Surface Book 2 Task View Lag (and other high-resolution laptops included)

All,

I installed the Windows 10 update yesterday and so far the results are encouraging.  All of my performance issues appear to be mitigated including the Surface Dock constant disconnect/reconnect issues.  Seems like Microsoft got this one right!  Here's my winver information after the update:

Oh, if only that was the case for everybody :( Just purchased mine like a week ago and right out of the box it updated to 1803 (plus a bunch of firmware updates). But I didn't even use it with 1803 (so I can't speak for that version specifically), I immediately joined the insider program - just the first "level", like "fixes and something", didn't go like fully experimental (actually, I did at first, but then reverted, because it had a watermark and I didn't like that). And by "reverted" I don't mean "restoring" because it didn't work (it's not the first time that "Restore previous version" doesn't work on a Surface, for me, but doing that on my desktop worked like a charm, no issues there). I had to download 1803 from Microsoft, install it, and then I've updated to 1809.

So I am on 1809 now. And I AM experiencing noticeable and frustrating lag when activating task view (3 fingers swipe up) or switching desktops. If the issue is still there in 1809, I can only assume that (at least to me) it would have still happened in 1803, if I gave that version any chance.

I'm very disappointed. I don't remember having this issue on the first Surface Book model. Which I've only used for 1 year and 2 months. Of course, that one had other (more serious issues): the battery in the display bloated and inflated the screen just 2 months out of the warranty (that one was bought by the company, so only 1 year warranty). It doesn't seem like they're built for working, but rather for recreational use. And they advertise it "for artists" and "content creators". I'm a web developer, so I would say I do even less intensive tasks than designers and content creators, which use Photoshop and Premiere Pro and After Effects all day long.

I love the design and the build quality. But other than that, it's extremely disappointing.

Even the battery life... I know the 17 hours advertised are for video playback with (probably) a pretty dimmed screen. But I would have expected at least 6-7 hours of regular use (having one or two IDEs open, a Docker environment, a NodeJS service for frontend tooling and 15-20 Chrome tabs)... but noooo, I barely get 4 hours. Not to mention that it takes over 6 hours for the battery to charge from 30% to 100%, while just watching YouTube, no intensive tasks or gaming. :( Also, in sleep mode, the battery drained 6% over 12 hours. That's 5% too much if you ask me. Oh, and the list goes on unfortunately (slow wifi etc. - the wifi speed is much better on a phone, that's ridiculous).

Used to be a huge Microsoft fan (and an Apple hater), but I've just about had it. My next super-laptop won't be a Windows one anymore, because it just doesn't deliver.

I'm sorry Microsoft, but if on an i5 8GB RAM 2017 MacBook Pro, while working on the same things, the task and desktop switching experience is smoother and more fluid than on a $3299 Surface Book 2 (of course, that's the US price, but in Romania it's about $1000 more expensive - yeah, so I've paid over $4000), I definitely need to think about switching teams... I mean, it's not like I have a choice.

EDIT: are you talking about the 13.5" version? Maybe the lag is gone in that case, there is a slight resolution difference between the 13.5" and the 15" model. Perhaps it's fine on the 13.5", but not on the 15" yet.

All,

I installed the Windows 10 update yesterday and so far the results are encouraging.  All of my performance issues appear to be mitigated including the Surface Dock constant disconnect/reconnect issues.  Seems like Microsoft got this one right!  Here's my winver information after the update:

OK, so what I did was not a fix.  All kinds of bugs have returned.  I'm just so fed up with Microsoft's quality control.

I've worked with Windows since Windows 3.11.  With enough effort, there was almost *always* a fix to a problem...a new driver, PC rebuild, patch, etc.  The core OS generally worked OK.  Heck, even Windows 8 worked fine, even if it was a different interface that what I was used to.  With Windows 10, I'm using entirely Microsoft's sh*t and there are persistent bugs.  There's NOTHING I can do to fix them.  All drivers are up to date, hardware is practically brand new, system is rebuilt and patched.  I *could* engage with some low-level support person who will ask me important questions like "have you tried rebooting" or "have you tried unplugging and plugging back in the external hardware"...the entire process would frustrate me more then dealing with the persistent bugs.  I throw my hands up.

The SB2 generaly has some graphics handling issues. I was also getting terrible lag in apps like photoshop but the gpu usage wouldn’t go over 20%, and it was a completely new out of the box device. Whole Windows UI was sluggish and in the end I’ve returned it, it’s just stupid how **** the software experience is on these Surface devices, there’s always a firmware problem and you can never sit down and do something without some troubleshooting. God forbid that something works out of the box! For something that I have paid 3000€ is just ridiculous...

Just did too, and it's still really sluggish compared to the desktop I have nearby, which is less powerfull than the SB2 ...