Regarding I7 Model - Noise/Throttling

[MathewH]

After reading through various different forum posts regarding throttling across the internet especially with the i7 Model, I'd like to ask whether the throttling issues has been resolved and what the noise is like regarding the i7 Model as after looking at videos, it appears the i7 Model's fan is noisy under normal use(browsing, word document etc). I'm currently deciding if to go with the i7 Model or not. Finding out if it still has these problems will help me with the decision.

Thanks.

 

[GreyFox7]

Like any good Internet Meme Throttling will never die regardless of how many people post having great performance. YMMV with different use cases i.e. what you use it for. look for people with similar use cases.

Note: Everything written prior to late August and some that followed is invalid due to the mid August firmware change which is probably most of what's out there.

 

[MathewH]

Anyone with i7 Surface Pro 3 have any answers?

 

[ctitanic]

If that's a concern I would recommend to go with the i5.

 

[Snickers]

I have an i7, and I agree that it really depends on your use cases.

I've not noticed throttling affect anything that I'm actually trying to do, even when running some pretty intensive stuff like games, VMware etc.

Fan noise is a bit easier to notice/describe - and my experience has been that for everyday tasks such as browsing (except in Chrome!), reading mail, Word, Excel, and even most of the time in Creative Suite apps there is very little to no fan noise. You get the odd bit every now and again, but it's rare and you only notice if you are in a quiet room.

To be honest I notice it more when Windows Update is doing its thing.

YMMV

 

[RémiM]

The fan activity also depends on how your windows is configured. You can have an i3 with the fan kicking in every 5 minutes.

 

[sharpuser]

I number crunch and 3D model (geophysics) on an i7 512 Surface Pro 3. I have heard the fan only one time - immediately after installing Windows 10 Technical Preview, and right before the restart. That was only about 20 seconds.

 

[grumpy]

After reading through various different forum posts regarding throttling across the internet especially with the i7 Model, I'd like to ask whether the throttling issues has been resolved and what the noise is like regarding the i7 Model as after looking at videos, it appears the i7 Model's fan is noisy under normal use(browsing, word document etc). I'm currently deciding if to go with the i7 Model or not. Finding out if it still has these problems will help me with the decision.

Thanks.

The real question you should be asking is does the i7 provide any real advantage over the i5. While firmware updates have helped eliminate the thermal shutdown issues, the thermal design of the SP3 seriously limits the performance of the i7. Once the throttling kicks in, the performance is no better than the i5. Some interesting performance numbers are posted here.

 

[GreyFox7]

Individual numbers are less interesting because you never know the conditions at the time they were recorded.
Aggregate numbers provide a better overall picture.

i5 rank 223 http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/4996/IntelR-CoreTM-i5-4300U-CPU---190GHz

i7 rank 142 http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/6364/IntelR-CoreTM-i7-4650U-CPU---170GHz

 

[MathewH]

I have an i7, and I agree that it really depends on your use cases.

I've not noticed throttling affect anything that I'm actually trying to do, even when running some pretty intensive stuff like games, VMware etc.

Fan noise is a bit easier to notice/describe - and my experience has been that for everyday tasks such as browsing (except in Chrome!), reading mail, Word, Excel, and even most of the time in Creative Suite apps there is very little to no fan noise. You get the odd bit every now and again, but it's rare and you only notice if you are in a quiet room.

To be honest I notice it more when Windows Update is doing its thing.

YMMV

What sort of games?

 

[MathewH]

I'm most concerned about fan noise, I hear alot of you are not having much fan noise if none at all. Is this the case more likely with the i7 Model?

 

[msolok]

I'm most concerned about fan noise, I hear alot of you are not having much fan noise if none at all. Is this the case more likely with the i7 Model?

The fan int he i3, i5 and i7 Surface pro 3's is identical, as are the conditions for it turning on and running. An i3 with it's fan running will sound just as loud as an i7 with the fan running. While the i7 does generate a bit more heat than the i5 models, the i7 does get things done quicker than the i5. This means the fan turns off sooner and your tasks are completed quicker.
As for when the fan kicks in, it's only on the more intensive tasks that are running for a while. If you are running Full HD videos for hours, expect the fan to turn on. If you are doing simple web browsing, or using office the fan generally won't switch on.
As for if you will notice the sound of the fan, it depends on what you expect. The fan is far quieter than the fans you usually expect in a Laptop or desktop, but there will obviously be more noise than a passively cooler tablet. Honestly I barely notice the fan, even if i am sitting in a quite room with no other noise. I would never call it loud or annoying.