Surface Pro 128GB -- Early reactions . . .

[Nemesis296]

Would you be able to upload a video of the Surface Pro running a game? like counter strike? World of warcraft?

No video yet, but I can definitely confirm that World of Warcraft will run after installing it successfully. (I played it years ago and didn't feel like re-activating my account so I just used a free trial account). Graphics were set to "Good" by default, though I found it to be better on 'Fair'. It's buttery smooth on Fair, and can be a bit choppy on Good. You can run it on Ultra, but probably tone down the resolution. The game runs in full 1080p and looks pretty good even on Fair. Here's a screenshot I took of my video settings:



If you have questions, let me know!

One thing to point out, I did install the full game onto my SSD, so it runs *lightning* fast. If you run it off USB or other sources you may see different results.

 

[xterrapro]

Well after playing with the Pro 128 that I opened I can say the following:

1 - Power Adapter Mechanism for connecting to Pro still sucks. It's considerably stronger than my RT but still no where near as useful/easy as my Retina or MBA.
2- All of the performance issues (lag, onscreen delay (slight but there from time to time) has gone away. Usability has improved for me 100%
3- Pen placement is an afterthought. I leave my RT and will leave my Pro(s) charging overnight... so no where to put the pen. Good thing I have a few extra.
4 - It's a bit of a fatty, when compared to my RT and or my returned Atif
5 - Screen is considerably improved. It's the resolution I was missing. I have a new Retina and IMO this screen is just as good for my use case.
6 - AC adapter, nice to add a USB to the base, something that I'll use while on travel. Would prefer smaller RT like adapter, but it is what it is.


Still can't post properly from onscreen kybd to this forum... what is the trick again??

 

[jneikum]

If your music is on a laptop or desktop you can easily transfer it via USB. It may be easier to transfer it to one of those first.

It's only on my phone. My laptop is already reimaged to give to my Dad. Just gotta wait until I have my transfer cable.

 

[Nemesis296]

One other impression I have is with the Touch Cover. It is absolutely dumb that you have to download the Trackpad Settings app in order to configure the trackpad to not scroll *backwards*. I guess it makes sense since it's the same as the touch screen gesture, but it's against the settings for using a trackpad on a regular laptop; not sure why this isn't a configurable option out of the box, no extra apps needed.

 

[bosamar]

Still can't post properly from onscreen kybd to this forum... what is the trick again??

Go to forum Settings > General Settings > near bottom on Message Editor Interface select WYSIWYG.

 

[dlacaba]

Been installing and setting it up most of the day, loving it, but there are still some issues.

cons-
Pen - I can't get mine to calibrate properly, during the calibration screen the pointer goes where I want. Once I get out its off by about 1cm on certain parts of the screen. Ran through the calibration around 8 times and just gave using the pen for today.

The screen size is odd for tablet use, the onscreen keyboard is too wide for me in portrait but still useable.

Type cover seems to not work sometimes, like when coming back from hibernation. There is a windows update for it, but I haven't tried it yet.

As I'm typing this post, hitting backspace in onscreen keyboard sometimes executes previous page shortcut in browser, just an issue of focus but annoying still.

Pros
Can type in lap, bit of a balancing act, but its pretty easy still.

Type cover works great when its working

Pretty fast, no noticeable slowdown

Battery lasts about 4-5 hours for me. I don't play games or watch any media though.

Its replacing my laptop, the convenience of a tablet with all the functionality of a pc, loving it.

 

[souldier]

Thanks for the initial impressions guys! My 2 main concerns were typing in lap and battery life. So far it seems like it's really doable. I hope I don't encounter too much buggy stuff though! I'm planning to get mine tomorrow if the store has any left that is.

Anyone playing around with scaling to different percentages? How does it affect touch and pen input?

 

[xterrapro]

Nice. Thanks.

 

[Yeff]

Try the card from the phone again. If the Surface doesn't see it have it reboot. Mine didn't see my card until a reboot now all is fine.

 

[ArnoldC]

Go to forum Settings > General Settings > near bottom on Message Editor Interface select WYSIWYG.

And then you lose new line...

 

[curney]

I am extremely happy with my surface Pro so far. I was worried about the battery life but coming from my six-year-old Fujitsu with an extremely dim screen I feel that I can keep my screen brightness at 25% and my battery life is very good. One of my biggest concerns was the quality of the microphone because I dictate a considerable amount of information into the computer for my job. The onboard microphone is fantastic and I can dictate from a sitting position at my desk. I've been playing with it nonstop for the last six or seven hours and keep forgetting that there is a fan and this is a full processor. It just seems to work. The only thing that I can't stand is with how the charger connects to the tablet. It doesn't fit in very easily and that really irks me.

 

[bosamar]

And then you lose new line...

It a trade off....