Microsoft Complete or i7 Processor?

[malberttoo]

I decide on getting complete. Can't wait for my surface pro 3 next month. Thanks everyone.

You made an excellent decision! For the amount you spend on the SP3 and Type Cover, it's silly not to go the little extra and protect yourself.

ALSO, if you order the Type Cover with (in the same order) the SP3, then the cover is also covered under Complete, as would be of course the stylus, power brick, etc. Accidental damage protection on everything is nice to have.

 

[JimB]

Complete is worth getting. In my case something I never expected happened to my SP1. Sector errors that would not correct. Since there is no good solution to opening these tablets up you need complete.

 

[mpf541]

you can always get a refund on whats left of complete. Not as much as you paid for it but if you don't see it with it you can get a refund. And better to have it if needed than not to have it

 

[supervelous]

I USUALLY don't get extended warranties. For 99% of us, if you add up all the extended warranties you buy over your lifetime, the math would show you were better off never buying them, even if you had to replace a device or two. Which is the motto I went with, but it didn't make me feel any better when I broke my $1,500 LED TV after only 6 months transporting it to a new apartment (still hurts years later).

Any way, I did purchase Complete, mainly because of the price. I believe MS sells for $150 no matter the configuration. For that price, I don't think I'd get on an i3 with the current available discounts. $150 to protect a $650 device? Bad investment. However, I got the $1,549 MSRP i7 (didn't pay this much but could cost me this much to replace), between the SP3 and accessories, tax I spent about $1,725, and may get the docking station and an external monitor. Which means I'll be well over $2,000 between my Surface and the accessories and devices I purchased only because I bought a Surface.

Add to the fact MS has a great bundle. I got a Type Cover, Hex Sleeve, MS Complete on my i7 for total of $250. Since Type Cover is almost an essential purchase at MSRP $130, this is a pretty good deal. I believe you can add a year of MS Office 365 for total $299, which I didn't because I have Office Professional 2013 already, but it almost would have been worth it for the 1TB of One Drive storage.

So, value the Warranty higher the higher the configuration you get as the return is better and a non-warranty loss would hurt you more. Try to get bundle from Microsoft. Consider your use case, do you bring with you on road a lot, or just use at home? Then decide if you feel comfortable with the price and piece of mind.

 

[JH99]

I am testing an i5 next to an i7, I want the best available and I see no practical reason to get the i7, I will probably go with the i5.
The i7 runs hotter under normal use and gets uncomfortable when holding, battery is about the same, I haven't tested any programs that didn't run as well on the i5.
Some benchmark testing is higher on the i7 but in daily use, I see no differences except for the i5 is cooler to the touch.

 

[supervelous]

I am testing an i5 next to an i7, I want the best available and I see no practical reason to get the i7, I will probably go with the i5.
The i7 runs hotter under normal use and gets uncomfortable when holding, battery is about the same, I haven't tested any programs that didn't run as well on the i5.
Some benchmark testing is higher on the i7 but in daily use, I see no differences except for the i5 is cooler to the touch.

I had both i5 and i7 at same time and didn't notice it being hotter during normal use. Is this subjective, or you tested this?

 

[JH99]

I had both i5 and i7 at same time and didn't notice it being hotter during normal use. Is this subjective, or you tested this?

I am using Intel XTU, Speccy, BatteryBar and various benchmarking programs on both machines. The i7 temps are consistently higher performing the same operation. I have read some discussions about defective i7's manufactured in certain lot #'s, this i7 is lot 1428, I hope the answer is this is a defective i7. Maybe I will get a replacement i7 and see if it operates at the same temps.

 

[FlySwatter]

Based on everything I've read, it sounds as though MS released an I7 version just because they could. It's a real disappointment to hear nearly unanimous confirmation that the performance difference between the I5 and I7 is negligible at best. So, I guess that means I fall into the camp of "I got one because I could afford it and wanted to say I have an I7". Would I get an I5 over an I7 if were purchasing it now? I don't know. Part of me hopes additional updates could improve the performance of the I7 and widen the performance gap between it and the I5.