Surface Pro 3 i5 4gb vs 8 gb (Student work (Java?) + League of Legends)

[Kopf]

Hey everyone,

I just started studying at University this Week and i'm already tired of writing on paper. So i watched around me What other People do and saw a Surface.
Now i'm looking forward to buy me a Surface with i5.
I'm going to use it Mainly for writing and work Stuff but it would be awesome to play some League of legends Games at the free Time when i'm around the Campus.

So my Question is, First of all will it be possible to play League smooth on low settings (don't Care about graphics on a Tablet) with i5 and 4gb or do i have to get the 8gb Version. Although i've Read a lot about overheating. Is it possible or just doesn't make Fun to play League on Surface?

Just to make clear, i only would like to play League in my free Time, so i'm not going to play other graphic reliant Games. Would Love to hear your suggestions and experiences!

Best regards!

 

[RémiM]

Hi,

welcome here.

I am not into playing so I wont tell you anything about this aspect.

I would take the 8Gb version. Some people will tell you 4 is enough. My opinion is the more you have the better. And by the way, I doubt it, but maybe windows 10 will run better with 8Gigz.

The SP3 is a fantastic device. You will not regret your purchase. It is perfect as a tablet, gorgeous screen and light enough to be held in your bed to watch a movie, and excellent as a computer.

I also use OneNote everyday and trust me, nothing can compete with it.

FYI, I am a huge fan and a long term user of Linux. My SP3 is the first Windows machine I have since 2004. And despite the jump it is to move from Linux to Windows, I am very much in love with the device.

I hope my opinion will help you in your choice.

Cheers from Canada.

 

[Liam2349]

I use my SP3 for all my Physics work. I have the i5 with 8GB RAM but I don't think 8GB is a requirement. You can make do with 4GB - I went for 8 because I like to have loads of apps open, and I also wanted the extra 128GB storage.

Not only do I use it for all my Physics work, but it's great for generally chilling with.

 

[everalm]

If you can swing the extra cost I would recommend the 8/256 model. You future proof yourself for Windows 10, Windows in general runs more effectively the more RAM it has available and the 256 gives you room for the inevitable amount of "stuff" we all accumulate our laptops as time passes.

I personally didn't feel the i7 range is necessary unless you do substantial amounts of number crunching and use the device plugged in most of the time. YMMV

 

[Kopf]

First of all thank you for alle the replies!
I'm not sure if i can get enough Money for the 8gb Version (poor Students)...just Wanted to hear if it's recommended or necessary.

Maybe someone knows something about my Little wish to play some League Games from Time to Time. Does this work with the i5 4gb/8gb smooth with lowest settings without Burning out by overheating?

 

[jake]

I5 and 4 gig is enough for gaming on any pc . the important thing is the video card and the updated video driver. Just make sure you update your video driver to the latest.

 

[compnovo]

The amount of RAM only affects multitasking and programs like Photoshop, so you wouldn't see any impact in normal day-to-day use with 4GB (and you can always add SD storage if you run out of room). This is precisely what I did with my i5/128 (which was the most my budget would allow) and I'm extremely pleased with it.

 

[Liam2349]

I5 and 4 gig is enough for gaming on any pc . the important thing is the video card and the updated video driver. Just make sure you update your video driver to the latest.

i5 4GB is ok for most games - but a high end desktop i5 like the 4670k, which obviously has quite an edge on the i5-4300u. 4GB RAM will be mostly fine but you could have memory issues on some games, nothing you would want to run on an SP3 though.

 

[Sven]

i5 4gb RAM crew checking in .

This device has more than enough to run all my office apps, windows MUI apps, and handles Adobe CC Lightroom like a dream.

Plus I'm multitasking in and out of OneNote the whole day taking notes and screenshots, never had a problem.

With a fast SSD drive, RAM has become less important.

The SSD is basically a ramdrive, for those who remember:

DEVICE=C:\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\EMM386.EXE RAM
DEVICE=C:\RAMDRIVE.SYS 32767 512 256 /e R:

 

[GreyFox7]

i5 4gb RAM crew checking in .

This device has more than enough to run all my office apps, windows MUI apps, and handles Adobe CC Lightroom like a dream.

Plus I'm multitasking in and out of OneNote the whole day taking notes and screenshots, never had a problem.

With a fast SSD drive, RAM has become less important.

The SSD is basically a ramdrive, for those who remember:

DEVICE=C:\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\EMM386.EXE RAM
DEVICE=C:\RAMDRIVE.SYS 32767 512 256 /e R:

Well technically I must disagree with you, RAM is still much faster than an SSD but in a practical sense you are correct, the SSD is fast enough to make a huge difference in everyday real performance.

A 2010 system with an SSD still seems pretty snappy while a new system with 2x CPU and traditional HDD seems laggy and that's all the SSD, an old one at that. The weakest link is always the bottleneck.

 

[Sven]

Granted, on my 2011 MacBook air running parallels VM's, 4gb of RAM simply wasn't enough, and upgrading to a MacBook Pro retina with 8gb solved those issues.

However in the absence of needing that, my Surface is running perfectly.

 

[hughlle]

Can't talk for the gaming (i would be surprised if there is much difference if any between 4gb and 8gb in this regard.

For uni work however, i have found 4gb to be more than enough. I had originally been set on the 8gb model, but a few months with the 4gb and i know that other than the storage, it would have been a waste of money. And a waste of a lot of money.