Surface Pro 7 vs Surface pro X

[cricket1001]

My Surface Pro 3 died. I need to get a new one. Do either the Pro 7 or the Pro X have ssd? I’ve read in other posts that the 7 has a problem with loud fans and the computer still getting hot. I also read that having an SSD drive you don’t need a fan.

I’m not sure about trusting the non-intel (sorry, my brain can’t find the right word here) on the X.

THanks,
Pat


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BillJ]

Whether a computer has a fan depends on the heat generated by the chip; the Surface Pro's with i5 chips are fanless, as is the Pro X. All Surfaces have SSD's, as opposed to mechanical hard drives. The SQ1 chip in the Pro X is supposed to provide similar computing power to an 8th generation i5 Intel chip, but there has been no official verification of this. The only potential downside to the Pro X is that standard x86 applications will not run at all in the 64 bit configuration, and will run "in emulation" if in 32 bit. That means that even the Chrome browser will run in emulation, and might be sluggish on that account (until Google releases a version for ARM).

That being said, I think the Pro X is beautiful and cool. It meets all my computing needs, and I have one on pre-order.

 

[ScottyS]

From MS web site: "At this time, Surface Pro X will not install 64-bit applications that have not been ported to ARM64, some games and CAD software, and some third-party drivers or anti-virus software. New 64-bit apps are coming to ARM 64 all the time." Check out Surface Pro X app compatibility

Also at issue is computing power. I opted for the SP7 with core i7 processor because I wanted to upgrade my Pro3 to 10th gen Intel Ice Lake processor in case I want to edit 4K video and other processor intensive tasks but yes it gets hot and the fan comes on and can be loud.

If you can get by with "similar computing power to an 8th generation i5 Intel chip" (as BillJ pointed out) then the Pro X is beautifully thin and light with a bigger screen and thin bezel and instant on and always connected and a rechargeable pen stored in the type cover … (makes me sometimes wish I got the Pro X).

 

[Turbo4AWD]

I thought I heard that the Surface Pro 7 i5 actually has a fan this time around unlike the Surface Pro 6 i5. Was that wrong information? Regardless, I agree with not going for the Surface Pro X because the last thing I want is to be stopped from doing what I want to try to do on my Surface because of an incompatibility with 64bit. I consider the Surface Pro line more of a computer and less like a "consumption tablet".

I use tablet mode when I want to read a lot of news on websites, etc, but then I go to Desktop mode when I want to type a lot or play games or just plain want to use a mouse and keyboard again. Making the Surface Pro only one sided kinda ruins the experience IMO.