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OFFICIAL I Now Have a Surface Pro 3 i7

macmee

Active Member
Some first initial reactions I have using this thing:

1. Kick stand is vastly improved but I feel like I'm going to break it or gradually wear it out because of how much resistance it has, this time around I purchased extended warranty though so I'm not overly alarmed.

2. (most alarming) For whatever reason I'm noticing considerable delay with UI, particularly in IE, as if its dropping/stuttery frames. I have no idea why this is happening but I'm not able to replicate this problem on the sp2.

3. The larger screen is a huge luxury but is bitter sweet because the device now seems top heavy, I think the trade off is worth it though because of how lighter the device is over the sp2.

4. There is significant heat in the top right and the fan came on during initial setup, this was somewhat alarming but hopefully battery life remains greater than or at least equal to the i5 sp2.

5. when the screen is black, applying light pressure around the screen creates a ripple effect on the screen, I'm not sure if I should be alarmed or not.

6. Are they using a different technology for the screen this time around? The resolution is beautiful and I love the aspect ratio as I am a previous iPad user but it seems like there's a yellowish tint to everything.

7. Did Microsoft remove power modes? I can't seem to change mine any longer.

8. Loving the new type cover (especially the trackpad) but I see what folks were saying about it being flimsy. Unsure as to whether or not this is a dealbreaker for me yet but I doubt I'll be using the type cover very often anyway.

9. I've already hit the windows key accidentally a few times, but given that the aspect ratio is now 4:3, I anticipate me using the device in portrait more often so I don't foresee this being an issue.

10. Pretty bummed that I can't use my battery cover :(

10. Does anyone know if there's a spot to store the stylus on this device? That'll probably be the first thing I Google (answer: a sticker came with the keyboard that you literally tape to the back hand side of the keyboard, this holds the stylus. I am not sure I'm comfortable with this being a sticker although it seems to be gripping to the keyboard fabric quite well).

11. When the device is off (atleast the screen anyway), the keyboard randomly lights up every few minutes. I'm not sure if the device is therefore crashing every few minutes or not but this is strange behaviour.
 
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lnwj

New Member
UPS brought mine on Friday. Core i7/256GB.

Initial thoughts: Touch glass is much thinner and feels less durable.

Gripe: There is a 10-15 second delay before touch kicks in at the login window after a wake from sleep or fresh boot.
 

marty_g

New Member
Woohoo! I'm in the club (UK resident who happened to be on hols in the US on Friday (Tax Free to boot!!!)

Picked up an I7 256Gb at 10am Friday.....upgraded from a Surface Pro 2 and absolutely love it. Also picked up a load of other Surface goodies

You guys are spoilt for prices in the US, the UK prices wind me up
 

CreativeLemming

Active Member
Woohoo! I'm in the club (UK resident who happened to be on hols in the US on Friday (Tax Free to boot!!!)

Picked up an I7 256Gb at 10am Friday.....upgraded from a Surface Pro 2 and absolutely love it. Also picked up a load of other Surface goodies

You guys are spoilt for prices in the US, the UK prices wind me up
Jealous. I was in Miami just a couple of weeks back, would have liked to come back with the 512 I7 but was obviously a few weeks too early.

Agree on the prices, its going to cost the equivalent of $2,600 to buy it here in the UK :-(
 

be77solo

Active Member
Some first initial reactions I have using this thing:


7. Did Microsoft remove power modes? I can't seem to change mine any longer.

10. Pretty bummed that I can't use my battery cover :(

Power profiles are disabled in Connected Standby mode, which is default and recommended mode. The SP3 behaves differently than the SP2 you are use to, and remains connected online even while sleeping (for the first 4 hours).

Power Cover IS compatible and works great, it just doesn't fit the full screen size when closed. But, the keyboard and battery all work the same as they did on your SP2.
 

macmee

Active Member
Power profiles are disabled in Connected Standby mode, which is default and recommended mode. The SP3 behaves differently than the SP2 you are use to, and remains connected online even while sleeping (for the first 4 hours).

Power Cover IS compatible and works great, it just doesn't fit the full screen size when closed. But, the keyboard and battery all work the same as they did on your SP2.
Are you sure about that? This article says it does not work, as did the seller in the Microsoft store.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Are you sure about that? This article says it does not work, as did the seller in the Microsoft store.
Saw someone ask that elsewhere ... the response was you need a firmware update...
To which the person replied:
Sweet Jesus! I just did a windows update and it is now showing two icons!!!
 

GTiceman

Active Member
I got mine on Friday around 1pm and was able to overheat it 2x by Sunday night to the point it shutdown and gave me a thermometer icon

This was done while encoding 3 small 1080p GoPro videos. I also did this before the firmware update(s). I am going to be testing again and returning if it can't handle encoding my track videos.
 

jbowden

Member
I got mine on Friday.
Observations:
Updates: lots of updates + 2 system updates.
Fan: Yes it does kick in and the back gets very warm
Battery: Seems fine. Have not run any scripts to get details, but It lasted 2 days of occasional use.
I have loaded it will Office, Visio, MS Project all 2013 and seems to run fine. I have had a few odd issues, Battery fully charged but showed 5% with red X. Restart fixed that. Pen would not work on Start button but that seems to have gone away. IE programs with Audio continue to run in the background after closing IE and re-opening.

All and All, minus some odd Windows 8.1 issues, I am happy with the SP3 i7. I could have gotten an i5 and not really noticed any difference.
 

Johan

New Member
My experience has been less than ideal.

First i7 256gb had noticeable backlight bleed in all the corners.

Second one had a severe bleed on the top right.

Now the third one cant update the firmware update. I got a dreaded thermometer symbol and the machine turns off by itself in the middle of the update.

Refreshed the machine and the same thing… Dreading going back for a 4th machine.
 

DXL007

New Member
Got my i7 256GB on launch day. So far very happy. Coming from a i5 SP 1 it is a huge upgrade. The speed is amazing, the kick stand is great, the extra screen size is very noticeable for someone who worked on a 10" for almost 2 years.

The only issue I am having is with the USB. If I plug in a new device such as a phone or hub I have gotten the BSOD with the watchdog error, this has happened twice so far. Once it reboots and I plug in the device again and it installs then I am fine going forward.
 
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