Considering Surface Pro - Some Questions...

Bes · 7 Oct 2018 at 14:17

Hi there

I'm in the market for a new machine to replace my ancient 2009 Macbook Pro... I am considering an Apple machine of some sort, but I question how good value they are and I already have a spiffy new Macbook Pro as my work machine anyway (I do need a personal machine though due to not being allowed to use it for non-work-related projects, blah blah blah...)

I'm weighing up a Surface as a potential. I would probably buy a s/h one for now and then replace it with a new one when (if!) the big refresh happens in 2019 with USB-C, etc. My main criteria are:

- Something super portable and light
- Good battery life
- Ability to plug in keyboard, mouse, screen, etc. as if its a laptop (Rules out the iPad Pro)
- Ability to run/ dual boot Linux well
- Easy to use as a 'laptop' on a plane/ train
- Main tasks are light photo sorting/ editing, general MS office work, and coding/ development.

No real requirement for games, etc. apart from the odd bit of Civ 6 or something on a long haul flight maybe!

Has anyone made a similar move? Is the Surface Pro a good option for this? How do people find the keyboard and trackpad? (The one thing I really like about this ancient Macbook Pro is the keyboard)

Thanks!

paradigm · 7 Oct 2018 at 20:07

I've owned a number of Surface Pros (a 1, 2, 3 and a 4) and to be honest, whilst they are decent machines, they do actually fail at the "easy" to use on a train/plane part, they need a decent amount of space behind the screen for the kickstand, and if the keyboard overhangs the tray table too much then it can hinge off the Surface.

I've since got a Dell XPS 13 (i7-8550U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4K screen) and I use it a lot more than I ever did any of my Surface Pros. That said, the battery life of my Lenovo X260 (i5 6300U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p) is better, but it's a heavier/bigger package and doesn't have a 4k display. The only thing I really miss from my Surfaces is the USB port on the charger which was useful whilst travelling), as a productive device, my XPS is much more travel friendly.

Bes · 7 Oct 2018 at 21:30

paradigm said:
I've owned a number of Surface Pros (a 1, 2, 3 and a 4) and to be honest, whilst they are decent machines, they do actually fail at the "easy" to use on a train/plane part, they need a decent amount of space behind the screen for the kickstand, and if the keyboard overhangs the tray table too much then it can hinge off the Surface.

I've since got a Dell XPS 13 (i7-8550U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4K screen) and I use it a lot more than I ever did any of my Surface Pros. That said, the battery life of my Lenovo X260 (i5 6300U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p) is better, but it's a heavier/bigger package and doesn't have a 4k display. The only thing I really miss from my Surfaces is the USB port on the charger which was useful whilst travelling), as a productive device, my XPS is much more travel friendly.

Thanks... looks like it’s back to the drawing board then!
Cheers

pingu666 · 8 Oct 2018 at 04:43

Having a touchscreen is really nice

I've got 2 sp1's and pondering a upgrade, hard to decide, more so as I'll also second-hand it

PudWud · 9 Oct 2018 at 18:29

paradigm said:
I've owned a number of Surface Pros (a 1, 2, 3 and a 4) and to be honest, whilst they are decent machines, they do actually fail at the "easy" to use on a train/plane part, they need a decent amount of space behind the screen for the kickstand, and if the keyboard overhangs the tray table too much then it can hinge off the Surface.

I've since got a Dell XPS 13 (i7-8550U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4K screen) and I use it a lot more than I ever did any of my Surface Pros. That said, the battery life of my Lenovo X260 (i5 6300U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p) is better, but it's a heavier/bigger package and doesn't have a 4k display. The only thing I really miss from my Surfaces is the USB port on the charger which was useful whilst travelling), as a productive device, my XPS is much more travel friendly.

I was wondering what you thought of the XPS 13 overall.

I'm currently looking at either the Surface Book 2 or the new XPS 13.

For the money, I can get way better specs on the XPS, but I do like the tablet functionality of the Surface (although I don't know if the novelty will wear off).

Can you shed some light on build quality of the XPS as I've heard some horror stories about Dell which is sort of off-putting.

Just to clarify, specs would be: Surface Book 2 - i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 3000x2000 Screen OR XPS 13 - i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4K Screen.

willhub · 9 Oct 2018 at 19:33

I have a Surface Pro 4, I found it's a bit of a novelty and I use my laptop (in sig) all the time now, no real need for the SP4, use it as a media PC in the bedroom and occasionally might use it on the bus maybe have a bit of a draw on it. Got the 4GB I5 version, 4GB is a nightmare on Windows 10, Windows 7 it's fine like. The Surface Pro 6 is coming out soon, nice black version :cool:

paradigm · 10 Oct 2018 at 18:24

PudWud said:
I was wondering what you thought of the XPS 13 overall.

I'm currently looking at either the Surface Book 2 or the new XPS 13.

For the money, I can get way better specs on the XPS, but I do like the tablet functionality of the Surface (although I don't know if the novelty will wear off).

Can you shed some light on build quality of the XPS as I've heard some horror stories about Dell which is sort of off-putting.

Just to clarify, specs would be: Surface Book 2 - i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 3000x2000 Screen OR XPS 13 - i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4K Screen.

I can't fault it at all. It gets thrown in a backpack daily, used for around 6 hours a day (breaks, lunch, once I get home from work) and it's been superb. The build quality seems fine to me, much better than Dell's I've owned in the past.

PudWud · 13 Oct 2018 at 08:42

paradigm said:
I can't fault it at all. It gets thrown in a backpack daily, used for around 6 hours a day (breaks, lunch, once I get home from work) and it's been superb. The build quality seems fine to me, much better than Dell's I've owned in the past.

Thanks for your response, this post is coming from my 9370.

loltim · 15 Oct 2018 at 21:07

willhub said:
4GB is a nightmare on Windows 10

I genuinely don't think this is the case (also have an i5/4GB SP4). What applications are you using?

Delta3D · 15 Oct 2018 at 21:13

Couldn't agree more with what Paradigm said.

We use various surfaces around the office, SP3/4 mainly and have just started rolling out Surface Laptops (Not to be confused with Surface Books)

The laptop variant is quite nice, I like it, however the felt material around the keyboard and trackpad is horrific. Within a month some of them look filthy.

XPS on the otherhand, cannot fault them other than the latest only having USB C which is a tad annoying. Screens are brilliant, especially 4k.

loltim · 15 Oct 2018 at 21:31

I'm a fan of the alcantara. Wash your hands more?

willhub · 16 Oct 2018 at 11:22

loltim said:
I genuinely don't think this is the case (also have an i5/4GB SP4). What applications are you using?

Chrome, PIA Internet VPN, that's it. Resources get ate on 4GB It's not fast and snappy.

Delta3D · 16 Oct 2018 at 17:08

loltim said:
I'm a fan of the alcantara. Wash your hands more?

I love the look of it and am quite a clean person myself, don't have one myself at work however just by looking at the ones we've distributed it's hard to keep clean!

mid_gen · 22 Oct 2018 at 11:56

Personally, having had a few Surface Pros, they just aren't quite good enough at being a laptop. Particularly on planes/trains, they don't fit well.

They're horrible actually on your lap.

BUT they're really great for anything that isn't typing, all touchscreen stuff.

I ended up getting a Surface Laptop. Sure the screen doesn't detach, but you have the Surface Book if you need that which costs a *lot* more.

Didn't like the cheap feel of the Dell/HP alternatives. Surface Laptop is really solid...and has a 3:2 screen which is nice after being stuck with widescreen garbage for so long.