Fallout 4- Playable on the SB w/dGPU? (A SB vs SP4 dilemma)

[starstreak]

Besides what you see on net, anybody here tried this game on their own SB?

I have a SP4, I didn't think this would bother me so much as I wouldn't use SP4 for gaming all that much, but seeing how this one game will just crash to desktop without an error, I'm pretty sure it's an issue with the IRIS 540 not having updated drivers to run it.

So now I'm wondering if I should get the SB? being almost $1k more for a similar model (SP4-i7/16GB/256SSD) SB would be a i7/16GB/512SSD, no 256SSD version with 16GB RAM. I guess I could go with 8GB ram w/256SSD, that's only ~$300 difference. Probably less when I minus the Type cover.

So.. if games run without crashes (granted, frame rate will be low on newest games) on the dGPU:
To get Surface Book-
Pro:
1) dGPU- games will run
2) bigger screen
3) battery life (web browsing, not gaming) will be closer to the 9hr w/keyboard. The SP4 is closer to 4-5hrs.

Con:
1) Price
2) Overall size- It's bigger. But not sure how that will effect everyday use.
3) Weight. SP4 is under 2.5lbs. The SB will be almost a pound more. Now it's getting on the medium weight for notebooks of this size. Gaming notebooks is about 4.5-6lbs of this screen size.
4) No kickstand (not often do I have the SP4 without the keyboard, so same line of thinking, the SB would have the keyboard and offset not having the stand. But when I do use it without keyboard, I pop-out the stand to help hold the tablet.
5) Larger power brick. But supports way more power output.

 

[sharpuser]

Moved to games. Other Fallout discussions there.

 

[starstreak]

Sorry, although it's about the game, it's specific to the SB model so I hoped it could stay there.

 

[sharpuser]

Okay. Moved back. Thanks for your patience.

 

[starstreak]

Thanks for leaving it. It's a dual part question. The part about Fallout4 as I'm hoping it works without crashing. And if my thoughts about pro/cons sounds about right. I know the cons seems to have more against it, but maybe it's just me and other SB owners can let me know how much those cons should be taken into consideration.

 

[ABswl13]

Thanks for leaving it. It's a dual part question. The part about Fallout4 as I'm hoping it works without crashing. And if my thoughts about pro/cons sounds about right. I know the cons seems to have more against it, but maybe it's just me and other SB owners can let me know how much those cons should be taken into consideration.

If I remember correctly, Lisa Gade from Mobile Tech Review specifically mentioned that the extra boost from the dedicated Nvidia card in the Surface Book makes games like Fallout 4 playable. But keep in mind that even with the dedicated graphics card, the Surface Book is by no means a "gaming" hybrid.

 

[starstreak]

True. Main thing is the game loads. All I need it for is just to do simple stuff in the game so high fps isn't needed. Just loading the would be nice. So besides having the MS allowing me to install steam and putting fallout 4 on a test computer, I'm hoping someone here actually has the game and can tell me if it loads without crashing to desktop.

 

[ABswl13]

I found this Surface Book gaming review of Fallout 4 on TheDigitalDigest. This guy does good reviews so check out his you tube video review. Hopefully, it helps you decide.

 

[starstreak]

Ah yup. Saw that one but I rather trust someone from here who tested it.

 

[fonzman78]

Ah yup. Saw that one but I rather trust someone from here who tested it.

Yep, I've been playing Fallout 4 on my SB (i7/16/512) for the last month. If you try to play at max resolution (3000x2000) it works great but it messes up the lock picking so you can't see it. Not good. You have to drop resolution down to 1920x1080 and then it will run without issues. I have settings on low but the game still look great and gameplay is really good. Naturally, it's best on my home gaming rig but I haven't had any problems playing in a hotel or on an airplane. You definitely need to play with the power cable attached.

 

[starstreak]

Did you have to do anything special to get it to run? And I take it, it won't run with just the tablet, no dgpu.

Ah what to do. What to do. Should I return the sb4 and get the SB?

 

[fonzman78]

Did you have to do anything special to get it to run? And I take it, it won't run with just the tablet, no dgpu.

Ah what to do. What to do. Should I return the sb4 and get the SB?

I didn't have to do anything special other than change the resolution for Fallout 4. I haven't tried playing with only tablet. I do know that if you start the game in laptop mode, it will prevent you from disconnecting the tablet since it is using the dgpu. I'll try tonight with just tablet and see how it goes. Without a kickstand, however, I don't think I can really game.

I was in the same dilemma when the SP4 and SB came out. I've had all the Surfaces (RT, SP1, SP2, SP3) and have used them for work but not really for play. I always wanted to play games on my SP's but it wasn't really possible. I was going to pop for the SP4 but I had to try gaming with the SB since it had the dgpu. I'm a gamer at heart, I had to try the SB. It doesn't disappoint. I can play most any game decently. I've been going back and forth between Fallout 4 and Mad Max. I have a Steam account with 89 games. I haven't tried them all but I'm confident I can run just about any game at a good, playable level.

Not sure what to tell you, but I would trade the SP4 for the SB if you want to have any decent chance of playing games. My con is that the SB is heavier than the SP4 so I lose portability. But, I like the fact that I have a laptop that can be a tablet. I spend probably 60% tablet, 40% laptop.

On the bright side, if you are close to a MS Store, you can always return the SP4 and try the SB. If you don't like it, take it back for the SP4. I think you'll get hooked on the SB, though. I love that I can game on the go.