Surface Pro 3 and Spreadsheets

[BearFlag]

Hi.

I currently have a 13.3" laptop (16:9 aspect ratio) which I use for Excel a lot, and am considering getting the SP3.

The Surface Pro 3 claims that because of the 3:2 aspect ratio, its 12-inch screen can actually display the same content as a 13.3-inch panel with a 16:10 ratio. I don't completely get that logic but was wondering if this holds true for viewing spreadsheets.

For those of you who use the SP3 with Excel, what has been your experience? Is the screen too small or does it work fine?

Thanks.

 

[ZorroZ21]

I made the same analisys.
Conclusions are:
13,3" 16:10 display is 29,44cm x 16,56 cm
12,0" 3:2 is 25,36 x 16,91cm
so Surface has a taller display.

On Surface, with Excel 2013:
100% size ratio: with menu of XL, you can see until cell V35
without menu of XL until cell V39
150%: with menu until O25, without menu until O29

BYE

 

[leeshor]

Theoretically (and in actuality), screen format and size is not the important factor in how many cells you can see on the screen. It's a resolution thing, which may be independant of the screen size or format. The higher the resolution the more you can see.

 

[BearFlag]

As long as the resolution is good enough (ie 1080p) I think the screen size matters more (vs resolution) when viewing spreadsheets because you want the values to be viewable. If you have a screen with an insane resolution, you won't be able to view the values well at 100% zoom even though you can see a lot more cells on the screen.

Anyhow it seems that the aspect ratio does not factor so much into the equation when viewing spreadsheets because although you are seeing more vertically, you are seeing less horizontally,

 

[jnjroach]

Surface Pro 3 2140x1440 - Excel 2013

13" 16:10 1920x1200 - Excel 2013

 

[Genghis Khan]

I'm a number cruncher with heavy usage of Excel spreadsheet - nesting several layers of formula functions and links of several spreadsheet files. I also use Access for database management of several employees - aside from Word and PowerPoint. Included in my repertoire of apps are Google Sketchup, Photoshop and Lightroom. My question is what Surface Pro 3 variant can handle my statistics and measurement analytic needs. Is the entry level Surface Pro 3 i3 4 gig 64 SSD sufficient for my needs?

 

[leeshor]

Sufficient is an interesting way to put it. It will work but you will probably find yourself wishing you had bought a more powerful system.

 

[Liam2349]

I'm a number cruncher with heavy usage of Excel spreadsheet - nesting several layers of formula functions and links of several spreadsheet files. I also use Access for database management of several employees - aside from Word and PowerPoint. Included in my repertoire of apps are Google Sketchup, Photoshop and Lightroom. My question is what Surface Pro 3 variant can handle my statistics and measurement analytic needs. Is the entry level Surface Pro 3 i3 4 gig 64 SSD sufficient for my needs?

The i5/256GB model seems the most popular amongst consumers, at least on here. It has 8GB RAM.

If you open a lot of stuff at once, then 4GB RAM may not be enough. If I'm just chilling, 4GB is enough, but when I have loads of spreadsheets open analysing my lab data, you can easily use all the 8GB RAM with all the other stuff you may need at the same time - IE, Word, OneNote, Drawboard, some other stuff. The CPU upgrade will help too.

I think if you access a lot of files, you'll be better off with it mostly because of the storage capacity. RAM and the CPU upgrade will mostly just make things easier.

 

[GreyFox7]

Sufficient is an interesting way to put it. It will work but you will probably find yourself wishing you had bought a more powerful system.

Agree with that.
If the i3 performance is comparable or greater than your existing system and remaining 30ish gig of storage is enough you might find it sufficient. However, that would make an i5 4GB 128GB SSD a nice comfortable palace for your statistics and measurement analytic empire for a mere $200 more.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Actually, I do not intend to open multiple apps at one session. I know I use Excel extensively and I'm a bit apprehensive. Once, I ported my Excel spreadsheet files to an Acer Switch Atom proc tablet and these made Excel 2013 very, very sluggish. Since then I must have generalized tablet performance as way, way below the capability of the average laptop or notebook. Discounting the cropping complaints, I still intend to get an SP3 this Christmas - unless a major issue will be brought to light. By December, other brands will field their SP3 equivalents and there will be choices to be made.

 

[sharpuser]

... I know I use Excel extensively and I'm a bit apprehensive....

Ghengis,

I am a geophysicist/geologist/engineer earth scientist, and place very serious demands upon my SP3, including Excel spreadsheets with VBA macros, Python to VBA, Matlab, brute force Assembly modules, Java applets to access databases of seismic and electronic measurements, and also handle a quarry-load of administrative tasks with Outlook mail, VNC connections, VPN connections, and PowerPoint. Also, some of these systems and databases are old or home brew.

Since I do 3D forward modeling, speed and efficiency of computing and graphics is very important. Otherwise, I could not afford to do "what if" analysis, because computer iterations would be slower than the cognitive experimentation and exploration.

I use 64-bit Office 2013, but 32-bit would work just as well, or maybe even faster, in the non-communication number crunching.

Sluggish behavior on some machines is most often because of TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) programs (services) are designed or deployed inefficiently - or unnecessarily.

I not only did all my work on a Surface Pro 3 i7 512 + 128GB microSD, with Windows 8.1, but I now do it with an experimental Windows 10 build.

Funny thing is, a typical gamer needs more computing power than outlined above. There are many as members of this forum, for whom I have very high regards.

 

[jackpine]

I compared an SP3 side by side with a Y2P. I had a touch more space sideways (obviously since the Y2P is wider) but more space vertically on the SP3. Hope that helps a bit?