More importantly, there's a 32 GB of memory model now available as well, which I'd highly recommend for any developer to get. We'll get into how this applies to reality in the development section later on, but it really shows in day-to-day usage, with the fans spinning up far less frequently than before (even under moderate load with Docker containers), and less heat overall. The new i7-1065G7 quad-core processor in the 15-inch model is a godsend it runs faster and cooler in general, across the board. The Surface Book 2 had a few issues that were tolerable, but grew more frustrating as it aged, so let's go over those and what's changed in the Surface Book 3: While I've already published a high-level review of the hardware over on my OneZero column, let's dive into what's different, and how it's improved for web developers, like myself. I've been using the 15-inch Surface Book 3 for a few weeks, and not only is it a dramatic performance upgrade from the previous generation, it resolves all of the issues I had with the Surface Book 2. The Surface Book is unique because it's a full laptop with GPU which, via an elaborate docking mechanism, can detach from the keyboard and become a large tablet computer, or flip around entirely. Combined with major hardware improvements in SB3, the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2) is finally here, delivering a full developer-friendly coding environment without compromises for the first time.Įver since I switched away from a MacBook Pro, the Surface Book 2 was my daily-driver computer of choice: a versatile laptop that could game, code, or become a tablet, in a single device. For developers looking to switch away from a MacBook Pro, the Surface Book has long been one of the most compelling alternatives, but this time around it's even better.

After three years of waiting, the next generation of Microsoft's Surface Book 3 is here.

Windows surface book 3