SP3 Competitor With Broadwell Chip (and Fanless)

[quadtronix]

I just read about a possible Surface Pro 3 competitor in the Broadwell powered, fanless new intel reference design...

Intel Unveils Fanless PC Reference Design Based on Upcoming Broadwell Chips - Mac Rumors

It looks pretty sweet but keep in mind that is only a reference design at this point... Still looks awesome though, IMO.



I will be keeping my eye out for Broadwell from now on. But what do you all think?

Oh yeah, it's thinner than an iPad Air! LOL!!

 

[daniielrp]

Guess it depends on timing, I've heard these fanless systems are at least 6 months away, so may be more of an SP4 competitor!

Either way, a 7mm SP4 would be great with me!

 

[mtalinm]

it's not a competitor, it's a prototype. i'm sure msft will be among the first to ship a Broadwell machine. call it Surface Pro 4, maybe?

 

[quadtronix]

it's not a competitor, it's a prototype. i'm sure msft will be among the first to ship a Broadwell machine. call it Surface Pro 4, maybe?

You're right, it's not really a competitor... at least not yet. But if other manufacturers base their designs on this prototype it very well may take on the Surface Pro 3 (or 4 even) sometime soon. I would love to see actual designs for sale that utilize that 14nm Broadwell chip and that are thinner than the iPad Air! If that does become true of a Surface Pro 4 then I'll definitely be interested in that tablet! I was intrigued by the Surface Pro 3 but decided to go with a more traditional laptop the other day. I picked up an HP Pavilion x360 convertable with beats audio for 399... It's OK for my use case and it folds back behind the keyboard to be used in tablet mode or "tent mode" like the Lenovo Yoga. It's 11.6 inches. I figure it will suit my needs perfectly and so far it has.


That said, the new Broadwell designs should be pretty cool when they do start arriving hopefully later this year...

 

[GoodBytes]

Keep in mind also that the Intel prototype is larger than the Surface Pro 3, has no full size USB port (nor any USB ports at all), no digitizer, no video output. More tricks to get it thinner.
So yes, it is thin. But it a useful now? No.

Intel prototypes are usually very expensive as well. Manufactures don't like risk (but recently have to take them in order to survive), and focuses on sub-1000$ price tag. So the system that Intel made might not be considered.
Also we know nothing about the CPU inside. Intel could have put a Core i3 ultra low voltage variety that they made for the new CPU series, that runs at Atom speeds, all in order to make it fanless. All I am saying, is that we can't jump to conclusions.

 

[Klownicle]

The reference 7mm design, was using a mobile broadwell chipset/fanless. I wouldn't put all my eggs in a basket that more powerful versions of broadwell will end up that way. You can sit on the boat all you want waiting for the latest and greatest hardware. In the end you just have to jump and take what you can get. I for one, have a first gen surface. I've waited long enough.

 

[EMINENT]

It's going to be an amazing year for Intel and MS when they intro Windows 9 and Phone 9 with Surface 4.

 

[kevinlevrone]

I read that the Intel Core M sits between Atom and i-series. It's somewhat like a Celeron for tablets. My guess is that it is like 1.7x more powerful than the current Bay Trail Atom, and only 60-70%% of the computing power of the lowest Broadwell i3 model. This allows it to be very energy efficient.

I really don't care about a system being fanless or not, and also I would prefer the tablets to remain at moderate thickness (9-10mm) but the extra space gained from the new Intel tech to be replaced with more battery.

 

[mtalinm]

I'd prefer the make the tablet lighter. 9 hrs is plenty of battery for me.

 

[GoodBytes]

I'd prefer the make the tablet lighter. 9 hrs is plenty of battery for me.

9h... out of the box.
I want 9 hours after 2 years of having it, and not have to worry about what I run to get my 9h, to some extent (A game, I know that I won't get my 9h. But having to pick a web browser, and such, to make sure everything is being extra light to achieve 9h, and and always switch power plan to maximize battery life, just to get my 8-9h. This is not fun).

 

[mtalinm]

read more about the Core M, and it sounds like it's much less powerful than a current i3/i5/i7. fine for bloggers but I need speed. so SP3 is probably the apogee