Product test
Microsoft Surface Pro for Business with the latest Intel chip tested
by Martin Jud
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 tested: USB-C and Ice Lake U processors at last
18.11.2019
Translation: machine translated
The Microsoft Surface Pro is and remains a versatile eye-catcher. Working with it is great fun. Nevertheless, Microsoft has not solved everything well in the latest version. For example, my stress test indicates an i5 bottleneck. In addition, the battery performance is somewhat lacking.
If you need a tablet that you can also use for work, then the Surface Pro 7 could be a good choice. All programmes that run on a normal Windows PC can be installed on the device. A tablet can rarely claim that. However, to use it as a convertible, i.e. also as a laptop, you have to dig relatively deep into your pockets: In addition to the proud price for the device, there are additional costs for the magnetic keyboard cover and the pen.
I bought the i5 version of the Surface Pro 7. It doesn't have an active cooler. This is only available on the i7 version. I'll find out for you whether it's a good idea for Microsoft to do without the cooler on the i5. I'm also curious to see how the new Intel processor compares to the Surface Pro 6 with its predecessor i5.
The technical data:
You can also get the Surface Pro 7 with the latest generation i3 or i7 processor. You can also choose between 4, 8 or 16 GB of RAM. I strongly advise against buying a version with only 4 GB of RAM. Anything less than 8 GB can cause your device to stall if you have a lot of browser tabs or programmes open.
Design and connections: USB-C at last
The design still looks contemporary in 2019. Some may wish for thinner display edges on the 29.21 x 20.07 x 0.85 cm Surface Pro, but on the other hand, the extra 1.5 cm or so makes it easier to hold in the hand.
The power button and volume rocker are located at the top of the tablet
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Sharp display in 3:2 format
The 12.3-inch high-gloss display in 3:2 format offers a resolution of 2736 x 1824 pixels, which corresponds to 267 ppi. It is razor-sharp and therefore a lot of fun. Only the reflections are a little annoying. Spotlights and sunlight should therefore be avoided.
To find out how well the display is illuminated, I measure it with the x-rite i1Display Pro:
The colour space coverage doesn't look quite as good. Unfortunately, this is not sufficient for professional, graphic work. The display manages to display a spectrum of 93.7 per cent in sRGB. For Adobe RGB it is 65.3 per cent and for DCI P3 68.1 per cent.
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Accessories: Signature Type Cover and Surface Pen
If you want to use the Surface Pro 7 as a convertible, you need to buy a Type Cover. This turns the tablet into a notebook. The Type Cover is a keyboard, trackpad and display protector in one. You can get the clip-on keyboard with or without the Alcantara cover (Signature), which is reminiscent of soft leather. To connect it to the Surface Pro, simply hold it near the magnetic connector and it will automatically attach itself.
The 310 gram cover can be used flat or slightly angled. The buttons have three-stage illumination. Unfortunately, the 29.50 cm long, 21.70 cm wide and 0.50 cm high cover comes without a numeric keypad. The key travel is one millimetre. When you tap it, the keys bounce comparatively strongly and you feel a clear trigger point. In my opinion, typing on it is extremely pleasant and quiet. There is nothing to criticise about the trackpad with multi-finger gesture support.
Speakers that sound pretty decent
The 1.6-watt stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium certification are located in the upper part to the left and right of the display. The sound is quite good considering the puny size of the speakers. Nothing rattles, the highs and mids sound clean, but the bass is starved - as is always the case with undersized notebook speakers. On the other hand, the sound seems a lot more room-filling or wider than the distance of the installed hardware actually is.
Battery performance: worse than the predecessor
Nothing has changed in terms of battery capacity compared to the previous year. It is a lithium-ion battery with 45 Wh. I'm keen to see how long the Surface Pro lasts on YouTube in a continuous loop, run a stress test and measure the runtime when working in the office.
Modest runtime for continuous YouTube streaming
Battery life under maximum performance: CPU throttles to 44 per cent
This test points to a nasty bottleneck: As the built-in i5 processor is not actively cooled, the processor can only be fully utilised for a short time. Microsoft is clearly cutting corners here. Presumably, this was also the case with the previous model with i5. Unfortunately, I don't have a Surface Pro 6 with an i5 processor to verify this. Only one with i7, which has no problems thanks to active cooling.
Battery life for office work
When I use the convertible as a mobile office and refrain from running YouTube in the background, I get seven to eight hours of battery life. That's not a bad figure. But considering the premium price, as a customer I also want premium battery runtimes.
Latest-generation CPU and graphics processor
The chip also features Intel's Iris Plus Graphics (Gen 11), which runs at 300 MHz and has a maximum dynamic frequency of 1.5 GHz. The SoC also delivers Wifi 6 and offers AI hardware acceleration, among other things.
Performance: Cinebench R15 and R20
With Cinebench from Maxon, you can test how your PC or processor performs when rendering Cinema 4D content. A new version of the popular benchmark has recently been released. For better comparability with our previous reviews, I have run the old and new versions.
This is how the Surface Pro 7 performs in Cinebench R15:
If I compare it to the Surface Pro 6 with Intel Core i5-8250U (also 4 cores and 8 threads), the latest processor generation in the Surface Pro 7 performs 21.98 per cent better in the multi-thread benchmark. The Pro 6 scores 610 points, whereas the Pro 7 achieves a score of 738. The graphics performance in the OpenGL benchmark is also slightly better. The Pro 7 achieves 58.11 FPS compared to 52.11 FPS.
This is how the Surface Pro 7 performs in Cinebench R20:
Performance: Geekbench 4 and 5
Geekbench 4 results of the Surface Pro 7:
If I compare it again to the Surface Pro 6 with i5 processor, the result of the Surface Pro 7 is 26.89 per cent better in single-core performance (SP6: 4253 points / SP7: 5397 points) and 26.29 per cent better in multi-core performance (SP6: 13834 points / SP7: 17472 points).
In terms of graphics performance, the Pro 7 performs 37.10 per cent better (SP6: 35649 points / SP7: 48877 points).
If you would like to see the benchmark results in detail:
Geekbench 5 results of the Surface Pro 7:
If you want to see the benchmark results in detail:
Conclusion: Great device with minor drawbacks
What really surprises me is that the battery lasts less despite the capacity remaining the same. The Pro 7 only lasts 5 hours and 16 minutes when continuously streaming YouTube, which is a whole four hours less than the Pro 6 with an i5 processor. For office work, you can expect seven to eight hours of battery life, which should be enough for most users.
If you want a well-built convertible, you can't go wrong with this device despite the disadvantages mentioned. Microsoft delivers a great piece of hardware that not only scores points for its design and functionality, but also for its durability. My colleague Raphael Knecht still uses a Surface Pro 3 from 2014 on a daily basis. This aspect makes the high price of the Surface device series seem lower.
Martin Jud
Senior Editor
martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.chI find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
