Surface Pro 3 i5 vs Surface Pro 3 i7 - which one to get

[InspectHerGadget]

I returned my i7 as I didn't like the pen especially times it decided not to work, an active pen full of electronics and requiring drivers to work is a formula for disappointment, me thinks. The demo unit at the local shop for instance, the pen wasn't working due to driver issues one day.

I miss the performance of the i7 though, it is easily double the speed of my SP2 i5. I also have the misfortune to run MYOB, an Australian accounting package I need for my work and it is a complete P.O.S. running slower than a 3 legged dog with blistered paws. It uses SQL Server but the procedures and routines must be very poorly optimised. An SP2 i5 should be way more than fast enough for it but even on my i7 desktop it isn't exactly snappy. The i7 SP3 was twice the speed on MYOB which turns out to be important when waiting five more even more seconds for something to happen. Unbelievable that I need an i7 for a frigging poxy accounting package that is poorly written but there you go.

I even think about getting the i7 again and just putting up with the idiosyncrasies of their active (when it feels like it) pen.

 

[Moonsurface]

I even think about getting the i7 again and just putting up with the idiosyncrasies of their active (when it feels like it) pen.

It's a shame as I've had no issues with drivers with my pen it's been fine and I've now inked lots of notes with it with no problems. I hope if you do get a new one it'll work OK for you at least in terms of reliability!

 

[InspectHerGadget]

It's a shame as I've had no issues with drivers with my pen it's been fine and I've now inked lots of notes with it with no problems. I hope if you do get a new one it'll work OK for you at least in terms of reliability!

I'm seriously thinking about it.

 

[Moonsurface]

I'm seriously thinking about it.

As to the palm block thing I can sort of see what you mean in desktop One Note it does sometimes move a cursor if I don't get the pen close enough before my palm hits the deck, it doesn't cause any issues for me though, as, as soon as I write the cursor and ink follows the end of the pen exactly. I usually write in MUI onenote though as I find it more convenient and I don't notice the problem at all in that version.

 

[Mikewired]

I7 256 is where I landed. I had an i5 256 which had camera issues so returned it and bumped up. I like the device so much that I may do some light gaming and once again do some video editing.

 

[GTiceman]

I had both and tested both at the same time. I really wanted to keep the i7 and might still try and swap up at some point. I did notice my fan on more often initially with the i7, but I will say I feel like my i5 is exhibiting similar behavior now. I do some video encoding and both machines handled it well with the i7 obviously having the advantage. I had the thermometer on my first i7(i had 2 different ones), but this was before all the updates. I just couldn't justify keeping the i7 for what little high intensive processes I do, as badly as I wanted to keep it. Money wasn't an issue, just sensibility. I think the i7 will be better long run, but for my current use of web browsing, managing my 30TB server remotely, word processing, netflix and other video streaming, and editing my pictures and goPro videos after track weekends the i5 handles everything like a champ, though the i7 was better. I say I consider still going up, even though I am out of my return window as I had some issues with my i5 as well. Don't let the D-Day reports scare you away, if you are a power user that is willing to spend the money, get the i7 and I don't think you will look back.

 

[LewsTherin]

I had the i5 128GB for about 2 weeks and decided I needed the extra ram and disk space...in the end I went to the i7 256GB figuring, what the heck.

So far I have not noticed it to be noticeably hotter/louder and it is certainly quicker.
Considering the i7 is still just a 2c/4t cpu, I was a little surprised at the speed jump being noticeable in day to day tasks.

I'm happy I made the switch.

 

[Grumpy2]

Yesterday I downloaded an 940mb file and installed it on my i7/256gb. The whole process took about 45 minutes (on my slow connection) and the fan did not cut in once. Nor did the device get anymore than Luke warm. Contrast that with my hp touch smart all in one desktop which also runs an i7 processor @1.89gh, 8gb ram, 2tb hard drive. The fan on this unit runs almost constantly even when doing light duties.

 

[InspectHerGadget]

I had the i5 128GB for about 2 weeks and decided I needed the extra ram and disk space...in the end I went to the i7 256GB figuring, what the heck.

So far I have not noticed it to be noticeably hotter/louder and it is certainly quicker.
Considering the i7 is still just a 2c/4t cpu, I was a little surprised at the speed jump being noticeable in day to day tasks.

I'm happy I made the switch.

I don't understand why the i7 is so much faster than the i5. If you read the reviews, it isn't that much but when you use it day to day the speed difference seems considerable.

The i7 SP3 would run most tasks at least twice as fast as the i5-4200U in my SP2.

 

[GreyFox7]

I don't understand why the i7 is so much faster than the i5. If you read the reviews, it isn't that much but when you use it day to day the speed difference seems considerable.

The i7 SP3 would run most tasks at least twice as fast as the i5-4200U in my SP2.

The appearance of or apparent performance is not the same as actual performance. Benchmark measurements often don't directly reveal these differences. For example the better graphics in the i7 can make UI updates pop providing the kind of apparent performance a user would sense. Another way may be thru the bursty nature of CPU utilization which the i7 could power through in turbo mode quickly.

 

[InspectHerGadget]

The appearance of or apparent performance is not the same as actual performance. Benchmark measurements often don't directly reveal these differences. For example the better graphics in the i7 can make UI updates pop providing the kind of apparent performance a user would sense. Another way may be thru the bursty nature of CPU utilization which the i7 could power through in turbo mode quickly.

Well, yes, it definitely does something, whatever and however that something is done.

The i5 in the SP3 is doing more pixels with the same graphics as it had before.

I can't help thinking it was a bit stingy of Microsoft not to put 5000 graphics in as part of the deal. My MBA 11 is over a year old and has 5000 Intel graphics in it.

The i7 also has more on chip memory. Whatever it is, it is much faster in normal usage where often CPU usage doesn't go above 10 or 20 per cent. It is interesting to me that reviewers rely on automated testing suites. They would do better to comment on some more typical usage scenarios where most of us are 95% of the time. Even say for a Norton Scan, the CPU isn't that busy and yet it will still run it in less than half the time (according to my runs on them side by side i5 SP2/i7 SP3).

 

[InspectHerGadget]

In spite of the pen I like better on my SP2, I can't ignore the performance of the i7, so I've ordered another one. Several weeks of using the SP2 have reminded me that the i7 performance is no gimmick or figment of my imagination. It is important too as I need it to be fast when I want it as I charge on time and I'm often at customer's places doing my invoices before I finish the job and MYOB is a slow cumbersome accounting package at the best of times.

It is fast FULL STOP.