It's expensive as an AIO, but the kicker is the pen support on a 28" display of that caliber. Compare it to the 27" Cintiq 27QHD with a 2560x1440 resolution display, for $2799, and an AIO for an extra $200-$1400 isn't so bad.
Holy yes, finally some will know that 95% of the time people dont use their PC to watch 16:9 movies. 16:10 would be fine by me, but 3:2 is even better.
Given that Microsoft has never had any real colour management, I wonder how they are implementing DCI-P3 and sRGB switching? Will it be software dependent ie in an adobe environment the option will be available or in Resolve etc?
"Given that Microsoft has never had any real colour management"
Of course Windows has color management. The switch in the Action Center is very clever. Because the Windows Store app and many programs do not support the color management support of Windows. Then, from a push of a switch, you put the device in sRGB mode. But when you want to work on Photoshop, Premiere or any design, photo or video editing programs that is color managed, you enjoy the benefit of a higher gamut screen.
What you're describing is exactly a lack of proper colour management. If Windows had proper colour management, individual apps would be able to operate in different gamuts with correct colours regardless of the setting of the monitor (given that the application colour space is reproducible within the monitor's colour space).
Windows effectively doesn't give a sh*t about colour - it acts as if there is only one gamut in exsitence, and as such treats all applications the same. Set your PC to Adobe RGB? Then EVERY SINGLE APPLICATION outside of Photoshop and a select few others with custom colour management integrated will show oversaturated colours. Set your PC to sRGB, and it doesn't matter what your display supports, nothing will ever render colours outside of sRGB. With proper colour management, (given a monitor with a wide enough gamut) you should be able to have a web browser showing sRGB content, Photoshop with an Adobe RGB photo and a video editor with DCI-P3 content all on the same screen showing correct colours. This is currently impossible in Windows.
I still can't believe what I'm reading. They are using "Haswell" processors? Not Broadwell nor Skylake?
You guys sure about that? I don't know what reason why MS would decide to use Haswell. I guess CPU performance doesn't matter anymore and Haswell has met most everyone's needs.
Apparently you weren't in the cluster**** caused by Intel's drivers for Skylake last year. Took over 6 months for Intel's drivers for new gen CPU/GPU's not to crash computers. I think MS is playing it smart now.
Microsoft's current CEO did specifically state that the company was going to try to emulate Apple, essentially making it one of the biggest "me too" businesses on the planet rather than being independently innovative. They're following Apple with hyped-up overpriced, outdated hardware that uses one or two gimmicks as crutches and they're lined up behind Google mining away at user data to build an advertising system.
I wouldn't count a 28" 3:2 13.5MP display a "gimmick". Media creation professionals can easily justify the price. The issue is that at the given price point almost no one outside that niche can justify buying one. Not being able to connect it to the latest and greatest workstation is not a big issue for a large fraction of the market, and having an all-in-one "just works" integrated package is a plus for some.
That said, a display only version of this would be quite nice.
That is why they are selling it in limited quantities. They know it's a niche product. I believe they are hoping that OEM will copy the design and create a new product category, just like what happened with the surface.
Well, if it works, and I hate to say this, unfortunately it's the right decision. He's there to make money for the share holders. That's why he was put in charge. Nadella even emulated Jobs, looking the most Jobs-alike svelte tech CEO at the event.
A Wacom Cintiq 27" HD is $2500, and that is without a computer. This isn't meant to compete with consumer focused iMacs that are $1000-$2000 cheaper, this is a purpose built appliance explicitly made for artists that is made to compete with the Cintiq.
The market is very limited but its a really nice and surprisingly well priced piece of kit.
Indeed very interesting product! I Also would not mind to have the same screen with external Computer part for easier upgrades. This would so much rock with AMD new professional graphic card with build in ssd for graphics and videos! But even now this is superb for cad users, designers and Photoshop experts!
I like the machines, with the exception of having a 4GB 980M in the high-end. I mean, it's not like anyone could play with high frame-rates at 4500x3000 anyway but a 1070 class with 8GB would be what I want.
If this is strictly a content creation machine, it looks awesome for that. But for everything else, I don't see it.
Not everything needs to be all things to all people. It's obviously not a gaming machine. The amount of people who can justify the cost of the display and who want it to double as a gaming machine is not exactly huge.
I get that this is something really special and unique, but why oh why did they go with these kinds of specs? 4 Gb of VRAM is never going to be enough for people wanting to edit 4k movies on this thing, and why didn't they pick one of the never pascal-based GPUs? And why is 8Gb of ram even acceptable for something marketed towards creative professionals, not to mention the lowly 2Gb of video memory for the base and mid-tier models?
Well, I'm not a content creator, but I still want to have this machine as my everyday desktop, just because of the screen. I wish they release a monitor like that one day.
Yes they are. It also includes the new keyboard they announced. They will be selling the hockey puck as a separate accessory as well for use with other computers. You won't be able to place it on the screen to access the radial menu, but the other features they showed will work with other computers.
I thought Nvidia eliminated their "M" branding on mobile GPUs? Does this mean it's a 2015 part? I agree with the previous poster, this is the most "apple-like" move they have made. So Apple's profits have started to slide, 3 quarters in a row of reduced revenue, yet every other company continues to try and be like Apple. Google Pixel, Microsoft surface all-in-one, etc. So who will pick up the mantle of making hardware for the "everyman" now?
I think that Surface Studio should have been just a Surface Display ... A 28" monitor with touch/pen input that connects to any PC. Instead, it's just a ridiculously over-priced all-in-one.
Don't see how this is for "professionals" as they usually want to be able to upgrade their hardware. This setup without the built-in hardware would be amazing.
One the few things I currently love about MSFT is their bet on 3:2 aspect ratio. It's the best ratio for productivity, I really wish everyone jumps in and ditch the ugly 16:9 so we start seeing 3:2 notebooks and monitors.
For multimedia oriented they should opt for 16:10.
Seems the only good things about this products are the cpu, ram and display. They couldve opt for the 1060M as the minimum. Only SSD, 1TB for $200 in bulk come on.
There's nothing notable about the display really. Microsoft is selling an iMac and stressing the fact that the screen isn't very thick as a primary selling point. As this is desktop hardware we're talking aobut here, the screen's thickness isn't a factor that contributes to functionality, but it does probably drive costs up significantly and results in a sub-$1000 PC selling for +$3000. I just don't see this thing landing sales to anyone that isn't walking around with their eyes closed as tightly as possible so they can ignore the bulk of reality.
It's for content creators. Who don't need the best specs. We don't know the CPU speed. We don't know the effects of thermal throttling. Notebook sized HDD, so slow IO past whatever flash cache/ssd level persists.
I know people editing 4K on the 5K iMac, higher red, 4Ghz i7 Skylake, 1TB SSD is PCI-E, sustained reads or large files are 2GB/s, writes are 1.5GB/s. two Thunderbolt 2 ports, 20Gbps bidirectional for external drive enclosures and other things.
But, this has Touch. And that's big for many use cases. I hope it sells well.
I'm going to go a bit out on a limb and say that content creation is going to be an excuse for a few people to purchase them, but ultimately relegate them to conventional desktop PC duties. There'll be a few companies that buy into them, possibly even in large numbers, because there's pent up demand for an AIO box running Windows and touch, so it probably will sell pretty well. I do acknowledge that Microsoft did its homework in identifying a niche and pitching a product at it using marketing methods that ignite that segment's interest. However, that doesn't excuse the price or the non-feature elements the company is using to drive sales.
I would want one of these, but my Surface Pro 4 for work locks up after 30 seconds of writing with the pen, regardless of the program I am using. And it also refuses to wake from sleep a bunch. Both of these are problems I have seen on the Microsoft forums for months that just haven't been fixed. I don't think I will buy a Microsoft piece of kit after this experience.
Ive never had my sp4 or my wife's lock up because of the pen. Now the wake up problem yes but those have been fixed. You should try a clean install or send it to Ms.
I was thinking the same thing. If it's a company owned computer then why haven't they RMA'd it? If it's a personal SP4 that you take to work then why not drop by the Microsoft store. They would probably hand you a brand new one on the spot. That's what happened with my Lumia 950 when it was crashing. They gave me a new box along with a second set of USB-C cables.
the DPI is not that high as in Surface Book or pro 4 so it should be less problematic, still it's high and something closer to 4k (this is rather 5k+) like 3300x2200 would have been perfect
Using the word "thin" to describe the thickness of an object is a marketing method. Since Anandtech isn't selling products or promoting them, it would probably make more sense to use proper English instead of market-speak.
Frankly I do not see the purpose of this product. For 21 lbs at least, It can not be used as a mobile device. Station wise, It can not even compete against a $1000 desktop in performance. $3000 for i5 + 8GB + 965M? What kind of joke is this? The only thing people might go for is the screen, However it's questionable how many people need a screen like this and can actually afford it. So in the end we have $3000 for a fancy touch screen, no sale for me.
This was designed for professional designers and content creators, who are used to paying big dollars just for the monitor. There's not another monitor on the market of this quality, and certainly not with touch or anything resembling the Dial. For the base they went for form over function. It's unfortunate they didn't provide USB-C with TB3 ports, which would have made it possible to link out to an external GPU for heavier tasks.
Yes, I completely agree. This GPU will be old hat in no time and then it's a fantastic screen held back by GPU hardware. A very expensive door stop. Unless the base is swappable/upgradeable. This is a product that screams for an easily swappable GPU.
I'm suspicious that "Rapid Hybrid" means spinning platters with a dusting of flash. I tried one when they were new. Supposedly, they were suppose to use the flash like a cache and keep the stuff you used most there, like for booting. Never seemed any faster than a regular 7200rpm HDD.
Definitely need the tech equivalent of Amnesty International to mount a campaign to free this gorgeous monitor from the prison of the rest of the computer.
It would be nice to see that craftsmanship applied to consumer-oriented products. The non-Pro Surface tablet might have died when Intel stopped making Atom for mobile, but why can't Microsoft make a notebook and AIO for the general consumer? By what we've seen so far, such products should stand a great chance of being successful. I'd certainly consider buying one.
Probably Microsoft does not want to become a volume player in hardware, to avoid annoying the OEMs.
The idea is more to create halo products with premium pricing, which may have a positive impact on the overall market for Windows machines, and could also point the way towards higher-quality, more profitable niches for the other players to exploit.
I quite like some of Microsoft's ideas, but that's about as positive as I can be.
Surface products might have a positive effect on OEMs, and Windows in general, but I doubt it'd be enough to motivate them to create products on par with what a consumer Surface could be if it was made by Microsoft. OEMs have been trying to create high-end, Apple-like products for a long while now, but there's always something missing; something they don't quite get. Don't get me wrong, off the top of my head, I do like the Dell XPS, Asus ZenBook UX5xx, and Razer Blade, but none quite live up to a Microsoft or Apple product.
If you look at the stock photos on the Surface homepage, all of the lockscreens on the devices say "Saturday, June 18" which is a date 4 months in the past (June 18th 2017 is not on a Saturday). If you look at when all of the "Surface branded AIO" rumors started, they line up with that timeframe. I think this machine's specs would have been a lot more palatable if Polaris and Pascal had not fully launched yet, definitely were not available in laptops yet, and if Kaby Lake upgrades weren't popping up left and right, like they are right now. It would appear that Surface Studio was destined for a June launch, but got pushed back.
Next year, when it's available in numbers, the CPU and GPU are seriously outdated.
I think they rushed the launch to be ahead of Apple and forgot to update the fotos.
Considering the specifications of the screen, the price is not outlandish. The difference between 6th and 7th generation processors is small, less so with the GPU. I hope they bring a revised version with updated hardware soon.
It's cool and all, but why are they using 980M. I mean, there's a whole lot more better options that are less power hungry (1060, anyone), or better with the same power draw Come on, Microsoft!
I don't get that crap about 3:2 monitors! Just buy a bigger 21:9 and you get the same height and much more width and move the tool palette to the sides.
Rapid Hybrid Drive will most definitely be a M.2 PCI SSD matched with a 2TB spinning 2.5" slow disk. The OS will load the SSD with files most frequently used. Equivalent to Apple's "Fusion Drive"
I'm a creative professional, but I'm also a power user. I buy for 5 years and I buy horsepower because time is money. This thing should come with AMD Zen 8-core, GTX1070 (Adobe software is GPU-accelerated), 32-64GB Ram, Thunderbolt 3 for attached storage which everyone is going to use, *ditch the hybrid drive* and go with a single, large 1TB M.2 for OS and applications. Everything else is cutting edge- screen, pen, dial. The dial rocks. Hope they add mini dials for software that has large control spaces like Lightroom.
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jsntech - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I would never pay that for an AIO, but holy monkey is that 3:2 display delightful. Please let that catch on elsewhere!Drumsticks - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It's expensive as an AIO, but the kicker is the pen support on a 28" display of that caliber. Compare it to the 27" Cintiq 27QHD with a 2560x1440 resolution display, for $2799, and an AIO for an extra $200-$1400 isn't so bad.GatesDA - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
The base Studio config is actually $200 cheaper if you factor in the Cintiq's $400 stand.theuglyman0war - Sunday, March 12, 2017 - link
Agree.. If I could upgrade the GPU I would had bought it :(iwod - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Holy yes, finally some will know that 95% of the time people dont use their PC to watch 16:9 movies.16:10 would be fine by me, but 3:2 is even better.
pzkfwg - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Isn't Haswell the 4th generation?...Ian Cutress - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Yup, somehow I can't remember Intel Gen names that well after two hours of press event. Updated to say Skylake.mac_savant - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I thought Haswell was 4th generation and 6th generation was Skylake. Oh well...MonkeyPaw - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It can't be Haswell unless it's Haswell-E. These come with DDR4.Ro_Ja - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Haswell is still considered 5th gen though even if it came with an E. Broadwell-E is considered 6th gen since it's in a Intel Core 6000 series family.Sluze - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Given that Microsoft has never had any real colour management, I wonder how they are implementing DCI-P3 and sRGB switching? Will it be software dependent ie in an adobe environment the option will be available or in Resolve etc?Brandon Chester - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It's the same color mode hack that monitors have had for years, but the switch is now in the OS.jlabelle2 - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
"Given that Microsoft has never had any real colour management"Of course Windows has color management. The switch in the Action Center is very clever.
Because the Windows Store app and many programs do not support the color management support of Windows. Then, from a push of a switch, you put the device in sRGB mode.
But when you want to work on Photoshop, Premiere or any design, photo or video editing programs that is color managed, you enjoy the benefit of a higher gamut screen.
Best of both world. Very clever indeed.
Valantar - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
What you're describing is exactly a lack of proper colour management. If Windows had proper colour management, individual apps would be able to operate in different gamuts with correct colours regardless of the setting of the monitor (given that the application colour space is reproducible within the monitor's colour space).Windows effectively doesn't give a sh*t about colour - it acts as if there is only one gamut in exsitence, and as such treats all applications the same. Set your PC to Adobe RGB? Then EVERY SINGLE APPLICATION outside of Photoshop and a select few others with custom colour management integrated will show oversaturated colours. Set your PC to sRGB, and it doesn't matter what your display supports, nothing will ever render colours outside of sRGB. With proper colour management, (given a monitor with a wide enough gamut) you should be able to have a web browser showing sRGB content, Photoshop with an Adobe RGB photo and a video editor with DCI-P3 content all on the same screen showing correct colours. This is currently impossible in Windows.
Frenetic Pony - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
They're adding in proper color management/HDR support to Windows, though who knows when it'll be in an update.LeftSide - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Super high prices; Last years hardware. This is the most apple like move that Microsoft has made yet.Aenean144 - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I still can't believe what I'm reading. They are using "Haswell" processors? Not Broadwell nor Skylake?You guys sure about that? I don't know what reason why MS would decide to use Haswell. I guess CPU performance doesn't matter anymore and Haswell has met most everyone's needs.
Ian Cutress - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It's Skylake. I made a mistake writing the title which went out to social media. oops. Rectified it quickly though.dsumanik - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Agreed at these prices they needed to be using latest and greatest. Love the display though, 3:2 is the best IMO, especially for photographyGiantPandaMan - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Apparently you weren't in the cluster**** caused by Intel's drivers for Skylake last year. Took over 6 months for Intel's drivers for new gen CPU/GPU's not to crash computers. I think MS is playing it smart now.drajitshnew - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Sorry, but it would have been better for still photography to have a Adobe RGB support. While for video a wider screen is required.BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Microsoft's current CEO did specifically state that the company was going to try to emulate Apple, essentially making it one of the biggest "me too" businesses on the planet rather than being independently innovative. They're following Apple with hyped-up overpriced, outdated hardware that uses one or two gimmicks as crutches and they're lined up behind Google mining away at user data to build an advertising system.stepz - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
I wouldn't count a 28" 3:2 13.5MP display a "gimmick". Media creation professionals can easily justify the price. The issue is that at the given price point almost no one outside that niche can justify buying one. Not being able to connect it to the latest and greatest workstation is not a big issue for a large fraction of the market, and having an all-in-one "just works" integrated package is a plus for some.That said, a display only version of this would be quite nice.
Lolimaster - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
For that resolution as media creation, the screen is too small. Should've been 32-36".ymcpa - Monday, October 31, 2016 - link
That is why they are selling it in limited quantities. They know it's a niche product. I believe they are hoping that OEM will copy the design and create a new product category, just like what happened with the surface.Gadgety - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
Well, if it works, and I hate to say this, unfortunately it's the right decision. He's there to make money for the share holders. That's why he was put in charge. Nadella even emulated Jobs, looking the most Jobs-alike svelte tech CEO at the event.KoolAidMan1 - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
A Wacom Cintiq 27" HD is $2500, and that is without a computer. This isn't meant to compete with consumer focused iMacs that are $1000-$2000 cheaper, this is a purpose built appliance explicitly made for artists that is made to compete with the Cintiq.The market is very limited but its a really nice and surprisingly well priced piece of kit.
haukionkannel - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Indeed very interesting product! I Also would not mind to have the same screen with external Computer part for easier upgrades. This would so much rock with AMD new professional graphic card with build in ssd for graphics and videos!But even now this is superb for cad users, designers and Photoshop experts!
Lolimaster - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
Kaby Lake is the same Skylake. Nothing differente, like the 4770K "Haswell Refresh".hansmuff - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I like the machines, with the exception of having a 4GB 980M in the high-end. I mean, it's not like anyone could play with high frame-rates at 4500x3000 anyway but a 1070 class with 8GB would be what I want.If this is strictly a content creation machine, it looks awesome for that. But for everything else, I don't see it.
ImSpartacus - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
AIOs have never been a good value.If you want a box of pretty specs, then you know where to find it.
stepz - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Not everything needs to be all things to all people. It's obviously not a gaming machine. The amount of people who can justify the cost of the display and who want it to double as a gaming machine is not exactly huge.lefty2 - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I'm guessing it's going to be pretty noisy with a 980M in that tiny chasisToss3 - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I get that this is something really special and unique, but why oh why did they go with these kinds of specs? 4 Gb of VRAM is never going to be enough for people wanting to edit 4k movies on this thing, and why didn't they pick one of the never pascal-based GPUs? And why is 8Gb of ram even acceptable for something marketed towards creative professionals, not to mention the lowly 2Gb of video memory for the base and mid-tier models?p1esk - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Well, I'm not a content creator, but I still want to have this machine as my everyday desktop, just because of the screen. I wish they release a monitor like that one day.cbf - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Are the pen and the hockey puck (aka "Surface Dial") included in those prices?You guys need to find a picture of the hockey puck.
ymcpa - Monday, October 31, 2016 - link
Yes they are. It also includes the new keyboard they announced. They will be selling the hockey puck as a separate accessory as well for use with other computers. You won't be able to place it on the screen to access the radial menu, but the other features they showed will work with other computers.fanofanand - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I thought Nvidia eliminated their "M" branding on mobile GPUs? Does this mean it's a 2015 part? I agree with the previous poster, this is the most "apple-like" move they have made. So Apple's profits have started to slide, 3 quarters in a row of reduced revenue, yet every other company continues to try and be like Apple. Google Pixel, Microsoft surface all-in-one, etc. So who will pick up the mantle of making hardware for the "everyman" now?ImSpartacus - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Yes, the 980m is actually from late 2014. It would probably be replaced by the laptop 1070.TEAMSWITCHER - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I think that Surface Studio should have been just a Surface Display ... A 28" monitor with touch/pen input that connects to any PC. Instead, it's just a ridiculously over-priced all-in-one.Toss3 - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Don't see how this is for "professionals" as they usually want to be able to upgrade their hardware. This setup without the built-in hardware would be amazing.Lolimaster - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
Yeah, as screen is marvelous as an AIO, the pc side seems meh compared to the screen.snoozemode - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Hmm, last gen Intel Core, no mini toslink in the 3.5 mm so would have to use mini dp to hdmi for audio output, no usb-c and possibly sshd.Design is awesome but specs could be a bit more up to par.
Lolimaster - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
One the few things I currently love about MSFT is their bet on 3:2 aspect ratio. It's the best ratio for productivity, I really wish everyone jumps in and ditch the ugly 16:9 so we start seeing 3:2 notebooks and monitors.For multimedia oriented they should opt for 16:10.
BYE 16:9.
Lolimaster - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Seems the only good things about this products are the cpu, ram and display. They couldve opt for the 1060M as the minimum. Only SSD, 1TB for $200 in bulk come on.piroroadkill - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Dat display. Wow.BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
There's nothing notable about the display really. Microsoft is selling an iMac and stressing the fact that the screen isn't very thick as a primary selling point. As this is desktop hardware we're talking aobut here, the screen's thickness isn't a factor that contributes to functionality, but it does probably drive costs up significantly and results in a sub-$1000 PC selling for +$3000. I just don't see this thing landing sales to anyone that isn't walking around with their eyes closed as tightly as possible so they can ignore the bulk of reality.darwiniandude - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It's for content creators. Who don't need the best specs. We don't know the CPU speed. We don't know the effects of thermal throttling. Notebook sized HDD, so slow IO past whatever flash cache/ssd level persists.I know people editing 4K on the 5K iMac, higher red, 4Ghz i7 Skylake, 1TB SSD is PCI-E, sustained reads or large files are 2GB/s, writes are 1.5GB/s. two Thunderbolt 2 ports, 20Gbps bidirectional for external drive enclosures and other things.
But, this has Touch. And that's big for many use cases. I hope it sells well.
BrokenCrayons - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
I'm going to go a bit out on a limb and say that content creation is going to be an excuse for a few people to purchase them, but ultimately relegate them to conventional desktop PC duties. There'll be a few companies that buy into them, possibly even in large numbers, because there's pent up demand for an AIO box running Windows and touch, so it probably will sell pretty well. I do acknowledge that Microsoft did its homework in identifying a niche and pitching a product at it using marketing methods that ignite that segment's interest. However, that doesn't excuse the price or the non-feature elements the company is using to drive sales.ingwe - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I would want one of these, but my Surface Pro 4 for work locks up after 30 seconds of writing with the pen, regardless of the program I am using. And it also refuses to wake from sleep a bunch. Both of these are problems I have seen on the Microsoft forums for months that just haven't been fixed. I don't think I will buy a Microsoft piece of kit after this experience.Still though...that display looks beautiful.
GiantPandaMan - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
That stuff got fixed ages ago. Suggest you take it in to get it wiped and then upgrade all your firmware and software.SaolDan - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Ive never had my sp4 or my wife's lock up because of the pen. Now the wake up problem yes but those have been fixed. You should try a clean install or send it to Ms.sorten - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I was thinking the same thing. If it's a company owned computer then why haven't they RMA'd it? If it's a personal SP4 that you take to work then why not drop by the Microsoft store. They would probably hand you a brand new one on the spot. That's what happened with my Lumia 950 when it was crashing. They gave me a new box along with a second set of USB-C cables.V900 - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
And on top of the lack of Thunderbolt, and other last gen parts, there's the fact that Windows is beyond shitty with high DPI displays.Perhaps fix this instead of chasing customers who are better served with an iMac, MS?
digiguy - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
the DPI is not that high as in Surface Book or pro 4 so it should be less problematic, still it's high and something closer to 4k (this is rather 5k+) like 3300x2200 would have been perfectsolipsism - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
I'm guessing that tomorrow's Macs, at least on the notebooks, will do away with TB ports in favor of USB-C.questionlp - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Thunderbolt 3 can be run over USB-C, so why not kill two birds with one stone?questionlp - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
*USB-C connectorr3loaded - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Your move, Apple. I distinctly remember your CEO quipping "can't innovate anymore, my ass"BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
"The display is 12.5mm thin..."Using the word "thin" to describe the thickness of an object is a marketing method. Since Anandtech isn't selling products or promoting them, it would probably make more sense to use proper English instead of market-speak.
Klug4Pres - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Totally agree, plus it's incredibly irritating.Laxaa - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
As a graphic designer, I would love a stand-alone Surface display based around this screen.Aerodrifting - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Frankly I do not see the purpose of this product.For 21 lbs at least, It can not be used as a mobile device. Station wise, It can not even compete against a $1000 desktop in performance. $3000 for i5 + 8GB + 965M? What kind of joke is this?
The only thing people might go for is the screen, However it's questionable how many people need a screen like this and can actually afford it.
So in the end we have $3000 for a fancy touch screen, no sale for me.
sorten - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
This was designed for professional designers and content creators, who are used to paying big dollars just for the monitor. There's not another monitor on the market of this quality, and certainly not with touch or anything resembling the Dial. For the base they went for form over function. It's unfortunate they didn't provide USB-C with TB3 ports, which would have made it possible to link out to an external GPU for heavier tasks.Gadgety - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
Yes, I completely agree. This GPU will be old hat in no time and then it's a fantastic screen held back by GPU hardware. A very expensive door stop. Unless the base is swappable/upgradeable. This is a product that screams for an easily swappable GPU.AnotherGuy - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Please someone tell me thats 1TB SSD and not HDD for these prices?davidhbrown - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
I'm suspicious that "Rapid Hybrid" means spinning platters with a dusting of flash. I tried one when they were new. Supposedly, they were suppose to use the flash like a cache and keep the stuff you used most there, like for booting. Never seemed any faster than a regular 7200rpm HDD.Definitely need the tech equivalent of Amnesty International to mount a campaign to free this gorgeous monitor from the prison of the rest of the computer.
kgardas - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
MS, please tell me where to buy such panel alone! 3:2 what a dream and in 28" huh...yhselp - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It would be nice to see that craftsmanship applied to consumer-oriented products. The non-Pro Surface tablet might have died when Intel stopped making Atom for mobile, but why can't Microsoft make a notebook and AIO for the general consumer? By what we've seen so far, such products should stand a great chance of being successful. I'd certainly consider buying one.Klug4Pres - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Probably Microsoft does not want to become a volume player in hardware, to avoid annoying the OEMs.The idea is more to create halo products with premium pricing, which may have a positive impact on the overall market for Windows machines, and could also point the way towards higher-quality, more profitable niches for the other players to exploit.
I quite like some of Microsoft's ideas, but that's about as positive as I can be.
yhselp - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
I suppose so. It's a bit unfortunate, though.Surface products might have a positive effect on OEMs, and Windows in general, but I doubt it'd be enough to motivate them to create products on par with what a consumer Surface could be if it was made by Microsoft. OEMs have been trying to create high-end, Apple-like products for a long while now, but there's always something missing; something they don't quite get. Don't get me wrong, off the top of my head, I do like the Dell XPS, Asus ZenBook UX5xx, and Razer Blade, but none quite live up to a Microsoft or Apple product.
LarsBars - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
If you look at the stock photos on the Surface homepage, all of the lockscreens on the devices say "Saturday, June 18" which is a date 4 months in the past (June 18th 2017 is not on a Saturday). If you look at when all of the "Surface branded AIO" rumors started, they line up with that timeframe. I think this machine's specs would have been a lot more palatable if Polaris and Pascal had not fully launched yet, definitely were not available in laptops yet, and if Kaby Lake upgrades weren't popping up left and right, like they are right now. It would appear that Surface Studio was destined for a June launch, but got pushed back.awehring - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Very good observation. This explains a lot.Is the delay caused by the display? True DCI-P3 with high DPI is very rare.
awehring - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
Next year, when it's available in numbers, the CPU and GPU are seriously outdated.I think they rushed the launch to be ahead of Apple and forgot to update the fotos.
Considering the specifications of the screen, the price is not outlandish. The difference between 6th and 7th generation processors is small, less so with the GPU.
I hope they bring a revised version with updated hardware soon.
Malvinvnv - Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - link
It's cool and all, but why are they using 980M. I mean, there's a whole lot more better options that are less power hungry (1060, anyone), or better with the same power drawCome on, Microsoft!
Xajel - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
This seems very nice indeed, only when not looking at price... and the GPU... damn why not 1060 or 1070 !!I think it will not happen any time soon, but I hope MS releasing a Display only version of this with the same design ( with touch and pen support )
zodiacfml - Thursday, October 27, 2016 - link
Who makes that screen?! I'll probably get that than 4K as a static display. A TN panel will do for games.Zingam - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
I don't get that crap about 3:2 monitors! Just buy a bigger 21:9 and you get the same height and much more width and move the tool palette to the sides.Artmi$$ - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
where is the 1080m gpu for it ???Always Old TEch
naesmac - Thursday, November 3, 2016 - link
Rapid Hybrid Drive will most definitely be a M.2 PCI SSD matched with a 2TB spinning 2.5" slow disk. The OS will load the SSD with files most frequently used. Equivalent to Apple's "Fusion Drive"naesmac - Thursday, November 3, 2016 - link
I'm a creative professional, but I'm also a power user. I buy for 5 years and I buy horsepower because time is money. This thing should come with AMD Zen 8-core, GTX1070 (Adobe software is GPU-accelerated), 32-64GB Ram, Thunderbolt 3 for attached storage which everyone is going to use, *ditch the hybrid drive* and go with a single, large 1TB M.2 for OS and applications. Everything else is cutting edge- screen, pen, dial. The dial rocks. Hope they add mini dials for software that has large control spaces like Lightroom.ckaym - Monday, November 7, 2016 - link
So what's with the mobile CPU on a desktop (even if AiO) PC?And the old gen. GTXs?
It seems MS is trying to shoot themselves in the foot