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I have a good excuse not to buy an SP3

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ProOrNo

New Member
Some interesting comments, but let me clear a few points.

My 10.6" Acer Laptop cost $385 as a model run-out (formerly $680) few years back. The 256GB SanDisk SSDs were a gold-dot special at Amazon for $109 each. I have it hooked to a Logitec mouse/keyboard combo, $27 and an ASUS 27" monitor, $134.

I know there is a SP3-i5 $1,000 version, but add a carry sleeve and Tax to that and it is fast approaching the $1200 I rounded up to. You do include Tax with the total cost of stuff, don't you?

I am one of those people who does not like supporting the Macro Economics theories of "what the market will bear." Thus, I do not support extravagantly priced products just because I can.

Please do not launch in to that rusty old egg, "msoft sell them at a loss," BS. Having worked within the electronics industry as a Mechanical and Electronics Design Engineer for 30+ year, I can assure you that is not happening. Prices are set at what the market will bear.

Prices of old stuff, I could tell you stories. The first hard drive I ever owned was a whopping 5-Megabyte capacity and came in a box the size of a small piano, it had three wailing banshee fans and cost me $3,000. We did save on heating bills that Winter though.

Regardless, I now plan to wait as the "M" CPU from Intel is on the market and if you recall, msoft reconfigured the SP2 barely 5 months after first release with a CPU upgrade. I suspect in a short time the SP3 will be sporting the M-chip with 1/3 the battery drain of the current CPUs.

All good comes to he who waits. LOL
 

dniezby

Member
I got nothing.... Can't think of ANY reason not to have an SP3...Now that I have one. Yes, it did cost me $1300 I have the second version.

As for having a computer that you paid $300 for, that's good an all but the SP3 is NOT even close to the same comparison. I can't explain it. It's just not.

It's one of those things that you won't be able to understand until you have one.
 

Kris

Active Member
Some interesting comments, but let me clear a few points.

My 10.6" Acer Laptop cost $385 as a model run-out (formerly $680) few years back. The 256GB SanDisk SSDs were a gold-dot special at Amazon for $109 each. I have it hooked to a Logitec mouse/keyboard combo, $27 and an ASUS 27" monitor, $134.

I know there is a SP3-i5 $1,000 version, but add a carry sleeve and Tax to that and it is fast approaching the $1200 I rounded up to. You do include Tax with the total cost of stuff, don't you?

I am one of those people who does not like supporting the Macro Economics theories of "what the market will bear." Thus, I do not support extravagantly priced products just because I can.

Please do not launch in to that rusty old egg, "msoft sell them at a loss," BS. Having worked within the electronics industry as a Mechanical and Electronics Design Engineer for 30+ year, I can assure you that is not happening. Prices are set at what the market will bear.

Prices of old stuff, I could tell you stories. The first hard drive I ever owned was a whopping 5-Megabyte capacity and came in a box the size of a small piano, it had three wailing banshee fans and cost me $3,000. We did save on heating bills that Winter though.

Regardless, I now plan to wait as the "M" CPU from Intel is on the market and if you recall, msoft reconfigured the SP2 barely 5 months after first release with a CPU upgrade. I suspect in a short time the SP3 will be sporting the M-chip with 1/3 the battery drain of the current CPUs.

All good comes to he who waits. LOL
I am failing to see the reasoning behind your topic and continuing it, it's obvious that you currently don't want to spend your money on a SP3... The rest of us did, if you don't want to spend your precious money then it's simple....Don't
 

InspectHerGadget

Active Member
I am failing to see the reasoning behind your topic and continuing it, it's obvious that you currently don't want to spend your money on a SP3... The rest of us did, if you don't want to spend your precious money then it's simple....Don't
+1

On the other hand premium gadgets are damned expensive. Of course, everyone would like one but the price puts people off.

I'm lucky as I really do use mine for business so everything is deductible including the GST. Even my wife only complained mildly about the cost and it is the i7. I thought long and hard and procrastinated unbelievably and then got it (twice).

I would keep your laptop and get the i3. It is just enough computer for most general purpose needs and will do stuff your laptop won't. You may find in time you only use your laptop occasionally. One greedy application called MYOB meant I needed the i7 but the i3 is half the price but not half the device.

The O.P. should just do himself a favour and buy one. Mind you the SP2 is damned good and I don't regard it as an inferior choice especially if you can get it at half the new price. It is well worth it so if the O.P. is short of cash then get the SP2.
 

megatronium

Active Member
The SP3 is not a good laptop replacement. It is a good portable business device, but for a person who wants sustained prolonged usage with varying demands on the machine's CPU and GPU then the surface fails.

The SP3 needs to be watched and babied...Don't fall for the form factor yet. Wait till SP4. Despite what a lot of happy people say, the SP3 is flawed in respect to thermals and heavy usage. I was able to burn out my first SP3. I must have cooked it compiling like you and with editing video.

This is not to say I do not like the surface--I do but mostly because I like gadgets. Also, I have a good laptop to work with. An honest assessment will say the surface is the best tablet but not a good laptop replacement. Hell, the surface 2 was more robust. SP3 is a step ahead in design and a step back in terms of usability.

Why not wait for the Surface Pro 7?
 

gtext

Member
+1

On the other hand premium gadgets are damned expensive. Of course, everyone would like one but the price puts people off.

I'm lucky as I really do use mine for business so everything is deductible including the GST. Even my wife only complained mildly about the cost and it is the i7. I thought long and hard and procrastinated unbelievably and then got it (twice).

I would keep your laptop and get the i3. It is just enough computer for most general purpose needs and will do stuff your laptop won't. You may find in time you only use your laptop occasionally. One greedy application called MYOB meant I needed the i7 but the i3 is half the price but not half the device.

The O.P. should just do himself a favour and buy one. Mind you the SP2 is damned good and I don't regard it as an inferior choice especially if you can get it at half the new price. It is well worth it so if the O.P. is short of cash then get the SP2.

And does the i7 run MYOB that much better? Just curious.
I think you tried it on the i5 didn't you and found it not so good.

Also how is the pen experiance on this new one? Any better than the previous?
 

InspectHerGadget

Active Member
And does the i7 run MYOB that much better? Just curious.
I think you tried it on the i5 didn't you and found it not so good.

Also how is the pen experiance on this new one? Any better than the previous?

The pen experience is mixed. The new pen is good but is full of batteries and electronics which can go wrong. The palm rejection isn't as good as the SP2 and occasionally I've had it not write at all. The SP2 writing is better overall in my opinion although the feel of the pen on the SP3 is nice and the nib has more resistance and so is less like writing on glass. The nibs can wear out quickly though and batteries need to be replaced, both for the bluetooth in the head and in the main body.

The i7 has faster graphics, faster CPU and more memory cache than the i5. Whatever the reasons it is way faster. I found a norton scan will finish in less than half the time and another poster reckoned a 40% reduction in update times. It really is impressive. MYOB, yes, runs 2 - 3 x faster in my estimation on the i7.
 

megatronium

Active Member
The pen experience is mixed. The new pen is good but is full of batteries and electronics which can go wrong. The palm rejection isn't as good as the SP2 and occasionally I've had it not write at all. The SP2 writing is better overall in my opinion although the feel of the pen on the SP3 is nice and the nib has more resistance and so is less like writing on glass. The nibs can wear out quickly though and batteries need to be replaced, both for the bluetooth in the head and in the main body.

The i7 has faster graphics, faster CPU and more memory cache than the i5. Whatever the reasons it is way faster. I found a norton scan will finish in less than half the time and another poster reckoned a 40% reduction in update times. It really is impressive. MYOB, yes, runs 2 - 3 x faster in my estimation on the i7.

What a turn around for you! I remember you being pretty down on the SP3 not too long ago. Seems you like yours a lot now.
 
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