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Questions concerning Surface 3 and Pro 3.

Hello,

I was wondering how much more powerful the Surface Pro 3 (i3 model) is over the Pro 3. I am looking at the Surface for strictly tablet use, like media consumption and streaming games from my Xbox One to the tablet and Steam In-Home Streaming from my PC.

Will I need the powerful Surface (Pro) for that type of usage? I am more worried about streaming games, really. I don't know how much power it takes. Can I get away with a Surface 3 or should I be looking at the Pro 3?

Thank you in advance for any and all help!
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
It most benchmarks the ATOM X7 scores about 70% of the i3 in multi-threaded operations, your bottleneck will be the eMMC Storage which is much slower than an MSATA SSD found in the Surface Pro 3.
 
It most benchmarks the ATOM X7 scores about 70% of the i3 in multi-threaded operations, your bottleneck will be the eMMC Storage which is much slower than an MSATA SSD found in the Surface Pro 3.

How much slower? How would the Surface 3 hold up with a tablet, let's say like a Sony Xperia Z2 tablet? That is what I would be coming from and I will be using either model strictly as a tablet.

Streaming games to Surface 3 ... hope this help you.

Thanks!
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I think @hughlle may have a relevant an opinion on this, I have both but don't play games, it's an eye/brain thing. S3 is fine as a consumption device and as such should in theory be fine streaming games. You'll see a difference compared to SP3 in task startup but once it's going it's smooth.
 

hughlle

Super Moderator
Staff member
I think that video gives you the best idea with regard to game streaming, looks like it works just fine. I've never done that kind of thing as my main pc is an HTPC so why use 10/12" when I have 40" available :)

As to tablet use, the S3 will work just fine. I've both the Sp3 and S3, and while the experience is better on the SP3 due to the extra power and the ssd, the S3 is the right form factor. The SP3 works fine as a tablet, and I had no issues using it as such, and then I got the S3 and realised just how much nicer the surface is at 10" (other than the limited kickstand!). It really is the sweet spot for tablets imo, especially with this aspect ratio. But froim my experience, the SP3 is utter overkill as a tablet, and I think that you will also find that a tablet with a fan is quite annoying at times! (game on the SP3 and your fan will more often than not be funning at full tilt, which is very audible (not necessarily loud, but it emits a noise that you can't easily ignore, unlike a typical computer fan which just blends into the background (I guess it's also the proximity of the fan to your ear))

In terms of comparing it to other tablets such as android etc, well I've mixed experiences. I went from a nexus 10 to a surface 3, and my take is this: The S3 is both faster and slower than the Nexus 10. Some tasks are quicker, some are slower. However while it is often comparable in performance to the nexus 10, things are just a lot easier to do on the S3 because it is a fully fledged feature full OS, not an OS dumbed down so 5 year olds can pick it up and go, and it's often the case that it just takes longer to accomplish a certain thing (just as a very basic example, organising folders and files (pics and videos etc) is so simple on a windows machine regardless of the type of input, wheras on android it's largely a long winded slow PITA.

Personally (with that video making my mind up with regards to game streaming) my opinion is that you'll be very happy with the S3. My only complaint about the s3 as a tablet is the kickstand. It may work for some, but for me and the way I sit and lie etc, the angles just aren't the ones that offer me an optimum viewing angle. the SP3 spoilt me.

Tablets should be fanless!
 
If SP4 will have mid tier Skylake-Y, it'll be the best tablet since it's fanless while having the performance or even better than Haswell U Core i5 or i7. Battery life would be much better too!
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Rumored for OctoberISH which would kinda inconveniently suck if you happen to start university in August or September and or need it soonISH.
 
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