Microsoft Surface Book 3 | Three Months Later Review | Worthy laptop for creators?

Reviewing Microsoft's Surface Book 3 convertible laptop three months after launch, to see if this notebook-cum-tablet is worth your cash. The flexible nature of this device is its strength, while gaming/creative performance also impresses. Video editors will find it capable, thanks to the discrete graphics options. I've been testing the 13-inch Surface Book 3 as my full-time laptop to see if it's among the best of 2020 and here's my final review.
I'd have no hesitation recommending Microsoft's convertible to creators, photographers and other power users, but for a couple of points. First is the price. This definitely isn't a budget-friendly notebook, especially if you need those dedicated graphics. In fact, the Surface Book is just as expensive as the Dell XPS 15, Huawei Matebook X Pro and so on.
However, with a GeForce GPU (mine had the GTX 1650) in place, this laptop can blaze through quite demanding games and handle 4K video editing on the fly. Battery life is respectable at 8 hours of mixed use per charge. And I love the keyboard and the quick tablet conversion, which couples nicely with Microsoft's Surface Pen.
However, the display lacks the colour accuracy of rivals and the speakers are also horrendously tinny.
So do you agree with my review of the Surface Book 3? Let me know your thoughts and your own favourite laptops of 2020 down below.

[@imperialchalice]

Nice review. Seeing some consistency with the pros and cons from different reviews. Love that. Thank you~

[@PepperButt]

"my 13 incher can handle a fair bit of pressure" HOW DO YOU KEEP COMING UP WITH THESE LINES?!?!

[@metal-gods]

Simple he is a size queen

[@lucila5466]

@@metal-gods who isnt 🤭

[@d-o-n-u-t]

He didn’t come up with that 13 inch line... he was born with it.

[@johnnymidnight2982]

That means nothing to him. Brits use metric.

[@towniejude4359]

The man's analogies are always a vibe! 😂💯

[@horicon57]

SUCH a great reviewer. Thank you!

[@saeedanasir]

Loved the review. Now to the main question, when are you releasing your comedy special???!!

[@thatone3809]

You just earned yourself a sub "If it's one thing MS does well....."

[@tannerdeal]

Maybe it's because I'm a Mac user, but the price doesn't seem outrageous to me.

[@alnoorvirani1]

I'd agree with you. Just got the SB3 and I love it so far

[@kodiakandgrizzlybears3787]

Mac is much better.

[@anguspowell2216]

Probably because you can get a windows PC for much less all though with weaker specks that the price is high

[@ThomasHoffDE]

@@kodiakandgrizzlybears3787 i have both - completely different devices. SBook is a 2 in 1 and an epic one. Macbook is an awesome laptop - but no touch, etc - it's a typical clamshell

[@JoeJTSJoe]

1:30 - OK. I'm subbing immediately because this dude's similes and funny asides are just awesome. Also helpful info.

[@JoeJTSJoe]

I have enjoyed my Surface Book 1.. love the form factor and using the flip screen behind function. But hoping for a little more in the base for the four. And a little lower price.. maybe..?

[@MrDealeronrocks]

It’s funny how windows get blunt insults while Macs receive gentler punches, it’s all across the board though

[@thebabbler8867]

Windows wins tho. 💯

[@hakoubona5702]

Great review love it thank you

[@bakayarouotaku3298]

Bonus points for the Steins;Gate wallpaper. I am still rocking my SurfaceBook1 and it does well enough as a simple media/web browsing machine

[@ASLAM48660]

I’m so glad it that I have it. It’s so worth it!!!!

[@daburningdezire]

thank you for such a wonderful and humorous review

[@madserkake6665]

I must say I just love your humor

[@davidschulze4106]

Your lines actually made me laugh 😂

[@SUHABOUT]

Isn't that "Thorfinn" in the background of your laptop? I like that dude!

[@Heatherhigleydrums]

I got a second hand one of these, and it seems fine except I notice a subtle odd thing that happens with the screen when turning on. If simply waking up there is a very brief (micro seconds) white flash of screen that happens before the iris recognition screen and its flash happens. When turning on or restarting the screen briefly flashes purple like that of update screen, before the iris recognition screen and flash. I have another week to decide if I want to keep it, and this is the only thing that seems slightly odd. I don't know how significant this could be? Any idea if I should keep it or not based on this...It doesn't bother me as such, but if it's a sign it's a bombshell waiting to go off that's another matter...

[@eladyihie2502]

Thank you very much it was very halpful, and a fun video to watch tanks👍

[@caffeinecreature]

Holy crap, this man reads my mind. Looking at this thing because of its SD card slot as I want to edit pictures on the go.

[@kyliecollins4014]

Great review!

[@jbduendeable]

I just got one. Im just going to watch KZbin with it. 😅

[@shaquedelilicss7849]

Did you brush your theeth this morning with caviar ?

[@sonicdudeatdawn2]

@@shaquedelilicss7849 pfffffffffffffX3

[@patsonlim528]

But KZbin belongs to google so I think 🤔 buying Google Pixel Book to watch KZbin is more in sync

[@elmichellangelo]

@@patsonlim528 big brain. That basically how it works. They optimize their product altogether. So to use a hight performing windows device, you buy surface, for browsing chrome book,...

[@ishantseth737]

Could you please try 3DS Max software on 13 inch model? How will it handle as compare to 15 inch 1660 TI max q graphics model? Please check , I I would not like to have a laptop that will run laggy and stuck at some point while doing the work,Will it work perfectly like the best that any laptop can handle this software’s?

[@4sIElectronics]

@5:32 I have my surfacebook 3 15" and I palyed games with the screen folded backwards against the base, and becuase the game that I was playing used the discrete graphics, and so the tablet bottom got really hott. I tried to detach it while it was still hott, and it wont detach. I heard that the right musclewire would open, but the left didn't make the noice that is assosiated with it opening... I got message "latch failed to open". I tried several times, no succes. Then I tried rebooting, still no succes. After I let the device cool down for around 30 minutes, the detach worked normaly, and since then I Haven't had any problems regarding to the detach. I remember that the musclewire worked with heating up the wire, so I'm pretty sure that it can't work by the designed way when the whole device is hott

[@LcsLondon]

You got my subscribe, at the wet weekend in Wolverhampton

[@o.602]

Gotta love that Vinland Saga wallpaper

[@doyoubinoame8483]

On my SP7 there's option in display settings "sRGB" and "Enhanced" which when switched drastically change color correction of the display. Maybe color test you were making was done with wrong setting? I'm not sure which is correct one to test, but they are really different.

[@belindaleighfrazier8165]

Which stylus is the best for this surface book 3

[@jstanovic]

I have the 13.5 inch unit. Paid for with my wife’s company award points! I use it with PowerDirector and my GoPro 8 to create 4K videos. My videos are for KZbin, so fairly short. Works like a dream!

[@ferrerolounge1910]

Wife’s company award points , aren't they for your wife? And yeah 13.5 inch is handy for travel too especially with travel bags

[@Babskexx]

What's the name of the drawing app that you opened? is it the one from microsoft itself cause I bought the piece yesterday and mine doesn't have that many options unless I'm still overlooking things which might be the case

[@TimeSpace1]

Does your hinge have a slight crinkle sound when you open and close? Just unboxed my 15 inch today and couldn’t help but notice

[@rhiannaataou8727]

seriously rate the nuggets of humour in this review

[@yazanahmad3956]

planing on buying the surface book. is the "surface book 4" on the horizon or can i go ahaead and buy the current version?

[@chubbyBunny94]

Watch looks good - is it samsumg?

[@KyleGP]

The second camera lens on the lens is clearly for taking photos while you have it in tablet mode...?

[@amitkumarsingh7202]

SIR IS IT BEST FOR GAME DEVELOPMENT

[@shahilsharma6047]

Yo could we get a link to that wallpaper? Love Vinland saga!

[@Rickyelriko]

Hi, I just bought a Surface book 3, and I have a dell wd15 dock which i use work my work computer (dell latitude 5490). The wd15 dock does work with my surface book 3 via usb c, however it is not as smooth as i would like. When I plug it, only 50% of the time charges my laptop, i have to unplug and plug it in until it starts charging. The other thing is that the wd15 dock is connected via hdmi to my monitor, and when i plug the dock into my surface book,, the external monitor is not detected. i have to unplug the hdmi from the wd15 and plug it in again, and it works. So i have to do all these to have the dock charge and provide connection to my monitor. Am i missing something here? like a driver or something? Or is this expected since the dock is DELL and my laptop is MICROSOFT?

[@lilsquidgaming39]

question whats the best surface out to date that has the biggest gpu

[@noda2488]

3:50 i'm surprised me that you don't know why there's a 2nd camera on the lid? Cause it serves like a tablet too?

[@litazo6574]

i need a laptop that can be use as tablet when i only need to do reading etc. I think this is the best one

[@deepmishra737]

Yes even I was looking for one and couldn’t find anything better than this.

[@pavelsokov]

I have the surface book 2 and I find the display pretty gorgeous. Do they get better?

[@zacharyhebert6423]

I'll say what I find pretty gorgeous and getting better, you

[@isy9946]

Bro theat vinland Saga wallpaper is dope

[@zycane]

A great laptop/tablet unit. But MS' pen stylus tech is still abysmal, compared to Wacom and Apple. For drawing/painting, look elsewhere.

[@jobinjoseph5205]

13 th m onth my 3500k surface book 3 not turning on. Any help to suggest? its a lot of money, cant replace it now. The charging white light on the power cord is on, but the screen completely off.

[@MrSidney9]

I was saving to get the latest MacBook Pro , but just read that It can’t run softwares like solidworks (I’m a mech engineer). I want to to get Microsoft surface book instead, but too pricey for me right now.

[@needforwil]

Could you review the 2020 MateBook 13 AMD? 😎

[@subashkhanal8050]

I bought one (refurbished one) on 600. It says it is almost as new and only defects are looks as it has a little dent on back of screen. So is it normal if i get battery life of 5 hours or less??

[@forfeitsarim]

Love your reviews, they aren't biased and you just review things that really matter to people. Anyways, I am currently using a Surface Pro 4 and I am looking to upgrade, unfortunately they didn't release a pro 8 but the surface book 3 has gotten me thinking. I have always loved the 2in1 aspect of the pro which is now in book 3, another huge factor is the fact it has 2 USB ports which is something I really struggled in my pro4. 2 things holding me back are the price and also the color (would've loved a black one), do you think should I go for the pro7 or book 3?

[@madisonlovings]

This is my EXACT question, which one did you end up getting??

[@forfeitsarim]

@@madisonlovings I got the SP7 i7 model, so far I still love it and don't regret it because I got a really good deal. I'm pretty sure if I had waited for the next gen I would've ended up paying almost double the price.

[@FloFloFlowable]

Lovely device, thx for the review 😊

[@workfasts]

I saw a review saying surface book 3 has weak processor?

[@amiliecai7909]

Sorry I know this is for the surface book but ATTACK ON TITAN omg I never expected someone to play anime on a laptop review! This makes me happy that anime is finally more and more mainstream that people don't feel the need to keep it behind their backs.

[@flipoere]

Has MS with the SB3 finally gotten rid of the battery-drain-gate, where the AC can't fuel the battery faster than what a graphics intensive game requires? My daily gaming on my (otherwise lovely) SB2 is limited to around 90 minutes, at which point the (keyboard which houses the discrete graphics) battery is 0%. Perhaps the line; "If there's one thing MS does well, it's to limit your gaming"...;-S

[@BlackRaven999]

Your accent is always pleasent goodluck

[@DrFurb]

"as exciting as a wet weekend in Wolverhampton" .... Yeah..I work there. I'm from somewhere else.... Yeah... It's bad. Don't go there. Ever. Like EVVVVERRRRRRR.

[@blueblobdude12]

Alright hear me out. Ive had the surface book 2 for about 20 months. Love it a ton. While i use the detachable screen, i could likely live without it. Touchscreen is still a need though. I spilled a whole glass of water in my sb2 base. RIP, never been this pissed before, trying to figure out, is it worth it for me to just save up for the SB3 rather than replace this base? I game alot so the gpu and ram upgrades might help alot, i can use more memory, but other than that not much seems different. Is the price difference worth upgrading now, or should i replace the sb2? Should i try another 2 in 1 type laptop thats got a good gpu?

[@youtubeuser5808]

As Asians says if it works use it. If it can be fixed fix it. But seriously use it and wait for the price drop of this product then buy it.

[@gabrielsammut7888]

What other 2 in 1 has a good gpu, possibly better cpu than the SB3, AND the same touchscreen capabilities? I'm heading to uni soon and as much as I think I would be efficient using an SB3 for note-taking/gaming/studying in tablet mode, I'm still offput by the price :(

[@blueblobdude12]

@@youtubeuser5808 yeah, tried taking the sb2 to a repair shop, no luck. Its gone for (atleast the base). After days of looking, found 0 new condition bases for a reasonable price. F. Welp, looks like im buying an SB3 unless i can find a better alternative. Looked at the razer blade 15, but the touchscreen sucks. Things like the lenovo yoga and samsung books have to crappy gpus. The xps 15 is nice but the touchscreen isnt as good, the xps 17 has ghosting issues due to their 4k screen. If i could find a better alt, id be on it, but im looking at the SB3 now i guess

[@blueblobdude12]

@@youtubeuser5808 0. I cant find one single 2 in 1 that has a better gpu, whose touchscreen isnt a dealbreaker. Xps 15 & 17, razer blade 15, lenovo yoga, none of them fit what i want. The sb3 is as close as it gets for me until something new arises i guess

[@rabbi619]

Asus 14 duo try that

[@kw..1414]

How much did u buy it for

[@husseinsalem774]

What is the name of the headphone?

[@ibcganix9327]

What game were u playing?

[@icewolf1911]

I see you are a man of culture. Also thanks for the review!

[@paulayorinde6691]

Im anyway getting it yay maybe today or on Tuesday

[@mariaayeshadelarosa9725]

is this good for freelancing / VA jobs?

[@dennisperkins1020]

"When it comes to drawing, I'm up there with a blind person with no hands." I subscribed to the Tech Spurt's channel for the humor.

[@Zecr]

Sorry bro, Surface Book has an IR blaster so face unlock works in pitch black as well

[@zay_y]

is that a 13 or 15inch?

[@evas.9422]

Anyone getting a flickering of screen in the book 3 ?? I’ve already exchanged it once and it still happens I’m so disappointed 😔 😭

[@DacioNerdTV]

This guy has anime wallpapers on his devices. Me like it 😏

[@TheRealLuckyLuke]

anyone knows what drawing app he uses around 6:04 ?

[@elkasztan5661]

where can i buy?

[@LimitlessLivingOver60]

Thanks for the review. I have the original surface book which I bought a couple of years ago. The screen mechanism now spontaneously switches from laptop to tablet and the magnetic power connector only works occasionally. I won’t buy another since I don’t see any change in those mechanisms.

[@bry6314]

Awesome review, it's like watching Finbarr Saunders reviewing tech 😏 although "rather poo" is eloquence at its best!

[@tamimkhan6489]

You should review the surface go 2. Its a handy device

[@DariuszTech]

And a lot more affordable 😜

[@karolvalley3253]

You are aware that the new Moto G9 Play is out?

[@lqchie.]

Was yours the 13 inch or the 15?

[@haloweenparty10000]

his was the 13.5"

[@MsHackthat]

i still use the old surface 3, mainly because i just use it for writing notes and nothing else. i cant see myself upgrading to non surface devices simply because of this one feature.

[@nataliorojas7086]

Is it a good laptop?

[@ggghhhhg9797]

aot s4 is gona be lit

[@Cra2yKill3r]

Yes!!! One of the greatest anime series ever

[@Mike-zz5kz]

4:07 whats the film please?

[@peyn8]

That beefy screen bezel makes it look like a brand new 2010 laptop...

[@KC-bg1th]

I have the Surface Book first generation with a similar bezel. It’s to prevent unwanted clicks when you’re holding it in either tablet mode, or when you flip the screen backwards and fold it flat.

[@BaseSRKI]

Nice, thanks. MegaBYTES (capital M capital B, else it would be poor deviding it by8)per second for the SSD btw;)

[@sawako3198]

I hope I get this laptop for my birthday

[@maverickdancer]

If the price is reduced a little bit, it could've been a winner.

[@maverickdancer]

@Justin Fife thank you , 👍

[@TheJeonyboy]

@Justin Fife Still so damn expensive sigh.. 256GB storage 15 inch with 300 off is $2000. I really want it but I can't see my self using the tablet mode at all which defeats the whole purpose and price tag of SB3. I wish there was a cheaper Surface laptop pro with dGPU but no tablet form.

[@maverickdancer]

@@TheJeonyboy They must reduce the price including the tablet form. Microsoft / Samsung all loosing the plot when it comes to pricing .Duo phones are another example.

[@groman7000]

I have them for $1600

[@doyoubinoame8483]

Also, what's the drawing app you've been showing? I'm pretty sure I used dozen drawing apps, but can't recognize the app

[@Rock_Lagoon]

Sketchable

[@leefamilybook4916]

Which one is better for architects ? Surface pro 7 or Book 3 ?

[@TechnicalSingh1]

⚡💻

[@muleyamwiinga3988]

Where does he get his wallpapers? Sooooo mint!!!

[@sumayyah8928]

Vinland Saga

[@jaytechhead7772]

Way to expensive for my blood. I'll pass till the price goes down. Great review by the way

[@groman7000]

I sell them for 1600

[@AlejandroGonzalez-ks5ln]

@@groman7000 how? Where

[@419er]

Thorfin👌🏾

[@appadoopomme4055]

Vinland saga 🔥

[@Redmanticore]

laptop specs and productivity, also with a pen for note taking. why dont apple do this on its macbooks, again? it would make ipads useless?

[@eddiewawa]

Great vid mate, but your taste in anime is proper sound, you should spin off in some other channel or discord where we get your thoughts on the latest anime you watch. I missed the likes of totalbiscuit who I trust as a gaming curator. Think you'd be ace as our new anime curator! Lol keep up the good work fella, peace!

[@ANDREW007CZ]

as a not native english speaker I missed all the jokes.. only can imagine

[@princevimbai1]

Is it me or did he say "Surface bug three" at 2:19?

[@marianzastawny156]

I have a 3.5 year old surface book. Last month my battery expanded and bulged the screen. Microsoft asked me for £600 to send me old refurbished model as replacement. What's worse this seems to be a common issue. Avoid Microsoft hardware if you can. Definitely not worth the money

[@qorpzi1759]

tech spurt vids make my day🥴

[@hamerboy4545]

Tech spurt vids make me spurt

[@g43s]

we need a Surface book 4 in this world, hopefully microsoft has something in the oven already.

[@lawnside82]

Yea, studio now.

[@MysteriousMatt89]

Boomers when they see the thumbmail: This laptop is crap, it already breaks after three months and splits in half

[@ishmarawanagoda]

Hi, thanks for the review. But have you noticed the Surface book 3 is flickering when you change the Display resolution to 2560x1440 and change the item size to 175% ? . With this settings, When you open a full resolution image, it starts to flicker I'm using the 3rd replacement of Surface book3 which Microsoft sent and still having the same issue (even they couldn't fix it over the phone). I'm waiting for my 4th replacement and hope they will not send a device which has the same issue. If someone knows how to fix this, appreciate if you can help me out. Thank you!

[@synologysecurity2142]

i think that this laptop is less durable, in terms of chassis and battery life. My 2012 Mac is in a better physical and battery state than my MSB 2. But i do not regret at all my MSB. I do hate the fact that the SD slot is in the base and not the screen. I suspect more of a strategy than a technical limitation. If you need more space, you need to buy a bigger SSD and you cannot rely on your SD slot for that usage, if you make it as a tablet. One USB port on screen would have been nice too.

[@CoinTradingBoy]

Being a Surface Book user and a huge Microsoft fan, I hate to say this. The surface book 3 is underpowered and inferior to what other manufacturers offer at the same price tag. I was eagerly waiting for this laptop but it ended up a huge disappointment.

[@haloweenparty10000]

What manufacturer do you recommend?

[@BrettSimms]

I am a retoucher and CG artist. I would strongly urge avoiding this machine. I am about to receive my 6th - yes 6th - replacement device from Microsoft. They are fantastic computers when they work, but so far the longest one has gone without needing tech support and an eventual return is about 4 weeks. Touch and input dies, bluetooth radio died in another, keyboard in one, speaker in another, and the hinge was super wobbly in another. If I could get my money back I would, in a heart beat. I've lost days of time and ended up buying something else to have something I can rely on for work.

[@ThePmoey]

Going through the exact same thing and cant get usable performace out of it. The second replacement would overheat and throttle so bad the system would seize. Tech support pretty much called me a liar when I tried to brought it up, asked them what could be done if the replacements have the same problem.

[@labibahmed9710]

Only if I had a laptop