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Advice on Surface Pro 3, please.

capt_aubery

New Member
Hello,

I am in the market for a tablet. I have been looking at a few different Android and Windows 8.1 tablets. I am really digging on the Surface Pro 3. I am going to guess that the lowest model of the Surface Pro 3 line, the i3/4GB/64GB, will do the job just fine for me. All I will be doing is web browsing, downloading, watching shows and movies via streaming services and downloads (legal). I will also like to use game streaming services like Limelight and Steam In-Home streaming, using both wifi and Ethernet, to stream to TVs on my home network and locally on the device.

I know that some of the Android tablets can do all of that, but the Surface really grabs my attention, especially since I can use a USB Ethernet adapter and a mini display port adapter for HDMI. I also like the fact that the Surface has 4GB of RAM. Most other devices go rom 1GB to 3GB, which isn't bad, but I rather have more for "future-proofing", for lack of a better term. I like the idea of having a full blown Windows 8.1 machine available, literally, at my fingertips.

I guess what I am trying to get at is: Will the i3 Surface Pro 3 do what I need it to do? Or, better yet, is it overkill for what I need it to do? Should I wait until May for the Atom version? And, how much more powerful is the i3 over the Atom? Sorry about all of the questions, I am trying to be informed as much as I can before making the purchase.

If you made it this far in my post, I thank you for reading all of the way through it with out falling asleep lol. I would like to thank all responders in advance for any and all help, suggestions and advice.

Thank you!
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
For what you are wanting to do, the i3 is fine, you could also look at the recently announced Surface 3, it is a Cherry Trail Atom, smaller and less expensive and offers 90% of the functionality of the SP3....
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I just read Cnet's article Stream PC games to your Android device with Remotr and given that it works with pretty much any Android device the only question is about implementing the controls not whether it would handle streaming the game.

Based on that it would seem either the Surface 3 or the Surface Pro 3 i3 would meet your needs. My best guess right now is the Surface 3 will have about 75-85% of the performance of the i3 with 64GB more storage assuming you get the 4GB RAM model.
 
OP
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capt_aubery

New Member
For what you are wanting to do, the i3 is fine, you could also look at the recently announced Surface 3, it is a Cherry Trail Atom, smaller and less expensive and offers 90% of the functionality of the SP3....

I just read Cnet's article Stream PC games to your Android device with Remotr and given that it works with pretty much any Android device the only question is about implementing the controls not whether it would handle streaming the game.

Based on that it would seem either the Surface 3 or the Surface Pro 3 i3 would meet your needs. My best guess right now is the Surface 3 will have about 75-85% of the performance of the i3 with 64GB more storage assuming you get the 4GB RAM model.

Thank you both for your quick responses!

I messed around with Steam In-Home streaming for PC and Limelight and Gamestream with Android. Steam's option only works with a few titles, I mean, that really give full controller support. I haven't been able to play Far Cry 4 will, for example, streaming with Steam. Gamestream on Android was hit or miss. However, Limelight on Android ran pretty much flawlessly, controller support and everything. I know there is a version of Limelight for PC, too, I just haven't tried it yet.

Do you guys think there will be a scaling issue with the Surface Pro 3, when it comes to gaming at 1080p? I know that I have read about scaling issues with different apps with the Surface Pro 3's high resolution. I know that the new Surface 3 is 10" @ 1920x1080, so there would not be a problem there.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Thank you both for your quick responses!

I messed around with Steam In-Home streaming for PC and Limelight and Gamestream with Android. Steam's option only works with a few titles, I mean, that really give full controller support. I haven't been able to play Far Cry 4 will, for example, streaming with Steam. Gamestream on Android was hit or miss. However, Limelight on Android ran pretty much flawlessly, controller support and everything. I know there is a version of Limelight for PC, too, I just haven't tried it yet.

Do you guys think there will be a scaling issue with the Surface Pro 3, when it comes to gaming at 1080p? I know that I have read about scaling issues with different apps with the Surface Pro 3's high resolution. I know that the new Surface 3 is 10" @ 1920x1080, so there would not be a problem there.

The Surface 3 is 1920x1200 same 3:2 as the SP3....
 

ptrkhh

Active Member
The decision between 4/128 S3 and 4/64 SP3 is mainly about the size. If you value 10" portability more, go for the S3. If you value 12" screen real estate more, go for the SP3. The performance is not really that different, and so is the pricing, especially when you include the pen that doesn't come with the S3. You will need microSD card for the SP3 though, as 64 GB is really small
 

WoodSurface

New Member
This would be an easy answer if you didn't mention "future-proofing" and the fact you like having 4GB RAM. As you know, the price gap between a Surface 3 with 4GB and a Surface Pro 3 with 4GB shrinks, and when it comes to processing power, it's not really a fair fight between the fanless Atom series versus the vented/fanned I-Core series, more specific benchmarks I'm sure will be coming out soon where the differences in CPU/GPU can be shown in more details. Since you specifically mentioned a tablet, as other comments have pointed out, portability and battery life would also be factors to consider.

WW
 

jrioux

Active Member
I am in the market for a tablet. I have been looking at a few different Android and Windows 8.1 tablets. I am really digging on the Surface Pro 3. I am going to guess that the lowest model of the Surface Pro 3 line, the i3/4GB/64GB, will do the job just fine for me...
If you don't mind factory refurbished computers, Microsoft is offering the SP3 i3 for $680, the 128GB i5 for $800 and the 128GB i5 with keyboard for $850. Look at www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Intel-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B00TUJ7WQW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429637604&sr=1-1&keywords=refurbished+surface+pro+3 and http://stores.ebay.com/microsoft-st...4826694017&_sid=1183854187&_trksid=p4634.m322.
 

jrioux

Active Member
Sorry Woody, that's only the current standard Microsoft sales discount (they seem to repeat it or something similar twice a month or so). The prices at my refurb links are $120 lower for the i3, $100 lower for the base i5 and $180 lower for the base i5 with keyboard. The current sale plus a student discount will get you closer to the refurb prices.
 
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