m3 or i5 128Gb and 4 Gb of RAM

[GMcC]

I have both the SP4 i5 8GB and the SP4 M3. Testing back to back:
Comments relating to the M3:
Chrome - open loads of tabs, no issues.
Sony Movie Maker Premium - i5 is 60% faster to encode.
Hitman Absolution Game - 5-10fps different but actually doesn't really hamper the older games. The difference between the two was High on the i5 and Medium on the M3. The results of that is very little impact on enjoyment
Office - load all apps via O365 including Skype for business: perfectly responsive and performant.
Pen experience - no difference between i5 and M3
Fan - none in the M3 (lovely) but the i5 doesn't use the fan much but when it does it is really distracting.
Also memory: with 3.9GB used on the M3 it is still perfectly usable. Amazing chip really when you think about it!

Overall - keeping the M3

Just when I thought I had decided on the i5! If you're choosing to keep the m3 over the i5, I may consider it. The choice would be easy for me if the base i5 had more RAM / bigger SSD

 

[GreyFox7]

Just when I thought I had decided on the i5! If you're choosing to keep the m3 over the i5, I may consider it. The choice would be easy for me if the base i5 had more RAM / bigger SSD

When it's all said and done you might get a little better battery life out of the m3 but that may or may not matter much depending on how & where you work.

 

[edteamslr]

I haven't noticed any extra battery life but there were issues around updates that caused black screen of death until the last update on both machines.

In response to the fan, it isn't on balance about sensitivity it is about context. Do I want to read stuff in bed with disturbing her? yes. Do I want to read stuff in my home office where it is quiet? yes. Will people around me notice the fan in quiet meetings? yes. Do I now know the extra noise the i5 makes when the M3 is completely quiet? yes.
You will never notice the fan in a busy environment even if you are very sensitive but everyone will notice it in a silent room.

 

[edteamslr]

Just when I thought I had decided on the i5! If you're choosing to keep the m3 over the i5, I may consider it. The choice would be easy for me if the base i5 had more RAM / bigger SSD

a) choose your microsd wisely. I did back to back with the two fastest I could find and was surprised with the result.
b) I have the surface dock into which I plug a USB3 harddrive so that when I plug in the charger all my files appear.

 

[GMcC]

When it's all said and done you might get a little better battery life out of the m3 but that may or may not matter much depending on how & where you work.

I haven't been too concerned about battery life because I'll generally always have the opportunity to charge

a) choose your microsd wisely. I did back to back with the two fastest I could find and was surprised with the result.
b) I have the surface dock into which I plug a USB3 harddrive so that when I plug in the charger all my files appear.

Yeah - microSD will be a question for the forum in a couple of months as I obviously want one as fast as possible. I'll see how I get on with OneDrive and only syncing essential files to the Surface first of all.

 

[raqball]

Thanks for that. I really want to make the right choice because I would like to keep this for around the same length of time I've had my MBP.

If you are going to keep it long term then the i5 with 8GB RAM might be the better option... Future proofing as they say and I only say that because of the RAM difference and not the processor difference.

I upgrade to the newest toy every year so future proofing is never even a consideration for me.. I have the core M and it's awesome! I edit 1080p video, use office apps, browse the web ect all with no problems whatsoever..

If the 8GB RAM version price is out of reach then I don't see the need to spend the extra $100 for the core M to i5 processor upgrade based on your use but that is my .02

 

[edteamslr]

If you are going to keep it long term then the i5 with 8GB RAM might be the better option... Future proofing as they say and I only say that because of the RAM difference and not the processor difference.

I upgrade to the newest toy every year so future proofing is never even a consideration for me.. I have the core M and it's awesome! I edit 1080p video, use office apps, browse the web ect all with no problems whatsoever..

This represents the problem facing PC buyers right now. Advocating spending more money than you need on the basis of a requirement that is uncertain or even unrealistic. I think that if an incremental increase in performance is required then most people would be better catered for by replacing your device sooner rather than "overspecing" to start with.

We know the M3 is fast enough for most people (ipad users? students on a budget? commuters?) I have tested this, people on Youtube have tested it, the real pros and cons are widely known now and if you don't believe me, buy both and return one. (this is not what Intel want you to think but this isn't a conspiracy so I'll let it go . I believe that the i5 with 8GB is not a good future proofing exercise - why? because tablets are not just about horsepower, they are about weight, battery life, latest form/functions, mobility. If you can live with 128GB now, then you have a storage strategy that will continue to work for upgrade cycle of this device (say 3years? averages?) (and don't shoot me down here, my analysis is just a hypothesis). Besides, the i5 is hotter and noisier than the M3 and doesn't feel a lot faster in common tasks despite benchmarks to the contrary. Now this isn't a concern if you need to edit video but the aggressive throttling/fan does not work well with gaming.

I tried to do an analysis over 6yrs where the M3 was replaced 3 times and the i5 replaced 2 times to demonstrate that the M3 solidly meets requirements, can be replaced more times than the i5 and STILL is cheaper overall. In this case (£1498 for M3 and £1618 where the resale is 50% purchase) the i5 is £120 more over 6 years. Remember, replacing the device more often gets you incremental performance, battery and a refresh to boot.

Just my thoughts but interested to hear from others/get shot down if you're having a bad day

 

[GMcC]

This represents the problem facing PC buyers right now. Advocating spending more money than you need on the basis of a requirement that is uncertain or even unrealistic. I think that if an incremental increase in performance is required then most people would be better catered for by replacing your device sooner rather than "overspecing" to start with.

We know the M3 is fast enough for most people (ipad users? students on a budget? commuters?) I have tested this, people on Youtube have tested it, the real pros and cons are widely known now and if you don't believe me, buy both and return one. (this is not what Intel want you to think but this isn't a conspiracy so I'll let it go . I believe that the i5 with 8GB is not a good future proofing exercise - why? because tablets are not just about horsepower, they are about weight, battery life, latest form/functions, mobility. If you can live with 128GB now, then you have a storage strategy that will continue to work for upgrade cycle of this device (say 3years? averages?) (and don't shoot me down here, my analysis is just a hypothesis). Besides, the i5 is hotter and noisier than the M3 and doesn't feel a lot faster in common tasks despite benchmarks to the contrary. Now this isn't a concern if you need to edit video but the aggressive throttling/fan does not work well with gaming.

I tried to do an analysis over 6yrs where the M3 was replaced 3 times and the i5 replaced 2 times to demonstrate that the M3 solidly meets requirements, can be replaced more times than the i5 and STILL is cheaper overall. In this case (£1498 for M3 and £1618 where the resale is 50% purchase) the i5 is £120 more over 6 years. Remember, replacing the device more often gets you incremental performance, battery and a refresh to boot.

Just my thoughts but interested to hear from others/get shot down if you're having a bad day

That is certainly interesting, but I would like to keep it for at least 2 (preferably 3) years because that's the upgrade cycle that suits my budget and the length of time I've had my current MBP. I've been looking at higher specification traditional laptops because of this, but I'm really wanting the Surface Pro, but can't afford the i5 8Gb version. Initial Microsoft problems aside, most people seem really happy with the SP4.

 

[Mikewired]

Day 2 with m3. Incredible screen, no fan - QUIET!. No heat. I have been leaving battery saver on for most things. It has been a little glitchy during all of the updates. Time will tell but so far this m3 is excellent. My main computer is a MacBook pro retina 2015 which always runs flawlessly. I wanted something to be like my iPad and run windows for programming home theater remotes. This m3 sounded like the ticket. I had been running windows on the mac but it gets cantankerous connecting USB devices. I had a SP3 last year and begged Best Buy to take it back and let me get a mac back to replace a 7 year old mbp. I tried a yoga 3 pro before going to the m3, great computer but the touchpad worked like a salvaged part from 1980.

 

[Zkyevolved]

Day 2 with m3. Incredible screen, no fan - QUIET!. No heat. I have been leaving battery saver on for most things. It has been a little glitchy during all of the updates. Time will tell but so far this m3 is excellent. My main computer is a MacBook pro retina 2015 which always runs flawlessly. I wanted something to be like my iPad and run windows for programming home theater remotes. This m3 sounded like the ticket. I had been running windows on the mac but it gets cantankerous connecting USB devices. I had a SP3 last year and begged Best Buy to take it back and let me get a mac back to replace a 7 year old mbp. I tried a yoga 3 pro before going to the m3, great computer but the touchpad worked like a salvaged part from 1980.

Very cool story. I went for the i5 version, and I'm very happy with it. I was debating the m3 or the i5.... I've always stuck with the i5. It should serve me well over the next few years Hello Surface Pro 7 haha.

 

[raqball]

Day 2 with m3. Incredible screen, no fan - QUIET!. No heat. I have been leaving battery saver on for most things. It has been a little glitchy during all of the updates. Time will tell but so far this m3 is excellent. My main computer is a MacBook pro retina 2015 which always runs flawlessly. I wanted something to be like my iPad and run windows for programming home theater remotes. This m3 sounded like the ticket. I had been running windows on the mac but it gets cantankerous connecting USB devices. I had a SP3 last year and begged Best Buy to take it back and let me get a mac back to replace a 7 year old mbp. I tried a yoga 3 pro before going to the m3, great computer but the touchpad worked like a salvaged part from 1980.

I am very happy with my core M as well... Not a single complaint from me...

 

[3rdschulz]

I have had my i5 4gb for over a week now. I had some initial problems, some of which seem to be resolved now. I personally went with the i5 because I felt I needed the extra power to run statistical software and multi task productivity software for grad school. Ideally, I would have went with the 8gb model, but it was out of my reach financially.