Surface 3: anyone interested

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#1326388 17-Jun-2015 11:28

I'm very keen on a Surface 3.

My requirements are:

Portability
Decent battery
Web, Google Docs, WordPress et al
Photo editing

I've been considering a Chromebook which would be half the price but the Surface 3 has better build quality and more flexibility as it will be able to run Windows apps and I think there would come a day where I'd be saying "Oh, I wish I could just install X" with a Chromebook.

I'm a bit concerned at people saying the Chrome browser is no good on Surface products and I'm interested how people find using a touch screen device with a keyboard.

$1000 (because there isn't a point without the keyboard cover) isn't cheap but I really can't stand spinning hard drives and if it meets my requirements the Surface 3 could be the go.

I think that comparisons to the iPad are wrong, I think the real competitor is the Chromebook.

Thoughts?

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Handsomedan

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#1326392 17-Jun-2015 11:34

crackrdbycracku: I'm very keen on a Surface 3.

My requirements are:

Portability
Decent battery
Web, Google Docs, WordPress et al
Photo editing

I've been considering a Chromebook which would be half the price but the Surface 3 has better build quality and more flexibility as it will be able to run Windows apps and I think there would come a day where I'd be saying "Oh, I wish I could just install X" with a Chromebook.

I'm a bit concerned at people saying the Chrome browser is no good on Surface products and I'm interested how people find using a touch screen device with a keyboard.

$1000 (because there isn't a point without the keyboard cover) isn't cheap but I really can't stand spinning hard drives and if it meets my requirements the Surface 3 could be the go.

I think that comparisons to the iPad are wrong, I think the real competitor is the Chromebook.

Thoughts?

I know it's not quite the same, but I use a Surface pro 3 at work and am not (by any stretch of the imagination) demanding on it, so a Surface 3 would be ideal for the sort of use I put my device to.

I use Chrome as a browser and it works just fine.

The ability to just pick my Surface up and roll into a meeting and scribble all over the screen in One Note is awesome too.

All the pluses of a laptop with none of the minuses, plus the freedom of a tablet when I want it.

To be fair, I rarely use my iPad these days.

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#1326404 17-Jun-2015 11:46

crackrdbycracku: I'm very keen on a Surface 3.
...
I'm a bit concerned at people saying the Chrome browser is no good on Surface products and I'm interested how people find using a touch screen device with a keyboard.

I run Firefox on my Surface 3 without any problems. If I have 30 tabs or more open it does start to slow down, but generally I only do that on my desktop with 8GB of RAM.

If you are intending on having more than about 10 tabs open, I would recommend getting the model with 4GB of RAM. I know it's $160 more, but otherwise you will be wishing "oh if only I'd got more RAM". It's not possible to upgrade the RAM in a Surface 3, so think very carefully before you buy.

Regarding the use of a keyboard on a touchscreen device, I find it brilliant to have both options and would be loath to go back to a non-touch laptop now that I've owned a Surface.

MikeB4

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#1326445 17-Jun-2015 11:57

I use Chrome from time to time on my Surface 3 but I prefer Internet Explorer and looking forward to Edge

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

nathan

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#1326572 17-Jun-2015 15:04

Surface is not the problem here, until Google fix the CPU utilisation you will experience on any device where battery matters, like a tablet/laptop

IE uses less CPU than Chrome = better battery life
Firefox uses less memory that Chrome etc

This is a bit old but will give you an idea
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/03/28/browser-power-consumption-leading-the-industry-with-internet-explorer-9.aspx

nathan

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#1326573 17-Jun-2015 15:07

grant_k:
crackrdbycracku: I'm very keen on a Surface 3.
...
I'm a bit concerned at people saying the Chrome browser is no good on Surface products and I'm interested how people find using a touch screen device with a keyboard.

I run Firefox on my Surface 3 without any problems. If I have 30 tabs or more open it does start to slow down, but generally I only do that on my desktop with 8GB of RAM.

If you are intending on having more than about 10 tabs open, I would recommend getting the model with 4GB of RAM. I know it's $160 more, but otherwise you will be wishing "oh if only I'd got more RAM". It's not possible to upgrade the RAM in a Surface 3, so think very carefully before you buy.

Regarding the use of a keyboard on a touchscreen device, I find it brilliant to have both options and would be loath to go back to a non-touch laptop now that I've owned a Surface.

If you buy the Surface 3 from a Commercial Reseller you have the option of getting the 4GB/64GB option, and it comes with Windows 8.1 Pro not Windows 8.1

You also get a much better Commercial warranty

https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-nz/business/order-now

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#1326707 17-Jun-2015 17:15

maybe try this

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/the-great-suspender/klbibkeccnjlkjkiokjodocebajanakg?hl=en

crackrdbycracku

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#1326712 17-Jun-2015 17:29

Thanks everyone. Seems like a good deal.

Didn't anybody tell you I was a hacker?

MikeB4

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#1326726 17-Jun-2015 17:52

@ Nathan , any updates on Windows 10 on Surface 3

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

nathan

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#1326731 17-Jun-2015 18:08

MikeB4: @ Nathan , any updates on Windows 10 on Surface 3

it will be ready for July 29

Intel haven't prioritised writing the Atom X7 (Cherrytrail) drivers/video etc yet because Windows 10 isn't out and Surface 3 is the only ATOM x7 device on the market and only recently came out.

nathan

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#1326738 17-Jun-2015 18:15

Handsomedan:
crackrdbycracku: I'm very keen on a Surface 3.

My requirements are:

Portability
Decent battery
Web, Google Docs, WordPress et al
Photo editing

I've been considering a Chromebook which would be half the price but the Surface 3 has better build quality and more flexibility as it will be able to run Windows apps and I think there would come a day where I'd be saying "Oh, I wish I could just install X" with a Chromebook.

I'm a bit concerned at people saying the Chrome browser is no good on Surface products and I'm interested how people find using a touch screen device with a keyboard.

$1000 (because there isn't a point without the keyboard cover) isn't cheap but I really can't stand spinning hard drives and if it meets my requirements the Surface 3 could be the go.

I think that comparisons to the iPad are wrong, I think the real competitor is the Chromebook.

Thoughts?

I know it's not quite the same, but I use a Surface pro 3 at work and am not (by any stretch of the imagination) demanding on it, so a Surface 3 would be ideal for the sort of use I put my device to.

I use Chrome as a browser and it works just fine.

The ability to just pick my Surface up and roll into a meeting and scribble all over the screen in One Note is awesome too.

All the pluses of a laptop with none of the minuses, plus the freedom of a tablet when I want it.

To be fair, I rarely use my iPad these days.

Surface 3 can actually cover an enormous amount of use cases.

What I see happen is people (particularly IT peeps) go its an ATOM, pfffffffttttttt too slow for me, I could never use one of those and not even try it. They equate Atom with slow crappy eeePC netbook from years ago

This is not the same as an Atom from last year (Baytrail)

The Intel chip in Surface 3 is a quad-core system-on-a-chip allowing for fanless design and great battery life.
It is also the fastest Atom processor available from Intel.

• It is a quad-core processor that runs at 1.6 GHz with burst speeds up to 2.4GHz
• We are using the highest performing Cherry Trail chip available from Intel
• Our benchmarks show that Surface 3 with 2 GB RAM offers more than 80% of the performance of the Core i3 Surface Pro 3, and greatly exceeds the performance of Surface 2 and previous generation Atom chips

So, relax. This quad-core chip is really fast and it will surprise you. This ain’t your grandpa’s Atom processor, that’s for sure.

There is no other device on the market that has the same quality bright screen and pen experience.

Yes Surface is not cheap, that is the point. It is quality and is designed to set a standard in a new category for other Windows OEMs to copy.

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gzt

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#1326797 17-Jun-2015 20:30

Surface team did an awesome AMA on reddit recently.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/31c0tu/we_are_panos_panay_and_the_surface_team_at/

Bunch of cool stuff technical stuff may have missed some +confirmed W10

grant_k

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#1329359 22-Jun-2015 16:06

My Surface 3 downloaded a Windows Update this morning and all sound stopped working (Failed to play Test Tone messages when testing speakers inside Control Panel).

I've just uninstalled the update, done some thorough tests and everything is back to normal. Here is the update concerned:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-nz/kb/2976978

Tried to advise the MS Support Desk of this, but they are closed as it's still Sunday in the US. NOT HELPFUL !!!

nathan

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#1329370 22-Jun-2015 16:19

Microsoft does free support for Windows Updates

0800 800 004

its weird as that patch has been out for a while, and nothing has changed in that patch for 2-3 weeks now so its weird your machine would just download it now

grant_k

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#1329372 22-Jun-2015 16:26

nathan: Microsoft does free support for Windows Updates

0800 800 004

its weird as that patch has been out for a while, and nothing has changed in that patch for 2-3 weeks now so its weird your machine would just download it now

Thanks for your comments Nathan. I figured I'd get a quicker response here than via official channels, and once again, GZ comes up trumps.

Yes, I thought it was weird as well because from the 'Details' web page, nothing in that patch should have anything to do with the sound driver. However, it was the only thing that changed this morning between when sound was working and when it stopped. Uninstalled, and voila ... back to normal. I will take care not to download that particular update again.

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