While it's faster than the GTX 980M graphics in the first Studio, the new model still isn't powerful enough to play many games at the display's full 4,500-by-3,000 pixel resolution (that's even tougher to handle than 4K) -- at least, not if you want to reach a smooth 60 FPS. Forza Horizon 4 reached around 32 FPS at that insane resolution, which could be decent for some gamers, but it simply looked too sluggish for me. But I'll always value higher frame rates over more pixels on the screen.

Nobody will be buying one as a gaming rig, but it would have been nice to see Microsoft cram in the more powerful GTX 1080 GPU. Even better, a Thunderbolt 3 port would have been a huge addition, because it would have let you use external GPU docks to bump up its graphics capabilities even more.

The machine's CPU upgrade is a similar story — now it includes the seventh-generation Core i7 7820HQ, which is better at handling 4K video than the sixth-generation processor from its predecessor. But once again, the Studio is a step behind everyone else. Intel's eighth-generation CPUs have been out for over a year — it's confusing that Microsoft didn't use one of those instead.

Clearly, this is a machine made for productivity. And it has all of the ports you'd need to get some serious work done. There are four USB 3.0 ports (including one high-power), an SD card reader, USB-C, gigabit ethernet and, of course, a headphone jack.

The Surface Pen is bundled in the box, and it remains one of the best digital styluses around. It's comfortable, feels great when writing on the screen and when you're not using it, it sticks to the side of the screen magnetically. Microsoft isn't promoting the $100 Surface Dial as much this time around, but it's still available and is useful for anyone working in supported apps like OneNote and AutoDesk Sketchbook. I didn't have one to test this time, but with the last model, I was impressed with the potential for its off-hand controls, because you could tweak settings without dropping the stylus.

In use

Outside of the spec bumps, using the Surface Studio 2 is pretty much the same as before. Its screen is a sight to behold, with plenty of brightness and glorious color reproduction. And I still really like its 3:2 aspect ratio, which gives you more vertical workspace than a typical widescreen display. These days I'm spoiled by my ultrawide monitor at home, but I was able to be just as productive on the Studio 2.

It's a great display for watching video, but I can imagine media editors and really anyone working with huge timelines and complex apps will appreciate the massive amount of real estate. I'll admit, I'm not really the target audience for device's easel orientation, which is what Microsoft calls it when you push the screen all the way down.

Still, I found it incredibly immersive while drawing or jotting down notes. And even though it's more suited to artists, it really opens up new ways for people to use a large all-in-one PC. It's something a teacher could set up at the front of a classroom to annotate documents and lead a lesson without losing sight of his students. That flexibility is key, and it's something no other all-in-one PC can easily do. Honestly, you'd have trouble doing that with a standard PC monitor too.