Regarding upgrading from pro 2 to 3 - after you sign into your Microsoft ID, most of your apps and settings are just transferred from what you had with the previous computer to your new one. I had to re-install office, but my email accounts and apps were automatically transferred to the Pro 3.
SP2 Owners: Satisfied or Regret Upgrade to SP3
- Thread starter Knuck
- Start date
dougpaw57
Member
That seven seconds it takes to reboot really killed your productivity? As fast as this thing boots (seven seconds for mine), I just shut it down when I'm done using it.
I don't know... I'd say it's among the best TABLET based keyboards out there. Is it a "real" replacement for a good full size or even a good real laptop keyboard? I don't know anyone in their right mind that would make that statement. But seriously... Have you ever used one of those craptastic Bluetooth keyboards for the iPads like the Logitech ultrathin or the AirBender case? Certainly, the type cover is easily the equal of those if not better in several ways.
For me, I in no way "regret" upgrading to the SP3. I've always felt, and still feel, that the Surface Pro line is a very niche product line. If you could use the features of the Surface Pro line effectively, then you love it... If not... you might hate it. It's kinda the Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees of mobile computing. Everyone's got an opinion, but most are either firmly haters or firmly fanboys...and there's not a ton of in-between.
For me, the slight decrease in performance due to loss of thermal footprint is easily offset by the improved resolution/aspect ratio, better trackpad on the type cover, and the overall reduction in weight and thinness. The move to N-Trig tech is for me kinda meh, but I certainly do enjoy the fact that I don't have to jump through constant hoops trying to get the dang pen calibrated properly. The only way I'd recommend anyone to stick with the SP2 is if they need the utmost in battery life. And in that case, the SP2 combined with the Power Cover is still pretty tough to beat without moving to a MacBook Air or the like.
Having a SP1,SP2 & SP3 I've used for daily use since release, I'd struggle to go back to the SP2 simply due to the new screen size/ratio of the SP3: It's fantastic and significantly more useful.
Having said that, I miss the stability and performance of the SP2 greatly!!!! The SP2 was finally updated by MS and is stable and fast! The SP3 is a total mess at this point and has stability/wifi issues that will push many users away unfortunately as well as being significantly slower than the SP2. I support the MS Surface line, but Microsoft is still a joke regarding stability/usability.
Having said that, I miss the stability and performance of the SP2 greatly!!!! The SP2 was finally updated by MS and is stable and fast! The SP3 is a total mess at this point and has stability/wifi issues that will push many users away unfortunately as well as being significantly slower than the SP2. I support the MS Surface line, but Microsoft is still a joke regarding stability/usability.
malberttoo
Well-Known Member
No way you can make a blanket statement like "total mess at this point". My SP3 does have some kind of WiFi or sleep issue or combination of the two, but every single day I fire up Outlook, a VPN client, connect to multiple Remote Desktops, VM hypervisors, Skype, surf like crazy on IE, write sheet music on Sibelius, and a whole bunch of other things not even worth mentioning. I'm pretty sure most of the folks here probably have fairly close to the same usage scenarios as me, and my SP3 kicks some major booty for a machine that is a "total mess".
My SP3 is very stable, and is arguably the most usable laptop/mobile PC I've ever had. And from what I've seen on this forum and a couple others, it has been the most well-received of all the Surfaces.
I totally get feeling overwhelmed if your particular machine has a lot of issues, but to say the platform as a whole is a mess and unstable, I just don't see it.
bamaster
Member
But that isn't the Microsoft message. A tablet that can replace your laptop is the message. At $1500, you can have the both of both worlds. But as a tablet, the larger form factor isn't preferred over the 7-9" tablets that are everywhere. And as a laptop, the keyboard and touchpad are no where near best in class.
What I found is the Surface Pro 3 introduced more and deeper compromises than the SP2. Even though I'm not a big tablet user, when using the SP3 as a tablet, I would feel it was too big and just use my phone (Nexus 5). Wen being used as a laptop, I'd fight the keyboard and go back to my X1 Carbon.
With the SP2, which I think was much more of a niche product, I feel like I'm using a really good Eee netbook. I think I might have liked it better if the SP3 was in the Surface 2 form (thinness and battery life).
why?
malberttoo
Well-Known Member
Why? My i5 with 8GB RAM will easily hold me over for 3 or 4 years, if I needed it to.
malberttoo, I'm very glad you are stable and running smoothly, but not everyone is unfortunately.
There are severe throttling/thermal issues, some users even reporting their SP3's shutting down due to overheating while simply running Windows Update. It's a proven fact the SP3 is slower than the SP2 when the CPU is actually loaded due to the weaker thermal solution of this design.
My machine can't connect to Wifi after any sort of sleep or hibernate, requiring a reboot or reset of the Wifi card, thus not only eliminating any sort of "Connected Standby" gain but requiring more time when accounting for the reboot.
My machine (others reporting the same) will get stuck at ~20% CPU "System/System Interrupts" usage when a mSD card is inserted and used, thus killing the battery and heating the device uncomfortably. This was fixed on the SP2, but is shockingly back on the SP3!
Other users are reporting terrible results with the N-trig pen and can't even draw a straight line on the screen without terrible interference/jitters, thus eliminating this as an option for artists like previous versions.
Having said all this, I do 100% support the platform, and have owned a SP1/SP2 and now SP3 since release day. What I've learned during this time is Microsoft surprisingly builds very good hardware, but their drivers/software lags behind, as backwards as that sounds considering Microsoft is a mainly a software company...
There are severe throttling/thermal issues, some users even reporting their SP3's shutting down due to overheating while simply running Windows Update. It's a proven fact the SP3 is slower than the SP2 when the CPU is actually loaded due to the weaker thermal solution of this design.
My machine can't connect to Wifi after any sort of sleep or hibernate, requiring a reboot or reset of the Wifi card, thus not only eliminating any sort of "Connected Standby" gain but requiring more time when accounting for the reboot.
My machine (others reporting the same) will get stuck at ~20% CPU "System/System Interrupts" usage when a mSD card is inserted and used, thus killing the battery and heating the device uncomfortably. This was fixed on the SP2, but is shockingly back on the SP3!
Other users are reporting terrible results with the N-trig pen and can't even draw a straight line on the screen without terrible interference/jitters, thus eliminating this as an option for artists like previous versions.
Having said all this, I do 100% support the platform, and have owned a SP1/SP2 and now SP3 since release day. What I've learned during this time is Microsoft surprisingly builds very good hardware, but their drivers/software lags behind, as backwards as that sounds considering Microsoft is a mainly a software company...
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