Is 8.1 much better for Surface 3 (Atom)?
- Thread starter TallSurfaceUser
- Start date
I am of the Win10 camp. Got my S3 with Windows 8 installed and I installed Win10 as soon as I could. There were issues with sound and lockups at first, but those issues were resolved after firmware updates installed over time. Performance seems just as fast as in Win8 to me. I'm just upset that steam installed C&C 3 Kane's Wrath, but I get errors every time I run the game and don't even get to the main menu of the game! One day....
I keep saying this, but I just got the S3 to replace my iPad Air, not to use as a workhorse, because that is what my Alienware laptop is for. Windows 8 or Windows 10....I wouldn't expect the Surface 3 to perform fast/well enough to even replace a new work laptop. I would just get a Pro 3/4 if I really wanted to get work done with a tablet form factor IMO.
I keep saying this, but I just got the S3 to replace my iPad Air, not to use as a workhorse, because that is what my Alienware laptop is for. Windows 8 or Windows 10....I wouldn't expect the Surface 3 to perform fast/well enough to even replace a new work laptop. I would just get a Pro 3/4 if I really wanted to get work done with a tablet form factor IMO.
OP
TallSurfaceUser
Member
I never said that it's not everyone's personal choice. My point is that I think 8.1 runs faster and more reliably on this device. This is from someone that has spent a lot of time on both OS's. Maybe my S3 is somehow unique and does not run as well on 10 because of some peculiarity with my Atom CPU or my RAM. (I'm being slightly sarcastic.) The best explanation that does not blame 10 would be MS's upgrade process was not good.
I'm still getting used to not waiting so long for things to open. It's not so much that I had "problems" on 10. It just is not the same quality experience.
Options are limited since the Home/Basic sku doesn't include downgrade rights.
Assuming you managed to acquire a W8.1 recovery image IDK if it would activate using the embedded key. I assume it would not so to activate W8.1 you would need to acquire a separate key. By default you can only download the Recovery Image that shipped on your device as identified by serial number.
You could compare performance to an extent by downloading Passmark and posting your results here if someone with 8.1 also posts results. Results do vary from run to run or device to device so results within say 10% are essentially the same. Note also during the trial period you can compare your results to their Database of results using the manage baselines option and doing advanced search for cpu x7-Z8700, motherboard or other Surface 3.
I usually ignore the top few entries and the bottom half as benchmarks by users are not always run in ideal conditions.
Telstar1948
Active Member
My new S3 came with W10, so I'm not certain W8 would be faster or not. The only lag I've noted using my S3 is what I expected to see running an Atom as opposed to an i5. The delay in general is only in that context - comparison between an Atom & i5 chip. I find the S3 to be fast enough for me to do any sort of office work that my job calls for, even though I use my desktop for daily work activity normally. I have the same software on my S3 as my desktop and the S3 runs everything the desktop does (sans gaming). When I speak of gaming, I'm talking bout iCore style gaming rather than Windows Store stuff.
I'm sold on the S3. Good product, light, compact, cool/quiet, good screen, good type cover - does all things well for me!
I'm sold on the S3. Good product, light, compact, cool/quiet, good screen, good type cover - does all things well for me!
OP
TallSurfaceUser
Member
When I went back to 8.1 I did a clean install. Maybe using the auto upgrade or downgrade can create issues.
Have you tried manually loading the drivers from MS for the S3?
Have you tried manually loading the drivers from MS for the S3?
I got the surface with win 10 installed, everything was great (I only had from time to time the loss of the typecover, reset solved it), but after last week's update the hole system is lagging. Sometimes it takes 5-10 seconds to open the start menu or the clock. When vlc is running with SD videos it is a pain. I hope this will be solved soon
