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About LinkBacksRead more.Surface Dock / stock charger can't supply enough juice when you push this machine.
Read more.Surface Dock / stock charger can't supply enough juice when you push this machine.
This is as barking as decision as the original i5 MacBook Airs which couldn't use the full power of the CPU due to thermal throttling hitting it so quickly.
It's just there for marketing. Crap.
Well I won't be going after a surface book 2 anytime soon then (wasn't anyway but you get the idea) because it's not just gaming this will affect, it's 'professional' use like 3D rendering which can utilise both the cpu and gpu at full power with the right software.
IMO the whole point of a power supply, outside of the requisite charging the battery, on a laptop is to allow you to use it non stop without it running flat, not to 'slow' the use of the battery while it's being used... what happens if you need to take the laptop with you straight after you finished your intensive work which is quite possible seeing as it's a laptop.
Did you know... that a selection of Asus and MSI laptops do the exact same thing.
The article this is based on uses FurMark for "game" stress tests, which is not in any way representative of actual gaming workloads. The article doesn't say so, but it's clearly visible from the thermal images. Power virus =/= game.
On the other hand, what do you really expect in a thin-and-light form factor like this? It's downright amazing that they fit a 1060 in there to begin with.
Another thing:
"Further investigation by The Verge finds the root cause of the problem is down to the in-box charger (95W) not really being powerful enough for the Surface Book 2 components. It adds up the component power draw figures as follows: CPU 25W (bursting to 35W), and GPU 70 to 80W, totalling a figure as high as 115W."
this is just plain wrong. The PC in question is the 13" SB2, which according to MS runs its CPU at a 15W TDP (source: https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-book-2-tech-specs). The 15" version (which has a cooling fan in the tablet part for the CPU) runs it in 20W cTDP-up mode. Sure, the CPU can burst to 35W, but it'll never exceed 15W over any noticeable amount of time. The GPU will throttle as the cooling solution enters heat soak, too. Which is perfectly fine for a thin-and-light. This isn't a gaming PC.
Typical with the Surface line, Microsoft charges an arm, leg, and a kidney, and then they cheap out all over the place. All they do is make it superficially seem premium, but it's just as much of a con job as Apple's computers. All flash, no substance.
Originally Posted by Agent
For 1, a lot of games will max out a CPU/GPU. Not 100% 100% of the time, but pretty damn close. For 2, plenty of laptops fit in higher end components. The issue is that they've supplied a charger that isn't up to the task.
Could you buy two chargers and connect them to the tablet and the base...?
Why would you try to game on a Surface? That's like trying to game on a smart watch. Technically possible? Sure. Do people WANT to do it? Highly unlikely. Just suck it up and expect that if you want to game on the road you need a bigger rig.
Because the Surface Book 2 has a GTX 1060 in the 15" base dock, and a GTX 1050 in the 13" base dock. The hardware is capable, anaemic power supply aside.
Presumably this is just the 1060 model, which you can't buy yet in the UK anyway so hopefully they'll bundle a more powerful supply brick by the time it does come out.
The 13.5" model only has a 1050, but the same 95W supply.
Sure, but just looking at the pure thermal dissipation of the chip is just plain wrong as well. A CPU using 15W will be consuming a lot more than 15W of power from the charging port thanks to numerous conversion phases all losing a few percent each time. Probably close to 25W in fact ;-)
I'm sorry but that this isn't a gaming PC isn't relevant at all. It's aimed at creative types who need a lot of poke on the move. Therefore they may well be using software which leverages GPGPU and taxing the CPU - 3D rendering anyone? Their target market is those who need portable power and if it can't maintain that then it is not fit for purpose.
Additionally, those saying "it needs to be light and portable" - yes, but seriously how much extra weight do you think it would add to the PSU brick putting a few extra turns on that transformer? It's a mad decision and for me, despite not having the cash or need for this, a total product killer. The idea that it'll throttle back to stop it draining the battery is mental - what if I'm on the plane for hours and need to work and can't because it has now throttled and become useless for the job for which I bought it?
Barking. Actually, no, it's an Upney - the station up from Barking.
If you ran your brand new car at full tilt 3 hours it would be wrecked or wouldn't even run 1 hour full speed. Why would you expect these wafer thin laptops to be gaming laptops? The next batch of laptops are set to defy gravity so you can't drop them!
Because a) they're not a car, and b) because they're laptops, with gaming graphics? Nobody is pitching a fit over the thermals or performance, the issue here is purely the anaemic external power supply.
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