Surface Book 2 Adobe Premiere Poor Performance

[mercymaddox]

I just got my new surface book 2 yesterday.. I have been doing all my video editing on my desktop for the past while, so I was quite excited when my new laptop came in and I could finally be mobile. In fact I was planning on using my laptop as my main system for video editing as my desktop is usually used as a system for gaming.

Anyway so the laptop is performing like shit, I hope this is not the laptop but maybe a problem with the adobe software (I just dropped $2,600 on this seemingly piece of crap and I don't want to lose my money). For the first bit that I was using it, premiere was working just fine albeit with some stuttering which was surprising because I was working with 1080p footage and never had problems with 1080p previously. Now when I use Premiere, it opens regularly but once I load my project the gates of lag swing wide open, the program doesn't fully load, the slider at the bottom of the video timeline doesn't respond, I can't get through 5 seconds of video without heavy lag. Essentially all the systems in premiere are lagging, I can't even open the different tabs (Graphics, Effect, Audio, Color, etc.) because the program won't respond (And not in a "Not Responding" kind of may, more of a lag way). I don't really know how to describe my problem other than just a huge lag fest.

This is extremely disappointing because not only was this laptop very expensive but it is marketed as one of the best pieces of hardware for creatives, and it is advertised specifically with adobe products. If there is any advice for me I will gladly take it, otherwise I think I am going to have to return this computer because it has only been one day and I am already massively disappointed with its performance.

I have tried switching my computer to use Nvidia's high performance processor rather than the integrated graphics but that changed nothing. And for some reason windows made it so I can't choose a performance mode for my PC rather than a energy conservation or balanced setting.

If nothing can be done, my advice to anyone looking at the surface book 2 for video editing would be stay as far away as you can, its a nightmare trying to edit on this thing.

Thanks.

[mikeklar]

Just checked the latest update available and it is Windows 10 version 1709 

What is your latest version?

[CrookedCreekProd]

I am now running Windows 10, version 1803. I was on 1709. I updated on May 1st.

[mikeklar]

Thanks for that

Looks as though we Canadians are not privileged enough to participate at this early stage

[CrookedCreekProd]

Well, I hope that when you do receive the update all is fixed!

[mikeklar]

I was able to download and install Win 10 ver 1803 by joining the "Insiders Program". 

This improved access to NVIDIA's GPU dramatically.  Can't tell at this time what else has been improved, but running Bill's PPBM tests should give us an idea how this stacks up against other laptops. 

There is one test (I did two PPBM tests) that was disappointing, i.e. using the external SSD showed poor performance in that the write speed was extremely slow... See below:

PPBM Adobe PR test on an SB2-15-i7-1TB

The following was done using the external HD (Samsung SSD T3) via a USB 3.1 port.

Note; This test may have the Audio checked off on the 1^st test.

The following was done using the 1TB drive on the SB2

If you look at Chrystal Disk tests below there seems a possibility for improvements on the write speed that can still be done by Microsoft...

[Bill Gehrke]

I sure would like to see the SB2 results of my Premiere Pro BenchMark (PPBM), could you help us out and test your system.  Download, unzip, run the four tests, run the script to get the results and Submit the results .

[mikeklar]

Bill

Yes I've not forgotten my promise

Just that the school is increasing my workload ... leaving little time to run more experiments. 

[makdtaylor]

Following

Same issue...sadly thinking of returning, what was said to be the best laptop for editing, back to the store for an alternative....really sad bc other than this lag I love this laptop

[makdtaylor]

Downloaded update and ps is running sooo much better...thanks to everyone in this forum!     

[mikeklar]

Me thinks I know how you feel, one pays a small fortune and expects superior performance, which after using it does not appear to be achievable

However, after several more tests with getting NVIDIA's GPU to perform better, it appears to be an issue created (in part) by SB 2's versatility.

I've had editing sessions where the GTX 1060 is used almost entirely by Adobe PR, but the next day it performed at less than 1/3rd to Intel's.  So, still trying to figure that out

Also, there is one inherent problem, that being the CPU throttling.  During performance testing using PPBM's program, I noticed the CPU speed dropping to below 3GHz, so I placed a fan behind the screen and it improved to the mid 3.5GHZ range.  This, I believe, is an issue created by Microsoft engineering to mitigate any possibility of permanent damage due to overheating.

Unlike my old laptop (as well Apple's) where the CPU is allowed to run full-bore and will literally become so hot that it is almost unbearable to hold the laptop.

All said, the SB 2 is my favorite  portable video editing computer.  In spite of the issues noted it performs better than my other portable devices for this purpose and is much more flexible.

[Viktor sloth]

dear taylor,

so... in the end, did you end up returning it?

i am very much in doubt how to handle this situation.

i have so many problems with this laptop when it comes to hardware.
for instance: 5tb seagate external hard drives, does not work as they see the laptop as a "tablet".the same did a adobe supporter tell me, that premiere would perform very poor on this machine, as they also classify it as "a tablet".

so now i have my editing software not working, hard drives not working - all the aspects of making a super high end edit machine, is failing - and i bought this for exactly those reasons.

but did you have any improvements upgrading to 1803?

[makdtaylor]

Sloth,

The upgrade to 1803 helped tremendously..the lag is gone except for obvious huge brushes and such...but I'm able to do everything now...I also changed my performance mode on the programs I needed pro performance on such as Photoshop and image viewer which made my color match my prints wayyyy better.. I've had no problems with it being a tablet/laptop... I don't use the tablet mode...I always have the screen connected to keyboard and deny tablet mode when I flip screen over and connect back to keyboard...i worked on PS for 5 hrs yesterday and had no lag and everything ran seamlessly

..I had a problem with my external hard drive also..I went to best buy and got a c port -> 2gUSB and it solved my issue...my 5yr external hard drive was not wanting to connect via 3gUSB (even though that's what it is, it only wanted to connect 2gUSB)... which my book 2 has only 2 3gUSBs.hense the converter adapter..I bought a brand new Toshiba 2T 3gUSB and it works great in the USB drives on my book 2

[Cligger]

makdtaylor​ I am very close to buying myself a SB2. Deciding on 13" or 15". So I have been interested in your experience and pleased to see your experience with the update to Windows build1803. Is yours the 15" model?  

Also was really good to read of our experiences  mikeklar​​  as well. Sounds promising. 

If I do get a SB2,  I envisage using about 5% of its use will be to process 2.7k drone footage in Premier. A hobby that's all. Past 18 months I have been struggling to do it on a Surface Pro 3 and now have about a terabyte of unprocessed footage on a USB HDD.

Very much an amateur, so I am not looking super performance in Premiere Pro.  Just adequate is all.    The rest of its use will be as my daily computer doing Ms Office, abode LR and PS. Needs to be mobile as my job has me flying about the world. Smaller footprint of the 13" appeals in this regard. So from reading this thread I gather the 13" variant will struggle with Premier Pro and the 15" should do an OK job. Is this about correct?

[makdtaylor]

Cligger,

Yes I have the 15"

Everyone,

A problem I ran into the other day, which isn't much of an issue for me, is that I couldn't get lighting effects to open is ps. I kept getting a "not enough ram" message. Granted, I was streaming music, had fb open, picture viewer, and two file explorers open (my usual). I closed everything except streaming and still got the same message! Then I turned streaming off and it finally, thankfully pulled up. I wouldn't think I would have any issues with 16g of ram but this could be my own issue.

However, this is the only issue I've come into contact with. I tried the same sequence of open windows and opened liquify just fine, so for me I'm not too worried about it. Just curious as to anyone who knows more about it than me if that should be an issue or if that seems like something that would be accurate?

[makdtaylor]

Cligger,

Despite that one small issue for me, after the update I have absolutely love this laptop. I also have the pen! Must buy if using ps or lr..its so awesome to draw and outline or fix imperfections with a pen to screen touch vs a mouse or pad. Overall I'm very happy with the laptop, and I'm assuming it's only going to get better with updates considering it is fairly new.

[mikeklar]

Cligger

I had the 13 inch SB 2 for about 5 weeks and as you said the footprint is good and that half pound less weight does make it just a bit more comfortable for carrying around.

However, there are two caveats, the obvious one is the GPU, but the second one is the fact there is no fan in the tablet and will cause the CPU to slow down significantly when rendering... To be sure, this will also occur with the 15 inch version, but to a much lesser degree due to the fan kicking in when the load increases.

I've now been using the SB 2 15 inch for four months and there have been updates that made considerable improvements in the use of NVIDIA's GPU.  This is very noticeable on various video editing software packages, such as Vegas.  It has not been demonstrably improved the rendering speed nor increase use of NVIDa's GPU with Premier Pro.

That said, ignoring all the "speed tests" I've been using this computer more than originally anticipated for editing short videos, with multiple layers and sources.  By short I mean between 10 to 15 minutes in duration for the final videos.

This surprised me, as I'm not partial to any one version of laptop, in spite of the heavier weight to others available, it's the one that's always with me.

In part this may be due to the comfort level give by the extra battery time, but also its performance in my "real world" usage...

My original reason for acquiring the SB 2 was its versatility as a drawing tablet and portable workstation, as such I considered it a bargain.  Never did I think it to be the one I'd drag around over others that are smaller and lighter...

[Cligger]

Thank you both for your detailed replies.  So it would seem the 15" is a workable PPro solution for my light use nowadays with the updates.    Presently I have two reason to hesitate on purchasing it.  1) I am concerned about its relative size compared to the 13".  I will have to lug it and an iPad around in my briefcase for work. 2) The 13" is being discounted 20% here in Australia for the next few weeks making its pricing way more attractive in the short term. Like for like specs the i7/16/512 13" is US$1000 cheaper than the 15"!

mikeklar you mention the CPU throttling under load being much worse on the 13", which I comprehend.  Although you say it with reference to rendering.  I am a novice with PPro, so by this do you mean the process of exporting the project through media encoder. Or is rendering something else?    Because I am happy to put up with a long wait for my infrequent projects to export on the 13" provided the actual manipulation and editing process beforehand works in an acceptable manner.

I am currently considering getting a bespoke workstation for PPro to use when I am at home.  If this was the case I would not no longer need the 15". The US$1000 price saving plus another US$700 gets me a  workstation with i7-8700 GTX1060 6GB  16GB Ram 2 SSDs and other stuff set up specifically for 4K video editing.

But I would still want to know if the 13" would be usable for basic PPro stuff.   Just chopping up some 2.7k DJI drone video and making it in to a 3 min move for example.

Anyone around here using a 13" after the windows 1803 update. I assume it would have benefited from it too.   

[mikeklar]

Cligger

My preference for both size and weight was the 13 inch version.  On the 15 inch that extra half pound, when picking it up by the edge, feels like a lot more...

The CPU throttling is only and issue when rendering or during media encoding, and then mainly if the CPU runs at 100%. 

I can say, without hesitation, for infrequent use on short videos the 13 inch model will do the job. 

Cheers

[Jackie_b123]

Hello, 

I was just looking for a little guidance. I am looking at buying the SB2 15inch. I need it for editing videos and photos. I have read some of the comments about how it doesn't handle the program well. Was this the 2018 model before updates? Are the current 2019 models clear of the issue? 

any advice appreciated. 

[orashy]

Hi there. Had the same problem. Found the answer or at least now the performance is much better!

type “GPU” on windows search box and graphics setting would pop up. Then click on browse and select whatever app you have problem with, in this case premiere and then click on options, after they a menu would appear in which you can tell windows that only use 1060 for this  specific program by selecting the high performance.

Hope it would help. Let us know  whatever results you get. 

[bemulligan]

SOLVED for me: MS Surface Book 2 15", Nvidia GTX 1060, Intel UHD 620

Here are the steps I followed over time.  It was not until I completed Step 4 below that the NVIDIA GPU was utilized. 

Steps 2 through 4 I did on 09/18/2018 to give reference to versions of fixes that were applied.

Premiere Pro is now flying and you can monitor the uptick of the NVIDIA GPU utilization in Task Manager > Performance tab. 

Step 1: Go into Control Panel > NVIDIA Control Panel

  “Global Settings” tab: set “Preferred graphics processor to: “High-performance NVIDIA processor”

  “Program Settings” tab:  add each program you want to specify using NVIDIA and set each to “High-performance NVIDIA processor”

Step 2: Download and run Surface Diagnostics Toolkit:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4037239/surface-fix-common-surface-problems-using-surface-d...

Step 3: Go into Device Manager > Display adapters and update drivers for both the NVIDIA and Intel graphics devices.

Step 4: Go into Settings > System > Display > Graphics Settings (at bottom of page) and browse to the application you wish to add, i.e.:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2018/Adobe Premiere Pro.exe

Highlight the .exe file and select the ADD button.

[geoffreym]

Hi all, i wanted to offer my solution since I was looking for several days on how to fix PP not showing the Nvidia graphics card. I didn’t see it online anywhere. I found the solution when I went into AE. Under the performance section in preferences it let me know the the card was detected but Cuda could only be used for Nvidia driver 4.xx. My solution was to go to Nvidia directly and download the drivers for my card (1050) instead of having windows or GeoForce Experience download. It took about 30-45 mins to update the driver afterwards and everything works perfectly. No editing registry or weird disable of intel graphics. I hope this helps

[matusm41913260]

Yep, this solved my problem too. I recommend to install the Studio driver via the GEFORCE® EXPERIENCE™ app.

CUDA rendering is now possible in the Adobe Premiere!

I have also set the app to High Performance in the Windows Graphics settings.