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i3 Surface Pro 3 vs 4GB Surface 3

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I reckon you could be on to something there. My main complaint with the Surface 3 is the pricing (well, and sizing) being too close to the Pro model. Getting rid of the current entry model might make a lot of sense...

Would be fine with me :) I think i5 seems to be around the peak for the Pro models anyway.
I don't see anything wrong with having a Core-M 10.8" Surface 3.1 :) and a Core-M 12.1" Surface 4.1 although I think if they lowered the whole pricing structure by $100 they would sell a lot better and keyboards should be at least $30 less, Pens $25-30 not $50. other country pricing accordingly except for countries on the "List" they will have to pay more. :D
 
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daveyp

Member
I reckon you could be on to something there. My main complaint with the Surface 3 is the pricing (well, and sizing) being too close to the Pro model. Getting rid of the current entry model might make a lot of sense...

Would be fine with me :) I think i5 seems to be around the peak for the Pro models anyway.

I'm quite happy with my i3, for some uses it doesn't make sense to splurge for an i5 or higher. Some B&M's made it possible to get them really cheap ($580 last summer at Best Buy + almost $60 in rewards). I do hope they keep the lower-end 12" models available. Main reason I'm considering the Surface 3 is better battery life and LTE, but I hope the Surface Pro 4 also offers this.
 

netuser

Member
The biggest disappointment other than pricing on the Pro is battery life. The main reason to go with the 4GB Surface for $599 vs a $799 i3 Pro other than to save $200 is better battery life and lighter weight.
However, the Surface won't be worth it if the Atom performance makes it laggy and frustrating to use on a daily basis. It isn't cheap enough to deal with performance problems doing normal things like web surfing and editing Office documents.
 

CrippsCorner

Well-Known Member
I'm quite happy with my i3, for some uses it doesn't make sense to splurge for an i5 or higher. Some B&M's made it possible to get them really cheap ($580 last summer at Best Buy + almost $60 in rewards). I do hope they keep the lower-end 12" models available. Main reason I'm considering the Surface 3 is better battery life and LTE, but I hope the Surface Pro 4 also offers this.

That's great and please don't think I'm cussing the i3 model at all. I was really interested in getting one for my mum, but you see now that the Surface 3 runs full Windows, it's kind of negated that choice for me. If I was buying a Surface Pro 3 from scratch, I might even opt for the i3 myself, but I'd be coming from an i5 Surface Pro (original) and you know, OCD tells me I cannot 'downgrade' however good it is!

I guess there lives the reasoning for the Surace 3 imo. For my personal use case, no it doesn't make sense... but when I was explaining the devices to my mum before, it was a choice between Surface 2 (but you'd need a 'proper' computer too for some tasks) or a more expensive Surface Pro 3. Now, it's simple, get the Surface 3 :) (unless she preferred the bigger screen)

Ultimately though, she, like me, are waiting for a Surface Mini!
 
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daveyp

Member
Intel Haswell will SHRED an Atom core CPU. You can't simply look at ram and clock speed. It will be very gimped... trust me.
I know about the importance of architecture, but given that the atom is a newer model, as well as a quad core with up to a 60% clock advantage I would think it could come close enough to the i3 for the majority of uses.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I know about the importance of architecture, but given that the atom is a newer model, as well as a quad core with up to a 60% clock advantage I would think it could come close enough to the i3 for the majority of uses.
Exactly, sometimes it's not about shredding it... like the woman that ate 5 pounds of bacon in five minutes... she sure shredded that bacon but it's not for everyone. :)

point is, if the web page loads in a second or 50 milliseconds does it really matter... if it loads fast enough at the price point that's all that's needed.
 
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