I've used it all day long (as has a class mate his) and the battery life is indeed great, but the performance just wasn't there for me. You have to take into account that this was being used alongside an SP3, and now alongside an SP4, so the performance hit was always going to be very noticeable for me. MY classmate is more than happy with his, because it's the only performance he knows.
Surface 3 or Surface Pro 4?
- Thread starter k789
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I've used it all day long (as has a class mate his) and the battery life is indeed great, but the performance just wasn't there for me. You have to take into account that this was being used alongside an SP3, and now alongside an SP4, so the performance hit was always going to be very noticeable for me. MY classmate is more than happy with his, because it's the only performance he knows.
LoriMomof9
New Member
I have an i7 laptop with all the bells and whistles.... but because I do huge files in photoshop, and my large wacom tablet (plus my fan to keep it cool) it is NO longer very portable. The Surface 3 is great! I have PS on it (CC2015) and other things. Not used it too much yet.... One thing I am finding is battery life while playing music is not great... I need to check into it...
jrioux
Active Member
I hate to add to your dilemma, but the HP Spectre x2 might offer what you want. It's got the m3 chip of the cheapest Surface Pro 4, but also includes the keyboard AND 4G LTE for only $799. It's a little newer than the SP4, so check to see how people like it.
HP Spectre x2 - 12-a011nr | HP® Official Store
bronsky
Member
You might also consider the Lenovo Miix 700 as well. For me, anything larger than the Surface 3 is too big. I'll probably have to stay with the Atom until Microsoft decides to put a Core M into the SurfaceX.
jrioux
Active Member
I was thinking about the Miix as well, but the base HP includes LTE, which seemed important to the OP.
It will be interesting to see how these Surface Pro clones, plus the Dell XPS 12, turn out in terms of quality, speed and reliability. It's really interesting that no one has produced a smaller Surface clone with the Core m chip. None of the 10" tables/2in1s even have the x7 chip used in the Surface 3. They all use the slower Cherry Trail or older Bay Trail chips.
I could be wrong, but it also looks like the LTE modem is locked to Verizon. I hate it when the provider takes a kickback (ok, "facilitation payment") from cellular carriers to limit your choice on a device you pull full freight for for. I purchased the Surface 3 (and a 4 Pro was in the budget) because I wanted something that would be a good size for reading and use as a tablet, because there was no brick which people ignore when talking about size, because I could recharge it from a cigarette lighter when running from meeting to meeting. My only regret is that I would have preferred the keyboard on the 4 pro. If there is a Surface 4, I will be looking at the keyboard to see if I can move it over.
Argus Tuft
Member
If you haven't already purchased your choice, do NOT buy a HP laptop. I had an X2 envy (hybrid laptop/tablet), but after sales help is non-existent. I would constantly, but randomly, get a BSOD referring to the same fault, and HP never replied to any of the reports submitted. How do I know? People who still have the X2 envy are still getting the BSOD indicating the same problem. The best decision I ever made was to get rid of it!
Back to your question. What you buy is what you think is best for you at time of purchase. You won't buy a desktop pc off the shelf with futures needs in mind, so you'll have to get one custom built. I did, and it was still ahead of it's time for 18 months, then technology caught up and I was left to struggle in it's wake. I then went the 9android powered) Pendo route, but found it to be severely wanting. I then went with the X2 as, at the time of purchase, it was the only tablet that would run a external portable HDD. I dealt with the constant BSOD, but it soon became a PITA. Since I got the S3, all I have had a problem with is the random lock-up. It freezes everything, and to solve it you have to turn it off and reboot it. Because of that, I now save any document after each line, or entry. It can be a PITA, but at least it is better than losing an hour's work.
Back to your question. What you buy is what you think is best for you at time of purchase. You won't buy a desktop pc off the shelf with futures needs in mind, so you'll have to get one custom built. I did, and it was still ahead of it's time for 18 months, then technology caught up and I was left to struggle in it's wake. I then went the 9android powered) Pendo route, but found it to be severely wanting. I then went with the X2 as, at the time of purchase, it was the only tablet that would run a external portable HDD. I dealt with the constant BSOD, but it soon became a PITA. Since I got the S3, all I have had a problem with is the random lock-up. It freezes everything, and to solve it you have to turn it off and reboot it. Because of that, I now save any document after each line, or entry. It can be a PITA, but at least it is better than losing an hour's work.
Telstar1948
Active Member
Having had a SP3, Surface Book, ThinkPad Yoga 14 and now the S3, I have to say I really like the S3. It handles any ordinary personal/business matters easily (keeping in mind the processor is a Z8700 Atom so heavy, graphic intensive work would do better with an iCore processor). Having said that, I am personally delighted with the 3:2 aspect ratio in the 10.1" size, screen resolution, pen, weight, quietness and general portability. Windows 10 & driver issues are slowly being worked out, so I've only experienced one freeze episode while scrolling FireFox on this or one of the other forums. However, the S3 in my opinion is a wonderful device and gives me everything I've been wanting. In fact, for me, I'm setting up a fairly robust desktop for my office, but my S3 will go with me everywhere, and it will serve as my temporary "desktop" if my stationary desktop goes down for some reason.
i was about to start a thread titled "why s3>sp4" but then saw this. as owner of both, here are my thoughts:
1. at the outset, obviously the S3 has limitations in max memory, disk, and processor speed. so if those are necessary, you have to go with sp4. that said, if those are not required
2. S3 is much much better as a tablet. it's i think a quarter pound lighter, but more importantly the smaller screen makes it feel like an ipad in your hand. SP4 is just a wee bit too big/heavy.
3. S3 starts when I press the power button. every time. SP4 (and previously S3) go into weird sleep/hibernation states and I end up having to hard reset them weekly, sometimes daily. not to mention that the SP4 does not sleep properly. was less on a problem on SP3 running 8.1, but win10 is a mess that way. however, SP3 has horrible, horrible fan problems to the point of being unusable.
4. microSD charging is slow but ubiquitous. true, it won't really charge plugged into your cig lighter, but as long as it's a regular charger plugged in somewhere you're good.
5. while the SP4 keyboard is superior, s3 is just fine.
and I doubt they will release an S4. ms hardware is going for high end, and the non-Pro Surface is not a high end device. in fact I'm surprised they released S3.
1. at the outset, obviously the S3 has limitations in max memory, disk, and processor speed. so if those are necessary, you have to go with sp4. that said, if those are not required
2. S3 is much much better as a tablet. it's i think a quarter pound lighter, but more importantly the smaller screen makes it feel like an ipad in your hand. SP4 is just a wee bit too big/heavy.
3. S3 starts when I press the power button. every time. SP4 (and previously S3) go into weird sleep/hibernation states and I end up having to hard reset them weekly, sometimes daily. not to mention that the SP4 does not sleep properly. was less on a problem on SP3 running 8.1, but win10 is a mess that way. however, SP3 has horrible, horrible fan problems to the point of being unusable.
4. microSD charging is slow but ubiquitous. true, it won't really charge plugged into your cig lighter, but as long as it's a regular charger plugged in somewhere you're good.
5. while the SP4 keyboard is superior, s3 is just fine.
and I doubt they will release an S4. ms hardware is going for high end, and the non-Pro Surface is not a high end device. in fact I'm surprised they released S3.
The S3 is at the high end of Atom based devices and compares favorably with other Tablets in productive tasks. It has it's place, and the larger heavier Pro series has a different place. When Atom.next comes along with +20-30% performance in the 2W power profile there will be an S4. They could also offer a CPU choice of a Kaby Lake core m3 perhaps running at 3w SDP (This would be high end leading design for low power core m implementations). There are many ways to lead, for followers the path is already worn.
