Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5" 2017, Core i5-7300U, 8GB, 256GB SSD, Silver

The Surface Book 2 has a stunning 3000x2000 display in the 90th percentile, but its CPU sits in the 2nd percentile and its 8GB of RAM is in the 5th. It's a premium-feeling 2-in-1 with a great screen and a detachable tablet, but the internals are painfully outdated. Only worth considering at the very bottom of its USD 379 to USD 1,449 price range.

Let's be blunt: the CPU is a problem. The Core i5-7300U is a dual-core chip from 2017, and it ranks in the 2nd percentile across all laptops in our database. That's not just old, it's one of the weakest processors we've tracked. Everyday tasks like web browsing and document editing will feel okay, but anything heavier will make you wait. The integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 is in the 30th percentile, which is fine for video playback but useless for gaming. Our gaming score for this config is 4.9 out of 100, which is about as close to zero as it gets.

The 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM is in the 5th percentile, and it's not upgradeable. You'll hit memory limits with a dozen browser tabs and a video call going. The 256GB SSD is in the 16th percentile for storage, which means you'll need cloud storage or an external drive almost immediately. The screen is the one bright spot, a 3000x2000 IPS panel in the 90th percentile. It's sharp, bright, and still competitive with much newer machines.

Against the Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro, this thing gets obliterated. The M3 Pro is in a completely different universe for CPU and GPU performance, and the Surface Book 2's 2nd percentile CPU score looks embarrassing next to it. The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 7 and HP OmniBook X Flip 14 also run circles around it in raw performance, though the Surface Book 2's screen holds up surprisingly well against all of them. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge are both lighter and faster, but they don't have the detachable tablet trick. If you want a 2-in-1 with a great screen and don't care about speed, the Surface Book 2 is a budget option. If you need actual performance, every single competitor here is a better choice.

Pricing is all over the place. US listings range from USD 379 to USD 1,449 across three listings, which is a USD 1,070 spread. At the low end, you're getting a beautiful screen and a premium build for under USD 400, which is tempting if you only need a basic machine. At the high end, you're paying over USD 1,400 for hardware that's in the bottom 5th percentile for CPU and RAM, which is frankly absurd. The CAD 990 listing in Canada sits somewhere in the middle. If you're going to buy one of these, hunt for the cheapest listing you can find. Paying anything close to the top of that range is a mistake.

The Surface Book 2's screen is the star here, landing in the 90th percentile for display quality. That 13.5-inch 3000x2000 PixelSense panel is genuinely lovely, and it's the main reason anyone should still consider this machine in a world full of newer laptops. The detachable tablet gimmick still works, and the build feels premium in a way few 2-in-1s manage.

But the internals tell a different story. The Core i5-7300U sits in the 2nd percentile for CPU performance, and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM lands in the 5th percentile. That's rough. This was a mid-range chip when it launched in 2017, and in our database it's now scraping the bottom of the barrel. The 256GB SSD is also in the 16th percentile, which means you'll be juggling files sooner than you'd like.

Skip this if you do anything beyond basic tasks. The CPU is in the 2nd percentile and the RAM is in the 5th, which means photo editing, video work, coding, or even heavy multitasking will be painful. Gamers should absolutely look elsewhere, the 4.9 out of 100 gaming score speaks for itself. If you need more than 256GB of storage, the 16th percentile SSD will have you juggling external drives. And if you're considering paying anywhere near the USD 1,449 top of the price range, stop. That money buys a dramatically better laptop from any of the competitors in our database.

The Surface Book 2 is a beautiful screen attached to a very old computer. If you can find one at the bottom of the price range, around USD 379, and you only need it for writing, browsing, and watching video, it's a reasonable buy. The display is genuinely excellent, the build quality is premium, and the detachable tablet is still fun. But the CPU and RAM are so far behind that this machine will frustrate you within a year or two. At anything over USD 500, walk away. There are too many better options at that price.