Microsoft Pro surface HELP

Hello everybody!

I need help! I want to buy a new laptop/tablet that works with SketchUp but that is light enough to carry around everyday. My current PC is 2.2kg and my back and shoulders cannot take it anymore.

I heard about the Microsof surface pro 7 (or something like that) that is very light and works great with SketchUp. Any advice?

Thanks you and have a great Monday :slight_smile:

I have had an earlier version of Surface Pro. It is really nice piece of hardware, and lightweight to carry. Although, since it have only an integrated Graphic Processor Unit, there is some limitation if you want to use on a “heavy” modell or rendering in Sketchup (or 3rd parties rendering software). SU team (and most of the forum members, including myself) also advise dedicated GPU (Nvidia), however it not an obligated requirement.
Honestly, my old Surface Pro was good enough for my needs, but my current laptop with Nvidia GPU runs more smooth.

Other things:
There is already MS Surface Pro 8 on the market which have a more powerful processor and integrated GPU.
If you will choose one of these, then I recommend to select the I7 processor (or at least I5) with as much as possible RAM (16 GB or32 GB)

2 Likes

I don’t know their current lineup but they used to have a “Surface Book” laptop series that included models with Nvidia graphics. I have an Asus Zenbook that also has Nvidia and runs my small models very well.

A quick look list of specs for the Surface family:
What 2-in-1 Tablets are best for SketchUp? - #7 by DanRathbun
… shows that the best integrated graphics come with the i5 and i7.
Also the widest and largest RAM and storage options come with the business editions.
Since integrated graphics share system RAM, it is best to get the most RAM you can.

Thank you all for your answers.

If I do any photo realistic rendering, it’ll be using my laptop.

I want a light tablet to be able to carry it around everywhere without breaking my back. I’ll check out the details on the info you guys gave me.

Thanks again!

There are several manufacturers of the light “book” type of machines that are half the mass of your laptop. Besides Microsoft, Samsung makes some as well. Also some of the Lenovo Yoga and IdeaPad machines are light (~1.3kg).

Two things to look out for, they may have changed,
some versions use an ARM processor that won’t run Sketchup
in some cases the discrete graphic card is built into the keyboard so you lose that when working as a tablet.