Surface Book vs MacBook Pro | Which one to choose ?

[dharmil007]

Hi,

As the title suggests it. its a tough decision between Macbook Pro and Surface Book.
Or if you find something similar to this.
Please suggest which one to go for.
I will be purchasing it in January.

According to me, advantages of both over each other
Surface Book over Mac :
Portability (can be used as a tablet also)
Latest Intel Processors (not a big deal though )
Touch and Pen Input.


Mac over Surface Book :
Its a MAC. Name is enuf.


My budget is around 1500$.
I will probably use it for Surfing Net, watching Movies, Coding, College Projects, some higher end softwares.

 

[SexyK]

Surface Book. Superior in every way. If all you can say about the Mac is that it's called a Mac, then I think you know the answer already.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Assuming you're comparing the 1500 macbook pro 13 to the Surface Book that STARTS at 1500...

The macbook has 128GB more storage space on its SSD. It has the same amount of RAM and the "force" touchpad...or whatever. Never used it.

The Surface Book has the tablet going for it, equivalent battery life probably.

What I'm not 100% on is the CPU and GPU comparisons.

For the GPU, I think the Macbook Pro should have a *considerable* advantage:
Macbook Pro: Iris Graphics 6100, GT3 – 48 execution units, up to 844.8 GFLOPS at 1.1 GHz
Surface Book: HD Graphics 520, GT2 – 24 execution units, up to 403.2 GFLOPS at 1.05 GHz

For the GPU:
Macbook Pro: I5-5257U
Surface Book: I5-6300U

Between those two, I think they're roughly equal...with the 6300U possibly being better for power consumption/heat?

 

[dharmil007]

Assuming you're comparing the 1500 macbook pro 13 to the Surface Book that STARTS at 1500...

The macbook has 128GB more storage space on its SSD. It has the same amount of RAM and the "force" touchpad...or whatever. Never used it.

The Surface Book has the tablet going for it, equivalent battery life probably.

What I'm not 100% on is the CPU and GPU comparisons.

For the GPU, I think the Macbook Pro should have a *considerable* advantage:
Macbook Pro: Iris Graphics 6100, GT3 – 48 execution units, up to 844.8 GFLOPS at 1.1 GHz
Surface Book: HD Graphics 520, GT2 – 24 execution units, up to 403.2 GFLOPS at 1.05 GHz

For the GPU:
Macbook Pro: I5-5257U
Surface Book: I5-6300U

Between those two, I think they're roughly equal...with the 6300U possibly being better for power consumption/heat?

Hey, Thanks for the reply. But what do you think I should Go for? Which is better? Not from the raw perfomance view, but usability point of view

 

[RampantAndroid]

I think that comes down to whether you like OSX or Windows, more than ANYTHING else. I use both...OSX has some great touchpad integration with Gestures. Windows 10 added some of that, but I don't think gestures exist to go between desktops in Windows, for example.

All in all, they both seem pretty good. I don't care much for a tablet personally - it's up to you if you like it.

Typing on the Macbook felt slightly better to me...but I think that Apple and Lenovo make the best non-mechanical keyboards.

Do you have a good use for a pen? I have a Surface Pro 3 sitting around for work and I *never* found a use for the pen. I prefer pencil & my notebook, and the handwriting to text recognition in Onenote was outright awful for me.

I think it comes down to some simple questions:
Is 128GB of storage enough for you?
Is the tablet mode something important, or will it be a gimmick you don't use?
Same question for the stylus.
Do you like OSX or Windows? If you don't know one of them, are you willing to deal with change and be patient? OSX for me was a big change and it took time to get acclimated...but I'm glad I did.
Do you have other Microsoft products (XBox, Windows Phone) to take advantage of things like texting from your phone, or streaming your XBox to your PC?
Do you have other Apple products like an iPhone to do things like text and do phone calls from your laptop, or an Apple TV you can Airplay to?

 

[dharmil007]

Hey Thanks for the reply.
I have used Windows all my life. I have had a share of nightmares with windows : BSOD, driver errors, hardware errors, etc. I want to transition to OS X.

I was going to buy a MacBook Pro, until the release of Surface Book. The 2in1 concept just amazed me. At this point of time I do think that I am going to use Pencil and table t a lot. I don't know if its just 1-2 days excitement, but currently I am excited about Tablet and Stylus.

As far as Storage goes, 128 GB is not enough but if I even if I purchase MBP I will purchase 1300$ MBP with 128 GB. I am not going to spend $200 just for 128GB extra, whereas I can get a decent 2TB HDD for 100-120$.

I am pretty confused, I want to use MAC but at the same time I also want the portability of Surface.

Also, IF I decide to purchase MAC, should I go for MacBook Air or MacBook Pro ?

Because :
$1250 --> 8GB with 128GB with i7 2.2GHz MacBook Air
$1500 --> 8GB with 128GB with i5 2.7GhZ MacBook Pro

 

[lakedude]

What are the "higher end softwares"? Will the software you need to run be able to run on both platforms? Like RA said it is as much about the OS as it is about the hardware. Are you familiar with both OSes? I'm not sure how well a MAC will run software designed for Windows and vice versa.

 

[TheStu]

As far as Storage goes, 128 GB is not enough but if I even if I purchase MBP I will purchase 1300$ MBP with 128 GB. I am not going to spend $200 just for 128GB extra, whereas I can get a decent 2TB HDD for 100-120$.

That 2TB HDD is going to be connected over USB, and will be slow slow slow. If 256GB isn't enough, then that makes sense, but if your needs are between 128 and 256, get the 256GB SSD. The price difference is worth the convenience of not having something connected at all times, and the speed.

I am pretty confused, I want to use MAC but at the same time I also want the portability of Surface.

There isn't really anything inherently more portable about the Surface (Book?) compared to the MacBook Pro. I think the Surface Book is lighter, but not by a whole lot IIRC.

Also, IF I decide to purchase MAC, should I go for MacBook Air or MacBook Pro ?

Because :
$1250 --> 8GB with 128GB with i7 2.2GHz MacBook Air
$1500 --> 8GB with 128GB with i5 2.7GhZ MacBook Pro

Mac =/= MAC. /pedantry

It's $1300, not $1500 for the MacBook Pro (hereafter rMBP) you have listed. And at that $50 difference, it's a no brainer. The only advantage the Air has at that point is that it's a little lighter, and lasts a little longer on battery. In every other way, it's a terrible choice. The rMBP has a higher resolution, all around better display, the new trackpad, more ports, and better graphics. Unless you absolutely MUST save that $50, get the rMBP.

Check prices.appleinsider.com to get a good deal on the system if you decide to get a Mac.

What are the "higher end softwares"? Will the software you need to run be able to run on both platforms? Like RA said it is as much about the OS as it is about the hardware. Are you familiar with both OSes? I'm not sure how well a MAC will run software designed for Windows and vice versa.

Macs (not MAC) cannot run Windows software natively. There is software that can be used such as Wine (emulator), or running Windows whole-hog in a Virtual Machine.

 

[dharmil007]

That 2TB HDD is going to be connected over USB, and will be slow slow slow. If 256GB isn't enough, then that makes sense, but if your needs are between 128 and 256, get the 256GB SSD. The price difference is worth the convenience of not having something connected at all times, and the speed.

Hey Thank you for your reply.

Ya I know its very slow. But the issue is my requirement is even more then 256GB, around 1TB.{which obviously I cannot afford}
Hence I dont think it will make a difference in terms of storage if I take 128GB or 256GB, because anyhow I will end up purchasing 2TB of HDD. But if I take a 128GB, I will save 200$

There isn't really anything inherently more portable about the Surface (Book?) compared to the MacBook Pro. I think the Surface Book is lighter, but not by a whole lot IIRC.

Sorry, cannot understand are you in favour of Surface or against it ?

Mac =/= MAC. /pedantry

It's $1300, not $1500 for the MacBook Pro (hereafter rMBP) you have listed. And at that $50 difference, it's a no brainer. The only advantage the Air has at that point is that it's a little lighter, and lasts a little longer on battery. In every other way, it's a terrible choice. The rMBP has a higher resolution, all around better display, the new trackpad, more ports, and better graphics. Unless you absolutely MUST save that $50, get the rMBP.

Check prices.appleinsider.com to get a good deal on the system if you decide to get a Mac.

Thanks for this site. I didn't knew it. Also is it better to purchase it from a local store if I will get a good discount ? or prices are same ?
Yea, MBP is much better then MBA.
Also, I have heard that in January Apple will refresh its MacBook lineup ?
Is this true ? since I will be purchasing either SBP or MBP by this january.

 

[Stuka87]

It comes down to just a few things.

Do you prefer Windows 10 or OS X?

Do you NEED pen input?

Do you prefer performance, or the ability to detach the screen?

Personally, I use Windows 10 and Mac OS X daily. I have laptops running both, and both laptops are less than 6 months old. From a touchpad point of view (gestures, usability, accuracy), my MacBook Pro blows away every other PC laptop I have used. The Force Touch pad is really nice, and Windows 10 having no gestures to switch between desktops is very annoying.

The MacBook Pro will be quite a lot faster than the SurfaceBook that matches it in price. The MacBook Pro also has better real world battery life.

The pen input on the Surface Book is nice, and works pretty well. But unless you spend a lot of time in Illustrator or the like, its not worth it.

 

[Beer4Me]

Based on your usage, I chose MB Pro 15".

 

[TheStu]

Hey Thank you for your reply.

Ya I know its very slow. But the issue is my requirement is even more then 256GB, around 1TB.{which obviously I cannot afford}
Hence I dont think it will make a difference in terms of storage if I take 128GB or 256GB, because anyhow I will end up purchasing 2TB of HDD. But if I take a 128GB, I will save 200$

I can get that, but take a good look at that link, as well as the Apple Refurb section, you might be able to swing the 256GB (more breathing room is better) without breaking your budget too much if at all)

Sorry, cannot understand are you in favour of Surface or against it?

Neither. You said that you want the portability of the Surface, and it's basically exactly as portable as any other laptop with a similarly sized display. If you had meant the versatility (the detachable display), then that's something else.

Thanks for this site. I didn't knew it. Also is it better to purchase it from a local store if I will get a good discount ? or prices are same ?
Yea, MBP is much better then MBA.
Also, I have heard that in January Apple will refresh its MacBook lineup ?
Is this true ? since I will be purchasing either SBP or MBP by this january.

It is better to purchase it wherever the price is best when you are ready to order, ASSUMING there's nothing screwy with the warranty. If you buy it from a reputable place, you should be fine.

No one knows when Apple will refresh its lineup.

 

[giantpandaman2]

The MacBook Pro will be quite a lot faster than the SurfaceBook that matches it in price. The MacBook Pro also has better real world battery life.

Both of these statements are false. The 13" Pro will be slightly faster to an SB when price matched. Until Macbooks get Skylake, they are pretty even on battery life in real world usage. They both get around 10-12 hours of battery life in actual use.

The touchpad on the SB is excellent. I use Macs all the time (all my students have Macs) and notice no difference between using their touchpads and my SB. Well, except the fact that Macbooks don't have right click. THAT DRIVES ME NUTS.

As for BSODs, crashes, etc. etc. I just don't get why people think that Macs don't crash. They do, often just as often or more often than PC's nowadays. Usually if a PC crashes a lot it's because A) it has crappy software or B) Grandpa Joe downloaded spyware/bloatware/viruses onto the computer. Software wise, the biggest annoyance for PC users nowadays is the sheer amount of ninja updates that cause the OS to act a little wonky. A reboot to finish the install always clears up any problems.

Ultimately it comes down to software and whether you're going to use the pen. I use the pen all the time. I also work in bright sunlight (outside). Both of which favor the SB which has a ridiculously bright screen. Also, once wifi is turned off I can easily get 16+ hours of battery life.

The Macbook is a little cheaper. If you prefer OSX then the decision should already be made.

 

[TheStu]

Well, except the fact that Macbooks don't have right click. THAT DRIVES ME NUTS.

Alt+tap
Alt+'click (the new Force Touchpad doesn't /click/ as it's solid state, but it gives feedback as if you clicked)
2 finger tap
2 finger 'click'
Enable the setting that lets you single tap or single 'click' in the bottom right corner

No, they never had a separate button under the right side of the trackpad, and they never split their trackpad buttons back when the whole thing wasn't hinged. But there is a difference between that and the inability to invoke an alternate or 'right' click.

 

[dharmil007]

I can get that, but take a good look at that link, as well as the Apple Refurb section, you might be able to swing the 256GB (more breathing room is better) without breaking your budget too much if at all)

Yea. I was also thinking the same. Lets see that in a month when I will buy either SB or MB.

Neither. You said that you want the portability of the Surface, and it's basically exactly as portable as any other laptop with a similarly sized display. If you had meant the versatility (the detachable display), then that's something else.

yep. Thats what I was talking about. Its detachable screen and its pen. which I plan to use a lot as of now, dont know about future if I will use it or not. Plus, as HW & SW both are made by Microsoft, I feel SB would be better choice then any other laptop out there, even if it gives bang for buck or has better HW then SB at same or lesser price.

 

[dharmil007]

Both of these statements are false. The 13" Pro will be slightly faster to an SB when price matched. Until Macbooks get Skylake, they are pretty even on battery life in real world usage. They both get around 10-12 hours of battery life in actual use.

The touchpad on the SB is excellent. I use Macs all the time (all my students have Macs) and notice no difference between using their touchpads and my SB. Well, except the fact that Macbooks don't have right click. THAT DRIVES ME NUTS.

As for BSODs, crashes, etc. etc. I just don't get why people think that Macs don't crash. They do, often just as often or more often than PC's nowadays. Usually if a PC crashes a lot it's because A) it has crappy software or B) Grandpa Joe downloaded spyware/bloatware/viruses onto the computer. Software wise, the biggest annoyance for PC users nowadays is the sheer amount of ninja updates that cause the OS to act a little wonky. A reboot to finish the install always clears up any problems.

Ultimately it comes down to software and whether you're going to use the pen. I use the pen all the time. I also work in bright sunlight (outside). Both of which favor the SB which has a ridiculously bright screen. Also, once wifi is turned off I can easily get 16+ hours of battery life.

The Macbook is a little cheaper. If you prefer OSX then the decision should already be made.

Ahh, Finally found someone who uses SB and says +ve things about it.
Which Model do you use ?
If with dGPU, is it useful ? to invest extra for a dGPU ? just for basic purpose and sometime games.

I am planning to use the Pen and tablet as a real notebook and make digital notes. Also, I just love the design of the surface.

Did you find any cons with the SB ? Any problems you faced whatsoever ?
Also, how is the speaker of the SB ?

 

[RampantAndroid]

When someone says a Mac has no right click I think everything they say should be taken with a grain of salt. They DO have right click as Stu pointed out - and it can even be on the bottom right of the track pad (or two finger click) - I should know, I use right click a lot.

The dGPU only matters if you plan to game I think - encoding videos these days is CPU side unless you buy expensive software last I knew.

As for the comment that the Skylake CPU is faster than the Broadwell CPU....well, CPU mark disagrees - the difference I think is outside margin of error, although it is a small difference. The Broadwell CPU is faster. Granted, that's a synthetic benchmark, and Skylake might be more powerful per watt...and then there's the iGPU, which the Macbook obviously wins at.

Personally, I'm not voting in your poll - it isn't my decision. It's yours. You mention you've had BSODs and driver issues. Driver issues are mostly gone in OSX (other than ones like "OSX has no smart card reader driver" and "OSX has no TPMs at all"); I've had complete crashes in OSX, I've had hardware failures and so on. I've had to hard reset my Macbook more times than my Windows PCs to be honest. YMMV of course...but when you're buying a laptop with hardware that you don't need to install yourself, a lot of the issues should go away. More so since this isn't a laptop from ASUS who will stop offering new drivers next week, it's a laptop from Microsoft who will, if the previous Surfaces are any indication, support it for a long time to come.

My previous post stands, I think. You need to answer the questions of what is important. Also remember of course that you can install Windows on a Mac using Bootcamp, VMWare and Parallels. The first two options are free there.

 

[giantpandaman2]

Ahh, Finally found someone who uses SB and says +ve things about it.
Which Model do you use ?
If with dGPU, is it useful ? to invest extra for a dGPU ? just for basic purpose and sometime games.

I am planning to use the Pen and tablet as a real notebook and make digital notes. Also, I just love the design of the surface.

Did you find any cons with the SB ? Any problems you faced whatsoever ?
Also, how is the speaker of the SB ?

I have the base model with no dGPU. The dGPU has been causing some users issues. Those may have been fixed with the numerous updates that the SB has received, but I don't keep up. You might have to check the MS forums or what not to find out.

The dGPU is only really worth it for GPU acceleration in stuff like CAD and Photoshop. Other than that, the expense is simply far too high.

The biggest con is the obvious one: the cost. It doesn't bother me too much since I'll likely be using this for 5 years and I have a unique usage profile that no other notebook other than the SB satisfies. I also didn't pay the ridiculous upgrade costs. MS truly went bonkers when they did the pricing for the upper models.

The speakers in the SB are good and loud in the mid to high frequencies. Don't expect any low frequencies though. Pretty much what I'd expect from a laptop. Oh, the earphone jack also has horrible placement in the upper right of the laptop "screen." I have a USB headphone amp so it doesn't bother me at all.

 

[giantpandaman2]

As for the comment that the Skylake CPU is faster than the Broadwell CPU....well, CPU mark disagrees - the difference I think is outside margin of error, although it is a small difference. The Broadwell CPU is faster. Granted, that's a synthetic benchmark, and Skylake might be more powerful per watt...and then there's the iGPU, which the Macbook obviously wins at.

I actually said the 13" MBP would be slight faster at the same price point...

None of my students ever knew about the right click. Learn something new everyday.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I actually said the 13" MBP would be slight faster at the same price point...

None of my students ever knew about the right click. Learn something new everyday.

Hah, I'll go get some coffee now. Sorry (thanks for correcting me!)

 

[Stuka87]

Both of these statements are false. The 13" Pro will be slightly faster to an SB when price matched. Until Macbooks get Skylake, they are pretty even on battery life in real world usage. They both get around 10-12 hours of battery life in actual use.

Sure in testing they are about equal in battery life. But in real world usage the Sufface Books are getting significantly worse than what they are rated at. All laptops get worse than rated typically, but when people with SB's are getting 2.5-3 hours of usage on a single charge, that is NOT good.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Sure in testing they are about equal in battery life. But in real world usage the Sufface Books are getting significantly worse than what they are rated at. All laptops get worse than rated typically, but when people with SB's are getting 2.5-3 hours of usage on a single charge, that is NOT good.

I have a coworker who grabbed a SB - he does not drain the battery THAT fast. What are the people getting 2.5-3 using the SB for?

 

[giantpandaman2]

Sure in testing they are about equal in battery life. But in real world usage the Sufface Books are getting significantly worse than what they are rated at. All laptops get worse than rated typically, but when people with SB's are getting 2.5-3 hours of usage on a single charge, that is NOT good.

Sounds like they may have problems with the dGPU spinning to full power. That's atypical, to say the least. My SB regularly gets more than the 12 hour rated battery life. Then again, I don't play games on my laptop (got my desktop for that) and I turn off stuff I'm not using.

 

[dharmil007]

When someone says a Mac has no right click I think everything they say should be taken with a grain of salt. They DO have right click as Stu pointed out - and it can even be on the bottom right of the track pad (or two finger click) - I should know, I use right click a lot.

The dGPU only matters if you plan to game I think - encoding videos these days is CPU side unless you buy expensive software last I knew.


Personally, I'm not voting in your poll - it isn't my decision. It's yours. You mention you've had BSODs and driver issues. Driver issues are mostly gone in OSX (other than ones like "OSX has no smart card reader driver" and "OSX has no TPMs at all"); I've had complete crashes in OSX, I've had hardware failures and so on. I've had to hard reset my Macbook more times than my Windows PCs to be honest. YMMV of course...but when you're buying a laptop with hardware that you don't need to install yourself, a lot of the issues should go away. More so since this isn't a laptop from ASUS who will stop offering new drivers next week, it's a laptop from Microsoft who will, if the previous Surfaces are any indication, support it for a long time to come.

My previous post stands, I think. You need to answer the questions of what is important. Also remember of course that you can install Windows on a Mac using Bootcamp, VMWare and Parallels. The first two options are free there.

Hey, thanks mate.
But its not about using Windows on Mac. I personally love mac a lot. Though I havent used it. If I buy a MacBook, I dont think I am going to install a windows on that expensive piece of hardware.

But I am you know torn between the two, as I have mentioned earlier also, Its the MAC OS which I love on MacBook and the portability/versatality of Surface which I love on SB. And I am just like an Average Joe College Student who will be using this laptop mostly for College Assignments, Movies, Games, Photoshop, some video editing {as a hobby, not on professional basis}, Programming, etc.

What I like more about SB, is its Touch & stylus and also the fact that it has been made by Microsoft. I plan to use the stylus as a notebook in m classes.

As for the comment that the Skylake CPU is faster than the Broadwell CPU....well, CPU mark disagrees - the difference I think is outside margin of error, although it is a small difference. The Broadwell CPU is faster. Granted, that's a synthetic benchmark, and Skylake might be more powerful per watt...and then there's the iGPU, which the Macbook obviously wins at.

Also, it doesnt matter that much if there is a little 5-10% RAW performance issues. Whichever is faster, 'coz processor intensive tasks are not gonna be my daily activities. Atleast its gonna be faster and much better then my current setup, which is Intel Pentium Dual Core/4GB.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Hey, thanks mate.
But its not about using Windows on Mac. I personally love mac a lot. Though I havent used it. If I buy a MacBook, I dont think I am going to install a windows on that expensive piece of hardware.

But I am you know torn between the two, as I have mentioned earlier also, Its the MAC OS which I love on MacBook and the portability/versatality of Surface which I love on SB. And I am just like an Average Joe College Student who will be using this laptop mostly for College Assignments, Movies, Games, Photoshop, some video editing {as a hobby, not on professional basis}, Programming, etc.

A lot of the best IDEs exist in Windows only. Visual Studio is Windows only as well - and unless I'm doing stuff like PHP, VS is my goto IDE...

I'm not sure why you'd say you won't be installing Windows on "an expensive piece of hardware" - Windows is what it is. It works great for a great many tasks and has the most software available for it. I have to hunt A LOT less for what I want when using Windows compared to OSX - just finding a good text editor is harder on OSX (Sublime 3, FYI) - and I have yet to find a text editor that also does FTP (ala Notepad++) - you instead need to use CyberDuck and another text editor.

My point is simply this: you CAN develop on OSX...but I find it remarkably easier on Windows. OSX is great for browsing, music, viewing videos and such. Anyone saying that they use if to write code that isn't writing an iOS app probably went bald about the time they started trying from ripping all of their hair out.

For the CPU, you're buying a machine that costs more than $1k, you should probably do your future self a service and get the best possible machine you can...lest you wish in a few years "if I'd only bought 16GB of RAM!" (I bought an 8GB rMBP. What a joke. My rMBP ended up failing and being replaced by apple with a brand new 2014 model that had 16GB of RAM...but I was lucky in that sense.)