kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
Well...I will need the dock because all I want to have on my desk are my external drives and the monitor. I will get the dock, the pen and the new typecover which looks and sounds droolworthy!
So what is the real impetus to upgrade to 4?
- Thread starter bluegrass
- Start date
Well...I will need the dock because all I want to have on my desk are my external drives and the monitor. I will get the dock, the pen and the new typecover which looks and sounds droolworthy!
If I thought I'd use it I'd get it for sure. But I haven't ever docked my SP3 yet.
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
LOL!!! Nor have I but now circumstances compel me - so it is something that I will have to do.
Well you're lucky you now have a more convenient dock to use I'm inordinately excited about getting the new pen and keyboard - it'll be almost as good as getting a full SP upgrade for me I think!!
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
I'm inordinately excited about getting the new pen and keyboard - it'll be almost as good as getting a full SP upgrade for me I think!!
Yes, I think so too! More than anything else, I am really looking forward to the Type Cover!!! I don't know if the Pen will do what it is supposed to on either the SP3 or the S3. Maybe there are some subtle hardware changes/ additions to the SP4 that allows it to perform better. But I will take that slight drop in functionality for the moment. Personally, I think I will wait for the next iteration. My SP3 (which is now more than a year old) is still in pristine condition and I am not a millionaire!!!
Edit: And you know the funny thing? I was going to buy the old dock over this weekend!!!!!
Me either. I have a DecalGirl skin on my SP3. I replaced it with a new one a month ago and underneath the SP3 was absolutely like brand new
For me the subtle change of eraser on the pen top and the nibs will make a difference. Hopefully the extra pressure sensitivity will translate ot the Sp3.. not sure as they have changed the screen tech again on the SP4. I was going to get a new nib for my SP3 pen.. ended up getting a new pen!
Anyone gotten hands on a Core m3 SP4? Can anyone confirm it's a fanless device?
If the performance is within couple marks of the i5 SP3 i.e. somewhere between i3 SP3 and i5 SP3 it might be a compelling "cool & silent" SP3 alternative. Although still bigger and heavier than the S3 it would smoke all the other "Tablets" iOS, Android, or Atom based WinTabs. iPad Pro you might have a stiff competitor right here at the bottom edge of the SP4 family you didn't see coming.
If the performance is within couple marks of the i5 SP3 i.e. somewhere between i3 SP3 and i5 SP3 it might be a compelling "cool & silent" SP3 alternative. Although still bigger and heavier than the S3 it would smoke all the other "Tablets" iOS, Android, or Atom based WinTabs. iPad Pro you might have a stiff competitor right here at the bottom edge of the SP4 family you didn't see coming.
tried the keyboard and pen yesterday. pen sticks to the SP3 okay-ish but not nearly as well as SP4; probably will still need pen loop.
keyboard seems considerably improved, much sturdier and with less chance of hitting the wrong keys. I'll probably get one of those...maybe with fingerprint reader though it's only in grey :-<
keyboard seems considerably improved, much sturdier and with less chance of hitting the wrong keys. I'll probably get one of those...maybe with fingerprint reader though it's only in grey :-<
The I7 SP4 is reported to have Intel Iris Graphics which has a higher performance GPU. That could be much more interesting for graphically inclined types.
Not sure if the Surface Book i7 is using the same chip as SP4 (i7-6650U) or if it's the lower Intel HD Graphics i7 (i7-6600U) since it has the NVIDIA GPU in the keyboard.
One source indicates the Surface Book i7 is HD graphics 520 so that's the i7-6600U not the iris 540 i7-6650U chip as in the SP4.
Not sure if the Surface Book i7 is using the same chip as SP4 (i7-6650U) or if it's the lower Intel HD Graphics i7 (i7-6600U) since it has the NVIDIA GPU in the keyboard.
One source indicates the Surface Book i7 is HD graphics 520 so that's the i7-6600U not the iris 540 i7-6650U chip as in the SP4.
Last edited:
Looking at the low end SP4 compared to a Surface 3 Atom.
The SP4 is obviously bigger and heavier but should get much better performance which I find the S3 at times is a little balky (tbh I think the issue with the S3 is mostly bad drivers but it's getting to be more than I can bear) so I'm considering replacing my S3 with a core m3 SP4. Before I can do that they will have to fix Windows 10's Tablet mode which IMO is a sorry touch experience right now.
Here's my performance estimation for a core m3 SP4 compared to Surface 3 Atom.
1. Disk performance on the SP4 will be blazing fast with the PCIe 3.0 SSD compared to eMMC on the Surface 3.
2. Atom vs core m3 there are no current benchmarks for a core m3 but this is an incremental improvement over the Broadwell 5y10 so I'll compare Atom X7-Z8700 to the 5y10
Even with no incremental improvement in the Skylake Core m3 over the 5y10 it will smoke the x7-Z8700 especially with a much faster disk.
I'm willing to trade off the size and weight differential for better performance with the above stated provision. Ideally MS would give us a similarly configured Surface non-Pro Skylake Core m but for now a Core m3 SP4 is slated to replace my S3 and I'll take the better keyboard and pen along with it. I think this configuration of the SP4 will kill the iPad Pro too.
The SP4 is obviously bigger and heavier but should get much better performance which I find the S3 at times is a little balky (tbh I think the issue with the S3 is mostly bad drivers but it's getting to be more than I can bear) so I'm considering replacing my S3 with a core m3 SP4. Before I can do that they will have to fix Windows 10's Tablet mode which IMO is a sorry touch experience right now.
Here's my performance estimation for a core m3 SP4 compared to Surface 3 Atom.
1. Disk performance on the SP4 will be blazing fast with the PCIe 3.0 SSD compared to eMMC on the Surface 3.
2. Atom vs core m3 there are no current benchmarks for a core m3 but this is an incremental improvement over the Broadwell 5y10 so I'll compare Atom X7-Z8700 to the 5y10
Even with no incremental improvement in the Skylake Core m3 over the 5y10 it will smoke the x7-Z8700 especially with a much faster disk.
I'm willing to trade off the size and weight differential for better performance with the above stated provision. Ideally MS would give us a similarly configured Surface non-Pro Skylake Core m but for now a Core m3 SP4 is slated to replace my S3 and I'll take the better keyboard and pen along with it. I think this configuration of the SP4 will kill the iPad Pro too.
Sher the Love
Member
I noticed the pen stuck to the left side of the SP4 (when facing the tablet) much better than it did on the right side. What I didn't check is if it stuck to the top anywhere. Any chance you tested this out?
I tend to use my devices more in landscape (maybe that's just cause by Yoga has a 16:9 aspect ratio). Having the pen on the side when holding it in landscape mode would be a bit awkward.
No_ax_to_grind
Member
I've been after the memory from the get-go, having previously owned an SP3 i5 256GB and then upgrading to the i7 512GB which I'm now. Dependent upon when the actual chip models for the CPU and GPU are verified on the i5 versus the i7, I'll go for a 512GB drive unit. Can't justify the additional $500 in my mind for the 1TB SSD.
Won't buy 'til end of year though, want to see others' hands-on experiences once they start rolling out the door, particularly build quality given how many times some have had to return a unit repeatedly.
Keyboard, though, looks really good and I'll be buying one of those right away. Will be in Vegas week-after-next for a conference and will snag one at the Microsoft Store in Sleazers Palace, play with the SP4 Pro while I'm there.
Similar threads
