One of the advantages of the SP/Desktop combo over the SP/XBox is Steam's in home streaming. You can play your desktop Steam games on your SP3 anywhere your home network reaches (and not tax the SP3). Plus, the Dualshock 4 controller works great with the Surface (using ds4windows). If you still want the big screen experience, you can stream to the SP3 and then connect the SP3 to your television.
High end SP3 and Xbox or low end SP3 and desktop
- Thread starter Ville
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callihan_44
Member
I almost went the sp3 - xbox one route but I have too many steam-pc games in my collection to start a new one of xbox games, plus pc has tons of games you will never see on xbox like empire-total war, fsx, arma, silent hunter series and simulations in general. I am currently building a 4690k matx gaming rig and it will probably have to last me atleast 5 yrs into the future, honestly the sp3 does most of my computing now days (except for rendering videos and gaming) life has become too busy for my gaming habits as I have been traveling in my off time but I still like em.
First, I have build couple of gaming rigs and I know all about consoles vs pc debate. Cost of used i7/gtx660 pc is about 500€ in my country. Desktop is obviously the wisest choice but I don't really care about graphics so Xbox one is possible too.
Those i5 models are really hard thing to me.
Couple of hundreds more and I get i5 but then 8 gigs of ram is so close and then i7 is so close... And yes, those prices above are with student discount.
Thanks about answers!
Those i5 models are really hard thing to me.
Couple of hundreds more and I get i5 but then 8 gigs of ram is so close and then i7 is so close... And yes, those prices above are with student discount. Thanks about answers!
Sorry for being a little bit off-topic, I have some questions about the DS4:
1. How far can I game on the SP3? My current BT controller (Snakebyte idroid:con) only works at 10cm distance. If I get further than that, the BT input would lag horribly (more than 1 second lag). It also happens on my Acer W700 tablet, so the problem is clearly on the controller.
2. Can I BT pair it with my SP3, while using it with cable for my PC? I don't want to use it at the same time, but its nice if I can use the controller for my PC as well.
3. How well is the Xinput support? Does it work with metro apps?
4. Can I use the trackpad to replace a laptop's trackpad?
5. How long does the battery last? Can I turn it off? I cant find the power button
Thank you... I cant find the answer anywhere on the internet.
If you are remotely serious about gaming, I'd suggest building a gaming PC. Once you've spent a little bit more than an XB1, you'll see some nice performance and graphical gains.
Personally I'm a PC gamer (used to play consoles), and nowadays basically all I play is Arma 2 Dayz, which requires a pretty decent PC to get good frame rates. If you went the PC route you would have more room to customize your experience, and the games cost about half that of console games, so in the long run if you buy a lot of games, the gaming PC route will probably be cheaper.
As for performance between Surface Pro 3 models, there are differences but to me, it looks like the best value model considering performance and storage is probably the i5/256GB.
Personally I'm a PC gamer (used to play consoles), and nowadays basically all I play is Arma 2 Dayz, which requires a pretty decent PC to get good frame rates. If you went the PC route you would have more room to customize your experience, and the games cost about half that of console games, so in the long run if you buy a lot of games, the gaming PC route will probably be cheaper.
As for performance between Surface Pro 3 models, there are differences but to me, it looks like the best value model considering performance and storage is probably the i5/256GB.
I have only used the DS4 on an SP2, but it should perform similarly on an SP3
Yikes! 10cm! The range is definitely further than that. I have used it from my couch with the SP2 connected to the TV (about 3m). I believe that DS4's advertised range is 10m.
You can connect the DS4 to a PC using either BT or USB. I have not used it with a USB connection myself, but it should not be a problem.
I have not had any issues with the games I have used (mostly Steam). I have not used it with any metro apps.
You can, but I really don't like it. It tracks fine, but trying to click causes the cursor to jump resulting in not actually clicking where you want. Also, the gestures are not great (e.g. two finger scrolling). This could improve with new versions of DS4Windows.
I am not sure of the battery life and It varies with vibration use, but it doesn't seem to be the greatest. It only has an 800mah lithium battery. It's not horrible, just not great. There's a "soft" on/connect button between the sticks. The DS4 turns off when disconnected from the computer plus I have set a 10min disconnect. Also, it does not come with a micro USB cable (used for charging).
Hope this helps
Thanks a lot. Its super helpful!
IMO, I think DS4, not XBOX One's controller, is the best controller for Windows laptops/tablets right now, simply because it pairs via BT instead of an additional bulky adapter.
Hingle McKringleberry
Member
I sit on the couch and stream steam games to my SP3 from the gaming PC upstairs. It's the best of both worlds.
I've got an i7 and Xbox One.
I'm actually thinking about building a gaming PC as well, as I have quite a few titles on Steam I used to run on the MacBook Pro I have, which are also available on Windows. Plus the fact I've bought in to the Elite: Dangerous Beta (now Pre-release) so want to see it in all it's glory! (although it runs fine on my surface which surprised me)
I went for the Xbox One more for home entertainment to be honest - I game a bit on it, but I love Xbox music (you get videos with the One) and I love the fact I can plug my sky box in the back and have one single interface for everything including controlling it on smartglass.
If you think you would use the extra features on the Xbox One for entertainment then it's worth every penny (like Skype with Kinect - which I think is brilliant as well) but if it's more for gaming then I'd be tempted to say go for the PC.
I'm actually thinking about building a gaming PC as well, as I have quite a few titles on Steam I used to run on the MacBook Pro I have, which are also available on Windows. Plus the fact I've bought in to the Elite: Dangerous Beta (now Pre-release) so want to see it in all it's glory! (although it runs fine on my surface which surprised me)
I went for the Xbox One more for home entertainment to be honest - I game a bit on it, but I love Xbox music (you get videos with the One) and I love the fact I can plug my sky box in the back and have one single interface for everything including controlling it on smartglass.
If you think you would use the extra features on the Xbox One for entertainment then it's worth every penny (like Skype with Kinect - which I think is brilliant as well) but if it's more for gaming then I'd be tempted to say go for the PC.
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