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Surface Pro 2 Vs 3 - Power User

OP
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xn1337

New Member
Thanks all,
Company thats reviewing my faulty unit is gonna take up to 3 weeks apparently.
microsoft may fix throttling by then any way :D

August 2014 updates
The following updates will be listed as “System Firmware Update – 8/12/2014” when you view your update history.

Note
When Surface updates are provided via the Windows Update service, they are delivered in stages to Surface customers. As a result, not every Surface will receive the update at the same time, but the update will be delivered to all devices. If you have not received the update then please manually check Windows Update later.
  • Surface Pro Embedded Controller Firmware (v38.4.50.0) improved support for Surface Power Cover.
  • Surface Pro System Aggregator Firmware (v3.9.250.0) improved support for Surface Power Cover and enhances overall system stability.
  • Microsoft LifeCam Front (v5.20.1034.0) significantly improves power consumption during video chat such as Skype, supports Flash camera streaming in Internet Explorer, and improves overall functionality and stability.
  • Surface Ethernet Adapter (v8.14.0704.2014) improved support for the gigabit Surface Ethernet Adapter.
wonder what they mean by stability???
 
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mohcho

Active Member
I was using the same Asus slate for a bit before I got the SP2 and then returned it and got the SP3.

The Asus slate feels like a monolithic block compared to the SP3 now. The EP121 fans ran VERY loud and the temperatures were much higher than the SP3. And yes, there were problems with the touch screen as well.

Once you start using a Surface, you wonder why all other tablets don't have them. Kudos to Microsoft's engineering team in building it in.
 
OP
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xn1337

New Member
Hi All,

I purchased a Surface Pro 2 i5 8Gb 256Gb $1367 - Lot number 1416

This resulted in having the 4300u processor and pretty much a Surface pro 3.

Just missing res, screen size, stand, thermal and instant go, definitely not missing weight though :) but the unit is 260g lighter than the ep121.

Happy as with this, was nervous for the first hour during firmware updates,

But all in all this is an awesome unit. the desktop tasks that would normally throttle an ASUS EP121 are non existent.



Now just to pick up a Skin to protect it from those scratches :p and a type cover (they had none in stock!)
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I'm confused, did you purchase a SP2 or Sp3?
I'm pretty sure he/she stated that correctly. MS quietly replaced the SP2 CPU in late model production with the same i5 CPU as in the SP3 probably because its easier to manage one part and because the i5 4300U is on the Intel Stable Image Platform Program where the 4200 is not.
 

malberttoo

Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure he/she stated that correctly. MS quietly replaced the SP2 CPU in late model production with the same i5 CPU as in the SP3 probably because its easier to manage one part and because the i5 4300U is on the Intel Stable Image Platform Program where the 4200 is not.

Ah, thanks for the info. I would take exception to the "pretty much an SP3" claim though. My unhappiness with my SP1 had nothing to do with processor... :)
 
OP
X

xn1337

New Member
GreyFox7 : Its he, thanks,
malberttoo : Yes Surface Pro 2, after i found out the cpu had changed to the 4300u(1.9ghz to 2.5ghz with 2.9ghz turbo) i gave up and bought a 2, no loss in performance. and it fits in all my ipad sleeves :D

Thought i would update this so anyone else interested in a great stable 10" tablet can still see the Surface pro 2 as a viable option. hell, i your still using an ep121 just buy a surface series tablet, i didn't realize how far behind that gen 1 i5 was.

And since the Surface 2 uses the same keyboards, i can see the accessory's hanging around for a bit longer.
 
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