*** The Official Microsoft Surface Thread ***

Fallen god said:
Anandtech have a quick review up, screen look good, its not as good as the iPad air, and their claim for the highest contrast doesn't seem to hold up just yet :P.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8037/microsoft-surface-pro-3-hands-on-display-performance-preview
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Good information thanks.

I think the smaller display gives the iPad Air and edge though, I'm assuming its cheaper to make better smaller displays?

Interesting it is still using the Core i5-4300U (the SP2 got silently bumped to this in later models)

So the tables comparing performance are a bit out if you had a more recent SP2 with the 4300U.
 
POB said:
Good information thanks.

I think the smaller display gives the iPad Air and edge though, I'm assuming its cheaper to make better smaller displays?

Interesting it is still using the Core i5-4300U (the SP2 got silently bumped to this in later models)

So the tables comparing performance are a bit out if you had a more recent SP2 with the 4300U.
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Might be the scale, Apple can push 15m units a quarter compared to the SP3, so they could get it slightly cheaper pre a unit as a result. But I've read before that it is harder to make smaller displays as good, since you have less space, and more pixels and so on.

I think the biggest difference is calibration, and that could get better, I'm not a display expert by any means. Also the differences with the naked eye won't be much.

The i5-4300U is the latest Haswell part, I expect MSFt is waiting for boardwell but just wanted to push out their new thinner SP once they were done, instead of waiting to the end of the year. I personally would wait for that.
 
Still its better then the iffy screen in the Macbook Air which is its closest competitor.

I'm kinda annoyed at the moment, I sold my SP2 for the major reason of the screen being too small.

I purchased an excellent Dell XPS 15 (i7 Quad, 16GB Ram, and 512GB SSD) but I still want a Surface Pro 3.

Might pick-up the i3 version on a trip to the USA, £420 is much more appealing than £639.
 
The Airs have such horrible displays, for a !k laptop its a huge joke, and it is not just the pixels, its a crappy TN panel, not so great colours, its basically the same thing you find in £300 machines.

I also used to own the SP2 and the screen was just to small, and the scaling was :/, and I found the keyboard a little to compared to use for development. I sold it and got the 13" rMBP, the SP3 seems a lot better, I'm thinking to hold off for Surface Mini which I keep hearing about, I don't really need a 12" display now.
 
Gimped graphics capability and lower single threaded performance as it won't boost.

In anything that stresses the CPU, the i5/i3 should be nigh on the same.
 
Martini1991 said:
Gimped graphics capability and lower single threaded performance as it won't boost.

In anything that stresses the CPU, the i5/i3 should be nigh on the same.
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Do you have any real life example on how performance would be affected? Does that affect regular use or mostly gaming (which I'm not interested in)?
 
Surface Mini isnt going to happen from MS, theirs already a lot of OEMs currently making 8" versions for them, hence they worked on a 12" size.
Also, despite what an Air might offer, it simply doesmt have any touch input or anything of that nature, the big selling point for me is the revamped version of Creative Suits from Adobe coupled with that touch and pen input.
 
Peew971 said:
Do you have any real life example on how performance would be affected? Does that affect regular use or mostly gaming (which I'm not interested in)?
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Well, I had an ivy i3 ultra in a laptop and gaming was a no-go pretty much, but the ivy i5 ultra can handle 720p gaming pretty well on a multitude of games. A Haswell i5 Ultra should be able to game at 30 frames or more on the vast majority of games at 720p low settings.

My Girlfriend's playing Lego Harry Potter at 1080p low settings on my ultra i5 pretty well, and that's an Ivy, so it all depends on the games.

For CPU, real life? Probably little end difference.
 
cu3ed said:
Surface Mini isnt going to happen from MS, theirs already a lot of OEMs currently making 8" versions for them, hence they worked on a 12" size.
Also, despite what an Air might offer, it simply doesmt have any touch input or anything of that nature, the big selling point for me is the revamped version of Creative Suits from Adobe coupled with that touch and pen input.
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These mini devices lack the build quality than a Surface Mini could bring to the table.

Microsoft are making it hard for themselves to get their tablets into having widespread adoption.
 
They arnt going to push OEM's any more like that, they have done more than enough to them so far.

And who is buying one of these at all for gaming?

The adoption rate I think is going pretty okay for them, prices will keep dropping in certain lines, soon enough you have full Intels in sub £500 Surface Pro like devices.
 
I'm not into PC/laptop gaming but if I was getting a Surface Pro 3 I could easily see my better half grabbing it to play The Sims 4 once it's out. Beats having to seat in the office.
 
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I think that was part of the reason MS got into the devices, they seen OEMS just wernt delivering the quality finish spec as the likes of Apple, but gives the OEM's a yard stick that they are now being measured by.

Also, im still a little amazed that the 12" spec, for the depth of about the original iPad, AND still has the kick stand built into it.
 
I want to know whats happening with the dock for the Pro 2, especially as they have redesigned where ports are on the Pro3, that and the redesigned Surface pages on the MS site, to me it looks like there is the Surface 2 and the Pro 3, anything else is clearance, I want my dock damn it, I was told it was coming several times but nothing and now the Pro 3 is here I'm feeling a bit screwed over on a device thats not really that old...
 
POB said:
Still its better then the iffy screen in the Macbook Air which is its closest competitor.

I'm kinda annoyed at the moment, I sold my SP2 for the major reason of the screen being too small.

I purchased an excellent Dell XPS 15 (i7 Quad, 16GB Ram, and 512GB SSD) but I still want a Surface Pro 3.

Might pick-up the i3 version on a trip to the USA, £420 is much more appealing than £639.
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Works out more like approx £500 with the applicable sales tax on top depending where you're visiting. £508 is the rough figure I've got for such a purchase in las Vegas.

I would much rather have the i5 version where you're saving a lot more and that comes in at approx £636 which is still slightly cheaper than the cheapest UK SP3 and over £200 cheaper than the equivalent model in the UK.
 
cu3ed said:
I think that was part of the reason MS got into the devices, they seen OEMS just wernt delivering the quality finish spec as the likes of Apple, but gives the OEM's a yard stick that they are now being measured by.

Also, im still a little amazed that the 12" spec, for the depth of about the original iPad, AND still has the kick stand built into it.
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Perhaps, but they need an 8" tablet to aspire too, as the majority of people seem to be getting mini tablets.
 
jrodga2k5 said:
Works out more like approx £500 with the applicable sales tax on top depending where you're visiting. £508 is the rough figure I've got for such a purchase in las Vegas.
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Opps!, I based it on $699 (its $799). Why did I not check the price?:rolleyes:
 
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