What's new

Why Did You Buy Your Surface Pro and How Do You Use It?

well for me being 6'5 300 pounds the size of the surface pro when in tablet mode is really not an issue for me when it comes to the weight difference I like being able to snap on the type cover and run the same full fledge windows programs that I use on my desktop for me its kind of the best of both worlds really the only complaint I had was the 4 hour battery life but after doing the steps listed in this guys review at How To: Optimize Microsoft Surface Pro Battery Life ive been able to sqeeze a minimum of 6 hours of just checking email, surfing the web (youtube), streaming movies from my NAs etc. so now I have no complaints. It would be nice if they came out with a type keyboard that has a battery in it that can charge the tablet at the same time.

Thanks for the link. I made my new battery/power plan based off of it. Will likely test out tomorrow after work to see how many hours I pull on this custom plan.
 
Yeah good link, although mine's plugged in most of the time so not really needed :)

I leave mines plugged in slot also. I rarely take it outside. When its plugged up, I put it on performance mode for full power performance.

I'm testing this new power plan profile out now. Will post later on how long it lasts. Just from using it last night I could it drains slot slower with no perceivable loss in performance.

I'd also recommend installing the free Intel extreme utility for Intel processors. It let's you monitor, benchmark, and adjust how much turbo boost you want.additional power savings can be made in there also. Turbo boost is essentially a built in overlook for our devices. So this utility let's you adjust how much. Our devices have a normal overclock and then can also hit extreme speeds for short bursts. I believe I've seen my processor hot as high as 2.5-2.6+Ghz. That 1.7GHz is just the base clock. With that link or the utility, you can basically shutdown or severely limit the boost. Which in itself will save you lots of battery life. So there are major strides than can be made software wise to improve battery life. Its just that not everyone knows about it. Its very simple to do also.

Btw, I think this is one of the best onscreen keyboards I've ever used. Allows for fast and accurate typing when laid flat.
 
Highly advise checking that link out.

My results from testing today. I just pulled 6hrs. Of use out of my pro with the use of custom power plan I made based off that link. It was basically nonstop usage. Heavy web browsing, watching a few streamed videos, usage of various apps such as my news one. Also the heavy web surfing was with desktop internet explorer. No perceived loss in performance or speed.

So a little over 6hrs of usage with 10% battery left. Time for me to plug up and put in high performance mode. About to play some Outlast shortly.

Once again, highly recommend making a Battery Max custom power plan following instructions from that link. It works! Im sure I could get even longer time. Very glad that person posted that link. It should be made into a thread. People will want to know this.
 
6 hours is great to see. I posted on Paul's site earlier today that I'm seeing more and more people posting up stating they're only getting 2-3 hours from their Surface Pro under normal use. It's getting to the point where I'm wondering if a certain percentage of Surface's are being delivered with defective batteries, as personally I always manage to get around the 5 hours mark, if not more. I'd love to get a poll started along these lines... dear mods! How do you get a poll going on this forum? I don't really get it, unless it's just blocked here at work because forums are often displayed funny where they block a lot of stuff.
 
Hello Folks,

Newb here with my comments. Bought a Surface Pro before fully investigating the RT, my bad for drinking the Pro koolaid. I bought the pro with the intentions of replacing my employer provided laptop, emails, presentations, lots of work related stuff. Of course I have Office 365 to supplement the Pro. After a few weeks I'll admit the Pro does everything I need to do for my work in form, fit and function.

Last week I bought a 64gb RT, which also meets 100% of work related requirements but does it in a thinner, lighter package with much better battery life. Here's where the rubber meets the road, my personal usage. I drank the Jobs koolaid and have been an iPad user since day#1, still carry my unlimited data plan through AT&T. My iPad takes care of emails, web surfing, eBay chores, etc. in fine fashion and I still get 9/10 hours of battery life in a thin format device. It goes pretty much everywhere I go and is extremely dependable. I upgraded to iPad 3 to get 4g/lte. The iPad supplements my employer supplied iPhone and laptop, works great for presentations to customers but I don't relish the thoughts of creating PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets or large word documents on the iPad. Both the RT and Pro are capable of these feats without breaking a sweat.

In the end, wish I had bought the RT first, easy to read with while lying in bed (not so much with the pro) and duplicates my employer supplied laptop. Our corporate IT has limited support for iPad (over 200 issued to field sales) but has no inclination to take on another device. I'm on my own but so far am content that I could do my job with the RT while still enjoying it in my personal life. Recently installed Kindle for RT and reading is as good as the iPad.

Lets talk about apps- when iPad appeared it had only iPhone apps and anything useful for work and play was still a dot on the horizon. I lived through that without any issues. I see the RT in much the same light, apps will come. Maybe they won't be as plentiful as iOS apps but really, how many apps does one person need or use?

Games? Not so much. I'm a console gamer (Xbox 360) and halo is growing less attractive with each release. So I will refrain from gaming comments on RT or Pro. Did I mention that I am 64? Not many old farts still around who began life with 4k TRS80's and basic.

I guess in a nutshell the RT is a fairly good laptop replacement while the Pro is an excellent laptop or desktop replacement. I'll probably sell the Pro soon and keep the RT for business travels.

Just my 2 cents worth......

Nick
 
I got mine to replace an aging laptop to use as my primary computer for class and homework attaining a second degree. Ironically, I built a very powerful oc'd desktop and since getting the Surface Pro a month or so later, seldom boot it. I'm just hearing rumors about the 2nd generation coming along, and frankly, I'll be buying it. Not that I'm having issues with anything on my current Surface, more RAM, more battery life, faster and more efficient processor, and greater storage. I won't have any trouble selling the current model, and that'll go a long way toward buying the next one...
 
Got a pro to compliment my desktop when I'm on the go in another room, etc. Love it. Picked it up from my local pawn shop for a steal!

Installing a few games on it this weekend and giving that a shot :)
 
That's interesting as most people would consider the Surface the complimentary product! Anyway, buying from a pawn shop I'm sure you got it at a decent price :)
 
Until further notice, the Surface 2 Pro is a VERY SAD replacement for my $200 piece of crap netbook.
My mistake for not spending the money to activate the Office license on the netbook.
A small laptop without CONSTANT bugs is better than a glitzy piece of unreliable junk with ENDLESS bugs.

BUYER BEWARE
 
Until further notice, the Surface 2 Pro is a VERY SAD replacement for my $200 piece of crap netbook.
My mistake for not spending the money to activate the Office license on the netbook.
A small laptop without CONSTANT bugs is better than a glitzy piece of unreliable junk with ENDLESS bugs.

BUYER BEWARE

Or you got a faulty unit. It happens. That's why there are warranties.
 
Back
Top