Protective Skin and pen holder for my Surface Pro 3

[sharpuser]

My reliable Surface Pro 3 has been under a Stickerboy.net Black Ostrich Leather (vinyl) skin for well over a year. Remains like new, despite heavy use.

The SP3 now sports a Type Cover 4, a Surface Pen 4 (blue), and a clip / holder. I ordered the same Black Ostrich skin for the keyboard. It is optional to place skin on the trackpad. I like it. Can always remove.

The holder works with either the Surface Pro 3 pen or the Surface Pen 4. It has gentle but large surface area to grip the left or right corner, without compressing the screen. I am not using the adhesive pad to keep it in place. Not necessary for me, maybe because I have also had glass screen protector applied, also for over a year. The extra thickness is just right for the clip to grip without the adhesive.

 

[johnj2803]

that looks awesome!

 

[ChiGGz]

looks really good. I really wanted to have a skin on my SP3 as well, but didn't want to mess with the heat dissipation. I tend to game on mine, and it gets noticeably hot back there.

 

[sharpuser]

The heat dissipation is not hindered but actually improved by the skin, due to the additional microscopic surface area of the vinyl.
Thermal diffusivity is a major part of my profession. If one feels more heat on the skinned Surface surface, it is not because the device is warmer inside, but that more of the warmth from the inside is coming to the outside in order to dissipate. The skin acts as a heat sink (radiator).

14 months of geophysics number crunching with the Surface Pro 3, no problems, no fan running,

 

[Moonsurface]

I have decal girl vinyls on mine. I took the last set off after a year and the device was like new.

 

[buers]

Sharpcolorado, I too think, that this looks really great.

Was it difficult and/or tedious, to get the skins attached?

I wonder, if these skins can be bought in Germany (without long shipping times or high shipping costs)? Is stickerboy.net only the distributor or is actually the manufacturer?

I also read:

14 months of geophysics number crunching with the Surface Pro 3, no problems, no fan running,

I also have some experience in number crunching and similar things for almost 3 decades. From my side in quantum chemical simulations, Monte Carlo simulations in some other fields and in chess programming (which also can be seen as some sort of number crunching). For me, number crunching implies somehow, that at least one (logical) processor is busy 100%, often all available processors are 100% busy. With the SP3 and one CPU 100% busy (task manager will show 25%), my fan will start very soon and the SP3 will be hot. I have seen, that this happens with colleagues as well, that use the SP3. Doesn't this really happen to you?

BTW. I don't want to complain - I am aware, that the SP3 is not the preferred HPC-Device. Just wondering about your "no fan running [while number crunching]" experience.

 

[Moonsurface]

Looks fantastic Sharpcolorado!

Sharpcolorado, I too think, that this looks really great.

Was it difficult and/or tedious, to get the skins attached?

I wonder, if these skins can be bought in Germany (without long shipping times or high shipping costs)? Is stickerboy.net only the distributor or is actually the manufacturer?

I'm not sure about Sticker boy but Decalgirl do send overseas I've bought acouple from them and they ship to the UK. They are very easy to apply and go on bubble free quite easily.

I didn't bother putting the bezel skin on mine last time though. I may well change the decal again quite soon as the one I chose is VERY loud and I think I'd prefer a plainer one like @sharpcolorado has! I haven't thought of putting skins on the typecover, but I might take a look at that. For me the pen loop worked fine for a year so I never needed to try any other way of holding the pen. Hopefully the new pen loop I got for my SP4 type cover will do just as well.

 

[Moonsurface]

@sharpcolorado whered did you find the typecover skin? I'm on the stickerboy site now and can't find them.

No worries I just realised its in the combos

 

[sharpuser]

You will find them under "Tablet" devices, Surface Pro 4, keyboard.

 

[Moonsurface]

yup I found it eventually! thanks.

 

[ChiGGz]

The heat dissipation is not hindered but actually improved by the skin, due to the additional microscopic surface area of the vinyl.
Thermal diffusivity is a major part of my profession. If one feels more heat on the skinned Surface surface, it is not because the device is warmer inside, but that more of the warmth from the inside is coming to the outside in order to dissipate. The skin acts as a heat sink (radiator).

Is the better heat dissipation particular to Vinyl, or to other skin materials as well?

 

[sharpuser]

Any skin has more surface area than the smooth metal surface of the Surface device.
Applying a skin is much different than placing the device under a blanket or in a book bag or rubber case while powered on, etc.
These provide an air gap, a thermal insulator. Like a coat. Separates warmer from cooler.

Skins do not provide an air gap. They become part of the unit.