3 Days with the SP3

[BillJ]

Three days with the SP3
I will preface this post with saying that the SP3 is the device for which I have been waiting for several years; a light, compact tablet PC that has sufficient screen size to replace my laptop. I have been following the SP3 posts for the past several days, and I would like to summarize some of the concerns others have had with the device.

1) Slow wi-fi after initial updates on AC routers
a. Should be fixed with an update
b. I would hope that this would be a high priority for MS

2) Battery issues
a. As has been clearly stated in the posts, everybody’s use of the device varies, and battery performance will vary depending on what programs they use
b. My experience with the SP3 is that the battery longevity is about the same as SP2
c. I have not had substantial power loss while in sleep mode

3) Heat
a. Right upper corner gets warm for sure
b. This is not any more heat than any other PC generates, but may be more noticeable due to the design of the machine

4) Noise
a. I can hear the fan when it comes on, but again, no more and perhaps less than on the SP2
b. I am still waiting for a design that can be fanless (perhaps Broadwell?)
c. Not a deal breaker for me

5) N-trig vs Wacom
a. Update the driver!!
b. After updating to N-trig’s wintab driver, I can write notes just as quickly and even more accurately than with the Wacom pen on the SP2

6) Wakeup from sleep/ connected standby issues
a. I see these as growing pains
b. Likely not to be an issue after next round of updates

7) Bluetooth connectivity
a. Ditto for above

8) No power mode options/ performance throttling
a. I can understand how the machine’s design is not consistent with maximum cpu performance
b. Not an issue for me, since I don’t do gaming or other power intensive tasks on a frequent basis
c. Prospective buyers do need to understand the limitations of the device

9) Pen holder
a. Oh come on…
b. Put the damn thing in your shirt pocket protector

10) Touchpad/ keyboard connectivity
a. More growing pains…

In summary, the SP3 is not perfect, and perhaps Mr Panay and the MS team did elevate our expectations more than they should have. But at the end of the day, I have my beautiful, sleek tablet PC that does everything I need it to do, and do it very well. This device has replaces all of my other electronic gadgets, except for my Lumia Icon…

 

[leeshor]

The hype usually exceeds the reality but good coverage.

 

[Geneo]

Is it a PC that can also be a tablet?
Or a tablet that can also be a PC?
Actually, it's both.
As such, it can never be the perfect this or that. But you're right, it just came out, this is MS's 'baby', and they'll take care of it. Now that it's out in the wild any 'problems' noted will be dealt with as best and as fast as they can. The updates are coming- hang in there.

 

[puma]

When you say update driver for the n-trig, do you mean from MS, or is there a newer driver from the manu.?

 

[bradhaak]

Yesterday, I ran a wi-fi test using speedtest.net. Nothing comprehensive, but I compared the SP3 on my Netgear AC router against my desktop PC on a wired connection. I only ran the test once, so there is nothing comprehensive. I pay for a 20 mbps Uverse connection.

My desktop system got 22 mbps down and 4.8 mbps up. The SP3 (256 GB) got 24 mbps down and 4.8 mbps up within a minute or so of the desktop run. So both are running very fast and are actually faster than what I am paying for. One being slightly faster than the other is also meaningless since subsequent tests can vary by more than that on the same system. Actually, both of these were kind of surprising since I usually see numbers in the 18-20 mbps range.

This is a brand new (purchased last Thursday) Netgear R7000 AC1900 router. Also to use full AC you need to connect to the 5 Ghz connection. The 2.4 GHz connection is not 802.11AC.

Again, this is very unscientific and stemmed from me not seeing the problems that other people are talking about.

 

[Seneleron]

The updated N-trig drivers are from N-trig

Lobby - N-trig

Nice to see I'm not the only one having issues with bluetooth. . . I guess >.>

 

[mtalinm]

Here's a cool trick, working on the SP3 while playing a movie on my TV.

DP-->HDMI cable does the trick, set Devices--> Project to Extend. Finally, run (Xbox) Video and run your cursor up near the top of the screen until a title bar appears. Grab that and drag the app from the main screen to the TV. Voilà!

 

[double07]

I am wondering if people should head over to Surface page at Facebook and post your issue and concern there? Perhaps it might get more or quicker attention by Microsoft. They seem to think everything is all good over there. Not to trash talk the SF3. I just think for the price we paid for this, issues should be look at sooner.

 

[ctitanic]

Can anyone point me or show me in Device manager where is the Pen driver and what's the updated version?

 

[BillJ]

Can anyone point me or show me in Device manager where is the Pen driver and what's the updated version?

See Seneleron's post above; the updated driver is from N-trig, and installs automatically after download/follow the prompts.

 

[ctitanic]

See Seneleron's post above; the updated driver is from N-trig, and installs automatically after download/follow the prompts.

That's not what I'm asking. I want to find the driver in device manager to check the version.

 

[olimjj]

That's not what I'm asking. I want to find the driver in device manager to check the version.

I don't have the SP3 but the Wacom drivers could be found in Device Manager under HID human interface devices. Scroll down the entire list, I am guessing you will find it there.