My New Laptop - Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (ARM CPU)

[overscan (PaulMM)]

My HP laptop's keyboard died, the keys 1, q, a, z and Tab all not working. This was VERY annoying.

It was getting a little old, so I bought myself a new laptop and will get the old one repaired eventually to pass to my daughter.

I looked at a bunch of laptops and it was a tossup between Apple Macbook Air M3 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 using the new ARM Snapdragon X Elite CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. Its my first non-Intel computer since Commodore Amiga days. Went with the 15" model as my eyesight isn't the best, and the choice seems correct so far.

First impressions - its awesome. Great build quality, feels solid but lightweight. Trackpad is excellent, keyboard too. Most "Apple-like" build quality I've seen in a PC. Battery life is excellent.

With Arm64 native software, everything feels fast. Almost everything I use has an Arm64 version, notably the Affinity suite. For x86/x64 code, it runs fine. Some people have had issues especially with printer drivers - luckily my printer works fine.

I don't play games, so can't comment on gaming performance.

Simply - its a perfect balanced computer for my use-case.

 

[Halcyon66]

Been running an ASUS intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10510U CPU @ 1.80GHz 2.30 GHz 17 inch for a few years and has been a monster.

Need to upgrade and looking at the intel NUC units as an upgrade option, with separate screens.

Regards,

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

I've always bemoaned the PC laptop market because to get a decent screen, keyboard and trackpad you had to buy a high end model with expensive CPUs etc. Midrange laptops always compromised the wrong things. I want a quality laptop, but I don't need an ultra-high-end CPU. This laptop, and the Apple Macbook Air, really seem to be hitting the sweet spot.

 

[TinWing]

I've always bemoaned the PC laptop market because to get a decent screen, keyboard and trackpad you had to buy a high end model with expensive CPUs etc. Midrange laptops always compromised the wrong things. I want a quality laptop, but I don't need an ultra-high-end CPU. This laptop, and the Apple Macbook Air, really seem to be hitting the sweet spot.

The dirty secret is that you don't buy Windows PCs as retail electronics. In North America, people in the know only buy high end business PCs from the PC OEM's Business outlets. Microsoft's Surface line is weird in that it tries to compete with Apple in the consumer space....at Apple prices. Higher end Business PCs come with 3 year warranty support and initial MSRPs can be higher than Apple's. The secret is buying brand new last generation PCs at a fraction of that MSRP. And sticking to the higher quality models with the 3 year warranties.

As an example, Lenovo/Dell/HP might release a Business laptop for a ridiculous wishlist of $3,000 to $3,600 MSRP which is vaguely comparable to a $2,400 Macbook Pro. In 18 months that $3,000-3,600 PC is discounted to $1,200, brand new, sealed in box, 3 years of warranty. The real issue is having to watch and wait for the specific hardware you want. And paying careful attention to specs.

If memory serves correct, Microsoft discounts maybe 20% off, much like 3rd party Macbook retailers. Sometimes they blow out lower end Surface models. Microsoft can engineer good hardware, as witnessed by the Xbox Series X, but historcally, it's been hit or miss. Overall, Apple has a lot more hardware engineering resources and the MacBook line piggybacks on the iPhone in terms of silicon and the operating system.

 

[FighterJock]

Try building your own PC as I have done on several occasions it helps keep costs down and you can build to budget with the exact specifications that are required.

 

[joshjosh]

Recently I switched to a company Macbook for work given that Macbooks just have the best performance, even if I don't prefer the software. But these new ARM CPUs are good enough to give Apple a run for their money. I might try one soon. Hopefully Framework will offer it, as I've also been meaning to try a Framework laptop.

BTW, have you used a recent Macbook to give you a point of comparison with the new ARM laptop?

 

[sublight_]

Let me blow your mind by introducing you to the framework laptop.

Fix Consumer Electronics

We know consumer electronics can be better for you and for the environment. Unlike most products, ours are open for you to repair and upgrade

frame.work

You want an AMD processor? No problem. You want to switch to an intel processor? No problem. You want to fix the keyboard or screen? No problem. You want a RISC V processor? No problem. They don't have a ARM Snapdragon board yet, but its coming.....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbENiwOrRbU

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Recently I switched to a company Macbook for work given that Macbooks just have the best performance, even if I don't prefer the software. But these new ARM CPUs are good enough to give Apple a run for their money. I might try one soon. Hopefully Framework will offer it, as I've also been meaning to try a Framework laptop.

BTW, have you used a recent Macbook to give you a point of comparison with the new ARM laptop?

Only briefly. I owned an Intel-based Macbook Pro some time ago. Hardware was excellent but MacOS was mediocre.

 

[Calum Douglas]

My HP laptop's keyboard died, the keys 1, q, a, z and Tab all not working. This was VERY annoying.

It was getting a little old, so I bought myself a new laptop and will get the old one repaired eventually to pass to my daughter.

I looked at a bunch of laptops and it was a tossup between Apple Macbook Air M3 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 using the new ARM Snapdragon X Elite CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. Its my first non-Intel computer since Commodore Amiga days. Went with the 15" model as my eyesight isn't the best, and the choice seems correct so far.

First impressions - its awesome. Great build quality, feels solid but lightweight. Trackpad is excellent, keyboard too. Most "Apple-like" build quality I've seen in a PC. Battery life is excellent.

With Arm64 native software, everything feels fast. Almost everything I use has an Arm64 version, notably the Affinity suite. For x86/x64 code, it runs fine. Some people have had issues especially with printer drivers - luckily my printer works fine.

I don't play games, so can't comment on gaming performance.

Simply - its a perfect balanced computer for my use-case.

Every day I run my head through a parallel universe, in which the AMIGA design team dont get bought by commodore, and go for ARM instead of 68xxx CPU, ridding the world of the DOSBOX horror and the failed linux "utopia" ruined by a billion different distributions all existing concurrently.

I`ve still got my A1200 !

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Every day I run my head through a parallel universe, in which the AMIGA design team dont get bought by commodore, and go for ARM instead of 68xxx CPU, ridding the world of the DOSBOX horror and the failed linux "utopia" ruined by a billion different distributions all existing concurrently.

I`ve still got my A1200 !

I had an A500+ then an A4000. Did computer graphics / VJ work for years with the A4000, eventually bought a second one and an A1200, and a 68060 CPU accelerator. Used to run 3 Amigas live with the A1200 as base input to a genlock on the first A4000 which was fed to a genlock on the second A4000 - gave 3 layers of video combined live, with physical sliders to fade the overlay layers in time with the music. Rendered looping computer graphics sequences in Lightwave 3D of dancing creatures, alien worlds, abstract geometries.... make music with Protracker / OctaMED.. very creative machine.

The A1200/A4000 has the misfortune to have a 2D optimised graphics chip at the exact moment that Doom was revolutionising games with texture mapped 3D, which the Amiga's graphics chips were just not designed for.

 

[TinWing]

Let me blow your mind by introducing you to the framework laptop.

Fix Consumer Electronics

We know consumer electronics can be better for you and for the environment. Unlike most products, ours are open for you to repair and upgrade

frame.work

You want an AMD processor? No problem. You want to switch to an intel processor? No problem. You want to fix the keyboard or screen? No problem. You want a RISC V processor? No problem. They don't have a ARM Snapdragon board yet, but its coming.....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbENiwOrRbU

I love the concept, especially the Framework 16 with the discrete GPU. However, it costs $1,800 when you add a RX 7700S GPU, or $500 for the GPU itself......When you can buy a complete Asus A16 gaming laptop with the same GPU for $700 at Best Buy.

In other words, Windows laptops are essentially disposable devices because that makes the most economic sense to end users.

Windows users are also the same sort of people who want multiple choices for hardware. There's a reason why CPU and GPU manufacturers offer so many different price points, aside from binning partially defective chips. Well, mostly it's about binning.

Ultimately, take-it-or-leave it works for Apple and maybe it will for Framework. For mainstream PC OEMs, it never has.

 

[Halcyon66]

The framework thingy is pretty interesting, yet it gets rather pricey when you go top shelf.

Great concept for allowing upgradability.

Regards,