	1455 MHz	1708 MHz
Memory Specs
Memory Speed	5012 MHz	5000 MHz	7000 MHz	8000 MHz
Memory Interface Width	64-bit	128-bit	128-bit	192-bit
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)	40 GB/s	80 GB/s	112 GB/s	192 GB/s
Technology Support
Technologies	PhysX CUDA GeForce Experience
	Optimus™ Support	G-SYNC -Ready GameStream -Ready Optimus™ Support BatteryBoost™ SLI® Ready	G-SYNC -Ready GameStream -Ready Simultaneous Multi-Projection VR Ready Ansel SLI® Ready Vulkan API	G-SYNC -Ready GameStream -Ready Simultaneous Multi-Projection VR Ready Ansel SLI® Ready Vulkan API
NVIDIA GPU Boost	2.0		3.0
Microsoft DirectX	12 API with feature level 11_0	12 API with feature level 12_1
OpenGL	4.5
Bus Support	PCIe 3.0

Conclusion

The new Surface Book 2 is a big jump in performance compared to the original Surface Book. If you can manage a budget to afford the Surface Book 2, that's is no doubt that it is a great choice. However, if you are tight on your budget, the original Surface Book is still the best laptop for its price and features.

Here are the most frequently requested comparisons for Surface Book:

Surface Book

vs.

Surface Book 2