Surface pro 3 i7 or surface pro 4 i5

[Jackbob]

Hi, I plan on buying a surface pro for my studies here in Sweden. But unfortunetely I'm having a hard time deciding which to get. I will mainly use it for note taking, lighter programming, some photoediting and as general purpose laptop. That being said I always appreciate more performance, and I am willing to pay for said performance if it is a reasonable extra cost.

The choices I have:

Pro 4 i5 256gb 8gb ram.
Price 1670 USD

Pro 3 i7 256gb 8gb ram.
Price 1300 USD

Pro 3 i5 128gb 4gb ram
Price 1000 USD

Pro 4 m3 128gb 4gb ram
Price 1120 USD
(I'm very suspicious if 4gb ram will be enough)

Note that I will also buy a type cover that is 150 USD aswell. And I heard that the surface 4 pen is better than the surface 3 pen and if I buy the Surface pro 3 I might consider getting the surface 4 pen since they are compatible. Can anyone confirm that have tried both pens maybe? Are the generation upgrades on the pro 4 worth it? (screen, pen, throttling?, something else?)

Any input is appreciated, which do you think sounds best? Maybe you have tried both and can tell me any improvements that are must have in the pro 4?

 

[Joe Torres]

That was the same question I was facing, as I had the Surface pro 3 i5 wifh 4gb of RAM but the stand decided to not hold my device any more. I had the Bestbuy warranty so I took it in and they had the surface pro 4 equivalent but it was $300 more than I wanted to pay for it. So they showed me the i7 8gb of ram Surface pro 3 was on sale for $999. So I got that instead and also got the new surface pro 4 keyboard which is amazing for no cost.

I'm extremely happy with my new SP3 i7 with way more power and speed and the new SP4 keyboard is worth the upgrade.

 

[Moonsurface]

I'm using a SP3 i7 for all the things you describe and have been for a year, I haven't been that tempted to upgrade.

I have updated to the new typecover and pen, both were good but the new ones are a massive improvement.

 

[Joe Torres]

I am still on the fence on upgrading my pen. Yes it's got the cool factor going for it where you can show off to friends on the eraser part but I am in no hurry. The keyboard is a must, way better in all areas.

 

[Jackbob]

So you think that the i7 sp3 is the best choice? Do you have any overheating issues with yours?

Ill get the type 4 cover for sure either way tho.

 

[Joe Torres]

So you think that the i7 sp3 is the best choice? Do you have any overheating issues with yours?

Ill get the type 4 cover for sure either way tho.

I do think the better choice is sp3 i7, but it's a matter of preference and budget. I don't have over heating issues, but like all devices it will warm up with heavy use.

 

[Moonsurface]

Mine has never overheated either. Got hot yes but overheated no.

 

[drFrank]

I went with the SP 4 8 Gig RAM and love it