JANUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 7by the Surface Pro devices, but now you can choose
between that look and bare metal. Each colour is
associated with a specific material, though, save for
the Platinum version – or, to put it another way, our
Matte Black test device was only available in the
metal coating.
Personally, I like the feel of cool metal against
my skin in a warm California office, but others
may feel differently as the winter rolls in. But be
forewarned: black metal is a fingerprint magnet. Also
keep in mind that your material options apply only
to the interior of the Surface Laptop 3’s clamshell
workspace. On all models, the exterior will be metal,
helping the Laptop remain cool.Not fanless, but surprisingly close
Cooling wasn’t an afterthought for Microsoft. Usually,
we prefer to leave Windows’ power/performance
settings just as the manufacturer sets them, as the
settings are indicative of the manufacturer’s intent.
During the out-of-the-box (OOBE) setup process, the
fan blew hard, with a noticeable whine. It actually
revved, like a motorcycle, during one of the many
updates (including Surface firmware updates) that
Windows applied at startup.
After applying the updates, however, the fan virtually
disappeared. Yes, the default power configuration is
‘best battery life’, even when plugged in. But usually
that means that the fan will kick on sometime. And it
did, though rarely and not aggressively even during
our normal benchmark runs. (Cinebench R20 and
Handbrake were two exceptions, when the fan kickedJANUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 7by the Surface Pro devices, but now you can choose
between that look and bare metal. Each colour is
associated with a specific material, though, save for
the Platinum version – or, to put it another way, our
MatteBlacktestdevicewasonlyavailablein the
metalcoating.
Personally, I like the feel of cool metal against
my skin in a warm California office, but others
may feel differently as the winter rolls in. But be
forewarned:blackmetalis a fingerprintmagnet.Also
keepin mindthat your material options apply only
totheinterioroftheSurfaceLaptop3’sclamshell
workspace.On all models, the exterior will be metal,
helping the Laptop remain cool.
Not fanless, but surprisingly close
Cooling wasn’t an afterthought for Microsoft. Usually,
we prefer to leave Windows’ power/performance
settings just as the manufacturer sets them, as the
settings are indicative of the manufacturer’s intent.
During the out-of-the-box (OOBE) setup process, the
fan blew hard, with a noticeable whine. It actually
revved, like a motorcycle, during one of the many
updates (including Surface firmware updates) that
Windows applied at startup.
After applying the updates, however, the fan virtually
disappeared. Yes, the default power configuration is
‘best battery life’, even when plugged in. But usually
that means that the fan will kick on sometime. And it
did, though rarely and not aggressively even during
our normal benchmark runs. (Cinebench R20 and
Handbrake were two exceptions, when the fan kicked