Hello from me. I cant decide which of the two i'll buy! An Ms Surface pro 4 (i7 256GB 8GB ram) cost almost 1650 euros with the type cover with a 10% discount or a mid range cheap laptop at about 500euros with i5 proccesor with an ipad air 3 when is released on march ... I'cant decide guys...! Definitely the laptop+ipad is far more cheap than the surface... All of them are going to be used 80% home use (movies, surfing, news reading, and occasionaly some other work...some gaming maybe..
SP4i7 or cheap laptop & iPad air 3* ?
- Thread starter Ath86
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I think you're going to be unhappy about the portability. The purpose of a laptop is for portability. When you travel, taking a thicker laptop + another device doesn't seem like much, but I did it for work for 2 years. Now that I only take an SP4, life is good. The I5 model in the SP4 should be more than enough for business. I really don't forsee the I7 being needed unless you're a heavy power user, and even then, it's more of a " I have an I7 " than anything.
ScottyS
Active Member
I second what @Yillbs said. The only advantage of a cheap mid-range laptop + an iPad is if you have others in the household (re: children) they can be using your iPad while you use a cheap mid-range laptop.
Actually, for what you say you'd be mostly using it for (movies, surfing, news reading, and occasionally some other work) a S3 would work. The SP4, even an i5, is so much better than a cheap mid-range laptop, and it's great if you travel or even take it to work. When I first got a Surface, for months I'd have it at work and say "Oh, I have that file, or app, etc., on my computer at home" and then realize I had my computer from home in my hand. And if you get into using the pen to take notes in OneNote, make comments or notes on a web page or pdf, etc., there's no comparison.
Actually, for what you say you'd be mostly using it for (movies, surfing, news reading, and occasionally some other work) a S3 would work. The SP4, even an i5, is so much better than a cheap mid-range laptop, and it's great if you travel or even take it to work. When I first got a Surface, for months I'd have it at work and say "Oh, I have that file, or app, etc., on my computer at home" and then realize I had my computer from home in my hand. And if you get into using the pen to take notes in OneNote, make comments or notes on a web page or pdf, etc., there's no comparison.
I agree. I went form an i7 down to an i5. I can do everything on the i5 that I was doing on the i7. Also, I was able to save $300.
I don't think that a laptop in the 500 Euro range will handle most games that are popular. Outside of the top of the line Alienware, MSI et al rigs I don't think any Laptop has the horsepower to be considered as a gaming rig.
Also keep in mind that while Win 10 works perfectly non-touch machines, you really do want a touch screen enabled system. Consider something like the Dell XPS 12 or Lenovo Yoga Pro 3 if price is a major issue. You could also go for a Surface 3, which still is quite a capable rig.
Also keep in mind that while Win 10 works perfectly non-touch machines, you really do want a touch screen enabled system. Consider something like the Dell XPS 12 or Lenovo Yoga Pro 3 if price is a major issue. You could also go for a Surface 3, which still is quite a capable rig.
dstrauss
Active Member
The first place to start your decision, as always, is to consider your use case carefully. The mythical iPad Air 3, which I imagine will appear in March, will be a poor note taking alternative unless Apple is ready to bring the pen to the Air design, and I would guess that is at least a year away. Many people I know say they wouldn't even consider the iPad XL if there were an Air with the Apple Pen. So, if a pen and note taking are important, score one for Surface Pro 4.
From my personal experience, my iPad Air got little/no use when I got my Surface Pro 3, and even less since upgrading to the Surface Pro 4. Other than some neat games on the iPad, there is literally nothing I can't do with my SP4. The only other factor is battery life - iPad Air has the SP4 beat hands down on that front, UNTIL I stop to realize what I'm driving with that SP4, then I don't mind losing 3 hours (I almost always get 6-7 hours on my SP4 when doing iPad Air "stuff" but about 5 hours when running productivity applications).
From my personal experience, my iPad Air got little/no use when I got my Surface Pro 3, and even less since upgrading to the Surface Pro 4. Other than some neat games on the iPad, there is literally nothing I can't do with my SP4. The only other factor is battery life - iPad Air has the SP4 beat hands down on that front, UNTIL I stop to realize what I'm driving with that SP4, then I don't mind losing 3 hours (I almost always get 6-7 hours on my SP4 when doing iPad Air "stuff" but about 5 hours when running productivity applications).
I am currently unsurfaced. I returned 3 different sp4's and 1 SB. All of these had various different problems. I might try another sp4 but currently using an iPad pro with the pencil for 85% of what I need to do and a yoga 3 pro for the other real computer tasks. The iPad pro is a great for notes, but one note is not as robust in features on iOS. Generally I can do most everything I need to do on the iPad pro and not be concerned and watching the battery gauge. I could never get more than about 4.5 hrs from my sp4's. I used the pro pretty heavily yesterday and finished with about 30% battery around midnight.
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