Customers highly value the Surface Book 3's performance, battery life, and versatility as a 2-in-1 device, praising its lightweight design and ample RAM. However, some users experienced issues with screen quality, heat generation, and speaker volume. Concerns were also raised regarding the keyboard's reliability and the GPU's performance in demanding applications.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 2 Showing 21-40 of 251 reviews
Pros mentioned:
Battery life
Cons mentioned:
Heat
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great for students
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I'm using for medical school and so far it is a great laptop. The ability to switch between a laptop and tablet is very useful for writing notes and studying online notecards.
It becomes warm especially when many applications are open but it is not worrisome. The battery life is pretty good. The colors and resolution is very nice especially since I'm a visual learner.
Though the price tag is still a bit hard to swallow so far I think it is worth it.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hello,
It's wonderful to hear that your new Surface Book 3 has been a great laptop for medical school. We're glad that it's versatile design has made it a good choice for writing notes, too. Thank you for sharing your experience; we hope you continue to enjoy it.
Cheers, Chuck Surface Customer Care
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Really good, but could be a little better.
|
|
Posted . Owned for 2 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I really like this laptop because I can use it for many different tasks. From taking notes for school to running 3 monitors and 10 different programs at once, this computer does a solid job. Every once in a while, when I'm pushing it to the max usage, it will freeze up. I'm always about to open task manager and close the program that is using up all the CPU power, and then it is perfectly fine. It does also get a little warm when you are pushing it to max usage.
The touch screen works well with the surface pen. I have traveled quite a bit with this laptop and have had no issues. I built my own desktop and it has the same specs (i7 with 34GB ram), but even with the same specs, the surface book is much slower than my desktop. I feel like they could have improved the processing power in the surface book 3, but you also have to consider the size and versatility aspects they are working with.
It is a very expensive laptop, but it was worth it for me. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a small and versatile, but still fairly powerful laptop to use for school or work.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hi Dillon – Thank you for sharing your experience with Surface Book 3. It's great to hear that its versatility is a good fit for your needs. We hope you continue to enjoy using it. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care
Pros mentioned:
Battery life, Processor speed
Cons mentioned:
Screen quality, Speakers
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
All I can say is wow!
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This laptop/tablet convertble is amazing. I recieved this Laptop/Tablet as part of the Best Buy Tech Insider Program,reviewers in this invitation-only program are provided products for the
purpose of writing honest, unbiased reviews, and let me just tell you that this little Laptop?
tablet blew my mind!
The speed and processing power is high end desk top level. I pitted it up against my custom
built HED just to do some comparisons, and not only did this tablet keep up, it actually beat
my desk top on multiple occasions.
1st test was downloading a very large file. My desk top should have had the advantage because
it was connected online via an Ethernet cable, and I was using WIFI to download onto the
laptop. Even with the WIFI disadvantage, the laptop finished ahead by over 2 minutes!
2nd test I put both computers through a set of online benchmarks and let them run. The laptop
crushed my desktop by at least 1/4 and up to almost 3/4 as high of score across the multiple
tests. The only score my desktop beat it in was the graphics test, and that's just because my
desk top has a better graphics card, and deffinately not because the laptop is slow or has bad
graphics by any means.
3rd set of tests involved Photo shop. After loading photoshop onto the laptop I downloaded some
test files, and some test images- and then I ran a series of Radial Blur Test's. At first my
desktop was beating the Tablet, but once I plugged the power cable into the Tablet, it crushed
my desktop by a full half a second! Apparently the tablet either throttles down to save power
when it's unplugged, or it's just able to pull harder when plugged in. Either way it posted
some very impressive results in Photoshop, and when I compared the test scores I was achieving
with those of others who posted their results online, this little tablet was running neck and
neck with a bunch of the big dogs in the computer world. Very impressive!
Now that I've talked about the performance, I'd like to bring up the form and function. Overal
it gives off the impression of being a very high quality build. It's simple, in an elegant sort
of fashion. The looks are just classy with nothing flashy to be seen anywhere. The form and
function are top notch. The keyboard is only about half an inch more narrow than my full sized
desktop keyboard. The screen is very attractive, although it is slightly reflective so if there
are bright lights behind you you might want to turn them off, however if you can't, the screen
brightness goes high enough to overcome reflection issues in most lighting situations. The
screen is crisp and clear, with vibrant colors, and was easy to read even some of the tiniest
type was no problem to read. The keyboard can be backlit if desired, and has a few settings to
brighten or dim.
As nice as this tablet looks there are a few little design issues I don't like. Number 1 is the
large black bezel around the actual screen. In this day and age almost every screen you can buy
is nearly bezelless, but it looks like they originally wanted to use a larger screen and at the
last minute had to settle for a slightly smaller screen and just said, paint the area around
the scereen black so the screen will look nice and big when it's turned off at least...
Two other things I don't like about the looks are when the Tablet is closed onto it's keyboard,
it doesn't close completely flat. I'ts more of a raindrop shape. It's thicker at the hinge
side, and then clicks closed together on the top and bottom with some sort of magnetic closure.
It's all still pretty thin, but there's a little gap on about 2/3 of the folded laptop that
could allow junk to get in between and scratch up the screen if you had this in a back pack
that might have loose items inside of it. And the final dislike in the looks department is the
hinge itself. It's coregated like the joints of a cheap science fiction movie robot. It
functions perfectly well, but it's akward looking compared to how sleek the rest of the
Tablet/Laptop is in comparison.
The way that the screen seperates from the keyboard is super slick. Just press a button, and it
unlocks and you just pull the two apart from eachother. The bottom of the screen when detached
has all of the ports you would need, including USB and the charger port. The charger connection
is super nice as well. It's a magnetic clip that can be installed back to front, flipped over,
or upside down. You can have the cord point towards you or away from you. It's a pretty genious
and simple design. The nice thing is that because it's magnetic, if you trip over the cord you
don't have to worry about the cord pulling your Tablet/laptop off the desk onto the floor etc..
I also think it's pretty smart the way the bottom detachable keyboard section includes a second
battery pack built in, so when the two are combined you will have much more time for use while
unplugged from the wall than if you're just using the tablet section alone.
Two final little things I feel could have been done better... the internal speakers are
terrible... my cell phone plays louder has better bass response... If you're in a room that has
an AC running, or maybe even a loud fan, you better plan on using headphones, or hooking up to
external audio. The other thing is there is no stylus included to use with the tablet. I was
able to use my finger but the precision just isn't there like using with a stylus.
Over all I give this Tablet/Laptop a 4.5 out of 5... I think the screen bezel, speakers, screen
reflection, lack of stylus, hinge design, and closure could have been improved upon, and I also
had issues with trying to get it to work correctly with my Android phone. Durring set up it
brags about how well it will work with an Android phone, and how well they will sync together.
All you're supposed to do is download an app, and then pair your phone and the lap top/tablet.
But when I followed the instructions it failed to work repeatedly. It actually went into an
infinite loop of install, download, you're already installed, click here for update, install,
download, click here for update, repeat forever.... Hopefully that gets ironed out soon because
that's a feature I think would be really handy.
I would deffinately recommend this to a friend, or anyone else that could use desk top power in
an easy to carry portable form that can be transformed from tablet to lap top and back again.
The little minor gripes I have are basically trivial, and I plan on buying a docking station
and a wireless keyboard and mouse combo, and using this to replace my current desktop PC.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great little computer so far.
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I have had it for 2 weeks and it's doing great. I upgraded from a Surface Pro 4. It is very fast. I use it in the easle mode with the screen on backwards and the screen upside-down with it connected to my 32" monitor for a dual monitor system. I want the keyboard attached so it has the GPU working. The only issue with that is for the facial recognition I have lean in since the camera is at the bottom of the screen in that mode. I have a bluetooth mouse & keyboard. It makes a good step up from the surface pro 4. All of my printers and peripherals work. I had to get a USBC to display port cable to it connect my monitor. Using the old surface pro brick with mini display port it had terrible flicker, they do not say the old video is compatable. I will soon get the new brick. With the new brick I will connect the 1 cable and everything will be attached. I use photoshop, 3D printer software, office, video editor, Cricut Maker and 3D CADD design software. Sometimes I run all of them at the same time with no degradation in performance. This is way more than a tablet, it is equal or better than most desktops. I love that I can pull off one cable put it in my bag and go. I keep the regular power supply, USB ports, video adapters and Blu-ray drive in my bag so I have full capabilities when I'm away.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hello,
It's wonderful to hear that you're a fan of the overall power and design of your new Surface Book 3. Thank you for sharing your experience; we hope you continue to enjoy using it.
Cheers, Chuck Surface Customer Care
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Surfacebook devotie.
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1.5 years when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I find this surfacebook 3 even better then my first surfacebook (first gen) would consider any other. I looked long and hard to find a laptop computer that did all I wanted and the surface book was the only one. Even considered Mac. This was better then any I could find. No regrets.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Weight
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
its not a mac
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I purchased this computer because it will allow you to take the screen off and turn it around. This is ideal when you travel or use it as in and around the house. I wanted a computer but also a tablet. I looked at the surface, and the ipad pro. I dont like the kickstand and the Ipad pro is more a tablet than a computer. I am not trilled with the stability windows offers and really wanted a Apple product. So far am satisfied with Windows, although it did had start up issue the first time I restarted the computer. I am a very "light" user. I just use this computer to trade(thinkorswim), personal finances (quicken) and entertainment (netflix/ sling) while traveling. The weight is acceptable and the pen works better than expected. I like that it charges on the USB c port, this will allow me to just carry one charger for my personal and work computer.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Satisfied
|
|
Posted . Owned for more than 2 years when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I've had this plus a case for 2 years now and I've enjoyed using this convertible. Battery life is not ideal, I've been looking for portable charging options as well as lack of docking station capabilities and ports.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Speakers
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Love it, only draw back is the speakers
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I wanted to love them because they are really crisp but loud they are not! My old Dell xps 15 from like 2012 is way louder then this. I understand the speakers being in the display can only do so much because of the slim firm factor but my galaxy note 8 is just as loud. Maybe as few db's shy but that's saying alot! I don't understand why they didn't opt in to place some speakers in the base so when it's connected it would boost the sound. Take a page from Apple, they definitely have some of the best laptop speakers out right now. Other than that, I love my purchase. And the Webcam is definitely hands down the best out there. Especially comes in handy since that's the new way of the world lol hope this helps
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Processor speed
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great laptop
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I have been using surface book 2 and decided to get surface book 3. The obvious upgrade is the 10th generation i7 which is a quad core. Dedicated 4GB GPU is a plus. 512Gb SSD is a needed upgrade from 256gb that I had in my old laptop. The laptop worked right off the box.
The reason for taking off one star for this review was the fact that surface book 3 comes with Win10 Home edition. Book 2 came with Windows 10 Pro with features like Remote Desktop. To upgrade from Home to Pro, it’s another $99. I think for a $2K+ laptop, Microsoft could have given the 10 Pro.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Processor speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome laptop.
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I am still learning all of the features, but right now I am only using the laptop for working at home. The ease of use, the speed, the clear camera image (for zoom), the facial recognition for accessing the the laptop; all make this an awesome laptop.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hello,
We're delighted that you're satisfied with the performance of your new Surface Book 3 for working from home. Thank you for sharing your experience; we hope you continue to enjoy using it.
Cheers, Chuck Surface Customer Care
Pros mentioned:
Ram
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Worth the investment.
|
|
Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Expensive, but...you absolutely get what you pay for. This is everything a 2-in-1 should be. The power and functionality of a world class laptop with the freedom of a tablet. In this digital world I still prefer writing things down because it helps me learn and remember better. Now I can leave behind and get rid of a ton of notebooks and binders, and I’m excited to use my digital books again because I still highlight and interact with them with all the ease I love of paper, but with the portability and functionality of digital.
I buy a new laptop once every 6-10 years and I know this will last with the upgraded Ram and hard drive.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hi – It's great to hear that it’s a good fit for your needs. We hope it continues to serve you well. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care
Pros mentioned:
Processor speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
I love this computer
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I really loved this computer. I’m able to do rendering, work on adobe apps perfectly. It works very good. I love the computer’s design. I would recommend it if you’re a designer, interior architect, ilustrator, etc.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hi – It’s wonderful to hear that your new Surface Book 3 is working well for you. Thank you for recommending it to others; Surface was designed to be as dynamic as you. We hope you continue to enjoy using it. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care
Pros mentioned:
Battery life
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great 2-in-1 Laptop
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Great 2-in-1 laptop, worth what you pay for.
Previously owned a Surface Pro and switched to the Book line. Been very happy so far. Feels like a great laptop with solid specs and easy to switch into tablet mode when I want. Little on the heavier side when combined but the screen / tablet alone is pretty light and easy to carry.
Has long lasting battery, with one in the screen / tablet section and one in the keyboard section. Quick to charge as well.
Very fast laptop, no issues running multiple programs at once. Quick startup and boot as well.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
A Good 2-in-1
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
When it came time to by a laptop for college, I searched the internet for a computer that would fit my needs. My intended major is mechanical engineering, so I wanted something that was a.) portable, b.) powerful, and c.) functional. When it comes to powerful laptops, portability is often a tradeoff. Not in this case. I got the top-spec model which has more than enough power to handle the CAD work (undergraduate level) I plan on doing. The 13.5 inch model is not too heavy and the screen is a perfect size. Now, for the lack of a star. I've had this computer for a few weeks and some small performance problems have surfaced. Some include screen dimming randomly and lagging/frozen videos. The main problem I've heard about this computer was that this computer is prone to problems. While I can't say for certain just yet, I am inclined to think that this is true. The problems went away on their own so I'm not worried. The reason that I purchased the Surface Book over others (Dell XPS, HP Spectre, etc.) was the detachable screen. What an absolute pleasure to use. It detaches quickly and easily. I have been using OneNote and my Surface pen to take notes during my online classes. The pen is an amazing tool and works flawlessly with the computer. My gripe about the pen is that it is not included. If a customer is paying over 2,000 dollars your product, the pen should absolutely be included. Overall, I recommend this computer. If you don't plan on using the 2-in-1 feature, than I recommend you find another computer. You can find a comparable computer that is significantly cheaper without the detachable feature.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Heat
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great multi-use laptop
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Pros:
- I am teacher in this laptop can run many things at once.
- I like the pen because I can easily use the screen as a whiteboards
- I also game a little and this computer can run games pretty well
- it is also good for drawing on the screen.
- you can use the USB C connection to charge the laptop on the go and you don’t have the proprietary charger.
- Separates easily into tablet mode
- we do a lot of photo shop on pictures we take so having an SD slot is great.
Cons:
- tends to run hot when I am running a lot of stuff. Has not really been an issue Though.
- location of the 3.5mm headphone jack. I which it had one on the base too and not just the upper part of the screen.
Over all I am very satisfied with this laptop. I would recommend it to others.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hello Lorenso,
It's wonderful to hear that you're satisfied with your new Surface Book 3. We're glad that it serves your needs as a teacher, too. Thank you for recommending it to others; we hope you continue to enjoy using your Surface.
Cheers, Chuck Surface Customer Care
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great 2-1
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I upgraded my similarly priced Surface Book 2 and have not been disappointed. This is still a nice premium grade 2-1 with a different design that has just worked for me.
It travels and docks very easily. The chassis, keyboard, trackpad, magnetic charge port and ability to hold the pen are all perfect and the 2-1 functionality is great. Externally, it is almost the exact same as surface book 2 although it seems a microphone port may have moved. Currently, my complaint is the difficulty in finding a correct screen protector and the ever present lack of good cases surface book line has always been lacking cases.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Processor speed
Cons mentioned:
Heat
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
overheats quickly
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The good:
overall, it is very fast, looks very slick, the Microsoft Pen is brilliantly designed to be super intuitive to use. Really nice feel overall.
The bad (aweful, actually):
The reason why I would NOT recommend it, and why I gave up and had to return it - the laptop overheats *dramatically* with any computing-intensive task.
Based on reading through forums, this seems to be a pretty common problem. The overheating is so bad that it is not possible to hold it in your hands as a tablet - it burns your fingers. If it is overheating, it will shut down, and does not start right away - it shows a "thermometer"-like shape to indicate that it is too hot to start. This is a shame, because if it weren't for the overheating problem, I would definitely keep it.
I guess all thin laptops have some sort of overheating problem, but I never expected Microsoft's to be that bad.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Weight
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
great laptop
|
|
Posted . Owned for 6 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
My son bought this laptop for school because it had touch screen and stylus for writing. He really seems to like it. its light weight and versatile.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Weight
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great travel laptop
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This laptop/tablet combo is so versatile and lightweight. Perfect for travel. It’s my full time business computer and is very powerful and functional. There isn’t anything I ask it to do that it can’t.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
Posted .
Hi,
We're thrilled that Surface Book 3 has proven to be a great travel laptop for working on the go. It's also good to hear that you're a fan of its versatility, too. Thank you for sharing your perspective; we hope you enjoy using it.
Cheers, Chuck Surface Customer Care
Pros mentioned:
Ram
Cons mentioned:
Screen quality
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Subpar
|
|
Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
For the price of this laptop, I sure don’t understand why on Earth I have so many issues with this thing!
I had to replace the original I purchased 12 days after owning it because the screen was defective. It would freeze up until you forced it to shut down. Geek squad nor Microsoft technical support couldn’t figure out what why I was having that issue.
My replacement doesn’t do this...the screen just turns blue, crashes, and makes a horrible loud sound while it tries to restart...I hate it. It’s happened twice, (most recently today) both times while I was writing with my bamboo ink pen on ppt during class.
I’ve also noticed the screen starts to jump/twitch randomly while I’m working on it to. It makes you think your eyes are going crazy but it’s really the screen jumping around so fast. I can’t seem to catch a break with this thing!
When it works, it’s great. I like how I can detach the screen and work on it for a while and put it back.
Side note: the screen loses battery life way quicker detached.
The whole idea behind buying this computer was that it has 32GB RAM memory and 512GB of SSD...if I see another laptop with these features that’ll also allow me to write on it..I WOULD GLADLY PURCHASE THAT ONE AND GIVE THIS LAPTOP BACK.