Would Microsoft Sell Surface Book 2 Base Only?

[kristiankenneth]

Do you think when Surface Book 2 comes out, Microsoft would then sell bases only so we can use it on our Surface Book? It's a good way to upgrade for newer GPU, better battery or even enhance hinge. Surface Pro 4 keyboard has backward compatibility to Surface 3. I hope Microsoft would do the same.

 

[leeshor]

I'm pretty sure any enhanced hing would be a gotcha.

 

[GreyFox7]

It might be a compatible base but I don't think they will sell bases separately.

 

[jnjroach]

Their stance thus far is that they will not sell the base separately...

 

[Bandito]

As the majority of components that really matter are in the clipboard, it really wouldn't make sense to sell the base separately as an upgrade. The only real change that you would likely see is a new GPU and that probably wouldn't justify the cost. Most people would want the newest processor, faster memory, faster storage, etc., offered by the clipboard itself.

 

[be77solo]

Yep, I'd agree with above... while a cool option it would be, I can't see it working with such a small amount of customers that would go that route and the tech support nightmares it could create. Plus, I dare say the base wouldn't be much cheaper than if you just sold your existing SB and applied that towards the new one.

I can usually get half or more of what I originally paid when reselling, but the devices are well cared for and look essentially new.

Curious to see how mobile Pascal shapes up, could definitely be a worthwhile upgrade!

 

[flar]

I wonder how much a base would be (with or without dGPU). They have separate Serial Numbers.

Someone might want to upgrade to a dGPU after purchase without having to buy a whole new machine. Alternately, it might be an interesting way to extend battery life if the price wasn't too outrageous. Given that they charge $130-$160 for a type cover for the SP, I'm not going to bet on a reasonable price, though...

 

[Bandito]

If I had to guess, Microsoft would probably charge in the $700 - $800 dollar range for this kind of upgrade considering that the base has the large battery, the GPU, keyboard and Touchpad, the various ports, and the hinge mechanism in it.

One has also to remember that processing and handling of each and every variation in configuration (the different SKUs) adds a lot of additional cost to retail items as well because there's a lot of overhead involved. It would also need to be tested with all of the original Surface Book configurations for compatibility and so on and so forth. You can see that it wouldn't be cheap. That and the fact that this is marketed as a premium product spells lots of money for something like this upgrade.

 

[rubaxter]

Do you think when Surface Book 2 comes out, Microsoft would then sell bases only so we can use it on our Surface Book? It's a good way to upgrade for newer GPU, better battery or even enhance hinge. Surface Pro 4 keyboard has backward compatibility to Surface 3. I hope Microsoft would do the same.

1. MS can't manage to get the original 'specifically designed' duet to work.

2. Configuration management is a bear in the real world. I can't imagine MS wanting to support this kind of mess when they apparently don't want to support even the pristine designs.

3. MS was trying to get beyond having bastard builds and provide a 'This IS The Standard' experience.

4. From the descriptions I've seen, the GPU is meant for a far different screen, etc. This is not a rack mount device. You're probably not going to see that big a difference.

I'd settle for knowing MS was readying original bases for swap out when everyone exhausts their battery recharges and aren't ready to pop $2k for a new laptop or really have no use for a 2 mile extension cord 'laptop'.

Even a MacBook Pro has some replaceable parts when it goes off warranty and you want to fool with it. The SB is a sealed coffin.