eltos_lightfoot
Active Member
I run hearthstone that way, and while it gets hot, it seems to work just fine.
So...has the SP3 replaced your laptop?
- Thread starter Nursedad
- Start date
tuchas
Active Member
Thanks, Jeff. I received this hub today and it works great. Perfect for what I need.
Seneleron
Active Member
It gets "warm" at first. My "warm" is probably the equivalent to your "crazy hot". . . about 90c. After 15-20 minutes the CPU gradually settles into a comfortable throttle and it'll cool down to around 72c-ish. No noticable degradation in performance noticed while playing.
And because this bears mentioning:
Just keep in mind that the Tjunction on the 4300u is 100c. I know it's difficult for a lot of people to accept, but it's not dangerous or damaging for the CPU to run at those temps even for extended periods of time. [ok, half true, but even if you shave one year off a 10 year projected lifespan, you're still probably going to replace your device long before you experience a CPU failure]
So this has been an interesting thread to read, as I've been reading this and a similar one on MacRumors about replacing a laptop with the SP3.
I've had both the SP1 (neat idea....lousy battery life) and SP2 (same neat idea, much better battery life and performance, but still too cramped of a display to be an effective laptop replacement for me), so I'm already a fan of the form factor.
My current laptop of choice is a 2014 rMBP fully loaded (16 GB, 1 TB SSD, 2.6 GHz i7), and I run the display at a native 2880 x 1800. I had a MBA previously, but I found that 1440 x 900 on the Air was a little too constrictive in terms of getting work done on the laptop itself. Screen real-estate (in terms of number of pixels) was always important to me. I otherwise loved the form factor of the Air, and the performance was never an issue, even with only 8 GB of RAM (I don't tend to use a lot of VMs, and only rarely went into Bootcamp for something Windows specific).
So I'm thinking of picking up a loaded SP3, and selling my loaded rMBP; I should be able to come out some $$ ahead, given what 15" rMBP's are going for on the used market (eBay etc). And save 2+ lbs of travel weight at the same time. And gain touch-screen / pen based functionality as well.
I suspect I might miss some of the structural rigidity of the 15" laptop (I even thought my MBA felt a little too flexible compared to the 15" MBP when typing), but in the store I've never noticed any downsides in the new SP3 keyboards.
I know a lot of people here have indicated that they've replaced their dedicated laptops with an SP3....but has anyone replaced a fairly high-end laptop with one? That being said, I don't do a ton of high-end work; I wanted it for the 1 TB SSD and screen resolution....performance was otherwise never an issue with the MBA.
I'll readily admit, the rMBP has been the best laptop I've ever owned (OSX or Windows based), so there is a big part of me that is reluctant to give that up. It's been solid, reliable and a very quick machine. That being said, the SP3 seems to be lightning fast in the store as well.
From an actual productivity standpoint (I don't play a lot of games....I like to...just never have the time), does anyone regret getting their SP3 and moving away from a dedicated laptop?
Decisions, decisions.....
Patrick
I've had both the SP1 (neat idea....lousy battery life) and SP2 (same neat idea, much better battery life and performance, but still too cramped of a display to be an effective laptop replacement for me), so I'm already a fan of the form factor.
My current laptop of choice is a 2014 rMBP fully loaded (16 GB, 1 TB SSD, 2.6 GHz i7), and I run the display at a native 2880 x 1800. I had a MBA previously, but I found that 1440 x 900 on the Air was a little too constrictive in terms of getting work done on the laptop itself. Screen real-estate (in terms of number of pixels) was always important to me. I otherwise loved the form factor of the Air, and the performance was never an issue, even with only 8 GB of RAM (I don't tend to use a lot of VMs, and only rarely went into Bootcamp for something Windows specific).
So I'm thinking of picking up a loaded SP3, and selling my loaded rMBP; I should be able to come out some $$ ahead, given what 15" rMBP's are going for on the used market (eBay etc). And save 2+ lbs of travel weight at the same time. And gain touch-screen / pen based functionality as well.
I suspect I might miss some of the structural rigidity of the 15" laptop (I even thought my MBA felt a little too flexible compared to the 15" MBP when typing), but in the store I've never noticed any downsides in the new SP3 keyboards.
I know a lot of people here have indicated that they've replaced their dedicated laptops with an SP3....but has anyone replaced a fairly high-end laptop with one? That being said, I don't do a ton of high-end work; I wanted it for the 1 TB SSD and screen resolution....performance was otherwise never an issue with the MBA.
I'll readily admit, the rMBP has been the best laptop I've ever owned (OSX or Windows based), so there is a big part of me that is reluctant to give that up. It's been solid, reliable and a very quick machine. That being said, the SP3 seems to be lightning fast in the store as well.
From an actual productivity standpoint (I don't play a lot of games....I like to...just never have the time), does anyone regret getting their SP3 and moving away from a dedicated laptop?
Decisions, decisions.....
Patrick
dstrauss
Active Member
Be careful friend - be sure the "downsizing" you are about to experience really meets your needs. I am the biggest cheerleader/fanboy for Surface Pro 3, BUT the rMBP is one of the best laptops ever made, and that 15" screen real estate will be sorely missed. I know, I've tried them twice, and if I ever left the Windows environment, it would be for a rMBP 15" plus iPad Air.
There is no way that the SP3 will be able to keep up with the rMBP in terms of top end computing (i.e. Heavy Gaming, Big Boy Virtualization, CAD/3D Design, etc.). That being said however, the SP3 is perfectly capable of doing everything at least 95% of the computing population would ever need. Not knocking the SP3 in any way, but it's just nowhere even close to a fair comparison with a fully decked out rMBP or many other full size laptops for that matter....
Of course, I'm sure some fanboi will hop on here and tell everyone about how well they run their Hyper-V one or two instances, etc. with the SP3 and that's all well and good, but try running a full-on lab environment on one of these things and prepare to melt the thing to the ground and wait until the onset of senile dementia due to the swapping that's going to occur. I can easily run: 2 Storage Simulators, 1 vCenter Appliance, 2 ESXi hosts, and another Win2k8 application server simultaneously while also hosting several small VMs in the nested hypervisor of said lab on my rMBP. I'm not even near stupid enough to contemplate attempting that on the SP3.
Of course, I'm sure some fanboi will hop on here and tell everyone about how well they run their Hyper-V one or two instances, etc. with the SP3 and that's all well and good, but try running a full-on lab environment on one of these things and prepare to melt the thing to the ground and wait until the onset of senile dementia due to the swapping that's going to occur. I can easily run: 2 Storage Simulators, 1 vCenter Appliance, 2 ESXi hosts, and another Win2k8 application server simultaneously while also hosting several small VMs in the nested hypervisor of said lab on my rMBP. I'm not even near stupid enough to contemplate attempting that on the SP3.
Oh, completely aware of the potential downside risks....hence the reason I'm inquiring about it.
While I have a completely spec'd out rMBP, it will also admit that I don't stress the machine anywhere near it's limit. While it has 16GB of RAM, I don't run VM's at all (the only reason I ran some VM's previously was to access some functionality that existed within Windows that did not exist within OSX....in my particular case those were plug-ins for Outlook and Cisco WebEx that had no functional equivalent within OSX). I didn't want to build to order, so I bought off the shelf from Apple, and my primary driver was the 1TB SSD.
Otherwise, the primary reason that I kept Windows 8.1 in Bootcamp itself was just in case I wanted to play some old Windows game (Rise of Nations, Empire Earth, etc) that wasn't available in OSX. And honestly, I haven't fired up any games beyond chess or solitaire in months...and those are just on my iPad or iPhone.
So I guess I should have been more clear...I'm not expecting the SP3 to be a valid comparison to a fully loaded rMBP; Porsche vs Prius type of comparison.
It was more a case of thinking out-loud, that given that most of my time is spent in Word / Excel / Outlook and Powerpoint (mostly Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook), am I really giving up all that much since I'm not stressing the rMBP at all.
A couple of other factors that I'm considering in all of this as well. First of all, the rMBP is my personal laptop....I have a "classic" MBP from work that is scheduled to be replaced by February of 2015, so at that point I'll have my choice of 13" MBA, 13" rMBP or 15" rMBP. Not the fully loaded versions, but all maxed out in terms of RAM, and 256 GB SSDs.
I use my personal laptop for work simply because the classic MBP is quite slow (mechanical HDD vs SSD, for one), and because I can keep all of my work and personal "stuff" in one place. Currently my "work" MBP sits locked in a drawer in my office and never gets used, so over the long run I wouldn't really be out a machine.
Secondly, I have a Mac-Mini that I use as my 'home' machine, and it handles iTunes, Plex Media Server etc type duties. That basically becomes my storage spot for iTunes etc, which cuts down on the requirement for carrying 1TB of SSD space with me (and honestly, my rMBP is less than half full anyway).
Nevertheless, those are some good points. I've been used to working within OSX for the past several years, and a wholesale switch to Windows 8.1 may throw me off my game. Especially if I'm moving from a very top-end laptop to an expensive, and potentially unproven, hybrid.
If I was making the move from a MBA or even a Thinkpad, then the decision to make the switch would probably be easier.
Worst case scenario....I can always buy it and try it for 14 days and just return it to MS if I don't find it suits my needs enough.
Patrick
While I have a completely spec'd out rMBP, it will also admit that I don't stress the machine anywhere near it's limit. While it has 16GB of RAM, I don't run VM's at all (the only reason I ran some VM's previously was to access some functionality that existed within Windows that did not exist within OSX....in my particular case those were plug-ins for Outlook and Cisco WebEx that had no functional equivalent within OSX). I didn't want to build to order, so I bought off the shelf from Apple, and my primary driver was the 1TB SSD.
Otherwise, the primary reason that I kept Windows 8.1 in Bootcamp itself was just in case I wanted to play some old Windows game (Rise of Nations, Empire Earth, etc) that wasn't available in OSX. And honestly, I haven't fired up any games beyond chess or solitaire in months...and those are just on my iPad or iPhone.
So I guess I should have been more clear...I'm not expecting the SP3 to be a valid comparison to a fully loaded rMBP; Porsche vs Prius type of comparison.
It was more a case of thinking out-loud, that given that most of my time is spent in Word / Excel / Outlook and Powerpoint (mostly Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook), am I really giving up all that much since I'm not stressing the rMBP at all.
A couple of other factors that I'm considering in all of this as well. First of all, the rMBP is my personal laptop....I have a "classic" MBP from work that is scheduled to be replaced by February of 2015, so at that point I'll have my choice of 13" MBA, 13" rMBP or 15" rMBP. Not the fully loaded versions, but all maxed out in terms of RAM, and 256 GB SSDs.
I use my personal laptop for work simply because the classic MBP is quite slow (mechanical HDD vs SSD, for one), and because I can keep all of my work and personal "stuff" in one place. Currently my "work" MBP sits locked in a drawer in my office and never gets used, so over the long run I wouldn't really be out a machine.
Secondly, I have a Mac-Mini that I use as my 'home' machine, and it handles iTunes, Plex Media Server etc type duties. That basically becomes my storage spot for iTunes etc, which cuts down on the requirement for carrying 1TB of SSD space with me (and honestly, my rMBP is less than half full anyway).
Nevertheless, those are some good points. I've been used to working within OSX for the past several years, and a wholesale switch to Windows 8.1 may throw me off my game. Especially if I'm moving from a very top-end laptop to an expensive, and potentially unproven, hybrid.
If I was making the move from a MBA or even a Thinkpad, then the decision to make the switch would probably be easier.
Worst case scenario....I can always buy it and try it for 14 days and just return it to MS if I don't find it suits my needs enough.
Patrick
tuchas
Active Member
I was out at a customer yesterday and today and their IT department is testing on a few SP3s. They were using the machines to monitor LANs and DB servers, and they were also logging into workstations via Remote Desktop. They are thinking of deploying company-wide for workstations.
unruledboy
Active Member
tuchas
Active Member
I wasn't thrilled with it - was having random lockups but an IT friend of mine figured out it was something I installed on the SP3. No problems now, so I am trying to use it exclusively. Now my only problem is that 256GB is not enough (running a VM that is BIG) and I only have 40 gigs left. That i7 model with 512 is looking better, but I can't justify the cost just yet.
LOOKS like responders aren't using on laps with the keyboard. (Hey, tablet configuration removes a whole lot of need for a keyboard on the couch.)
I searched the responses. Only 2 specifically mentioned using on laps. Of those, one liked it and one didn't.
Doesn't mean that it isn't being happily used on laps by the majority of users, but it calls lap use with a keyboard into question. It is perfectly obvious the SP3 is an upgrade in usability for a whole lot of desktop, notebook and ultrabook use cases, but how is lap use with the keyboard?
p.s. Wife and I decided to replace desktops, laptops and earlier Surfaces with Surface Pro 3s last night, after testing lap use of my 1st generation Surface Pro and her 2nd generation on the ultrathin neoprene covered Grifiti Deck, someone on another thread recommended. I'd been holding off awaiting resolution of the wifi problem, and our lap use with a keyboard requirement - she abandoned her "clamshell requirement" with a store visit.
I'm going from 5 systems with 3 OS and 3 Office versions to manage, to 3 systems, 1 OS and 1 Office version to manage.
http://www.amazon.com/Grifiti-MacBo...8&qid=1406291745&sr=8-1&keywords=grifiti+deck
I searched the responses. Only 2 specifically mentioned using on laps. Of those, one liked it and one didn't.
Doesn't mean that it isn't being happily used on laps by the majority of users, but it calls lap use with a keyboard into question. It is perfectly obvious the SP3 is an upgrade in usability for a whole lot of desktop, notebook and ultrabook use cases, but how is lap use with the keyboard?
p.s. Wife and I decided to replace desktops, laptops and earlier Surfaces with Surface Pro 3s last night, after testing lap use of my 1st generation Surface Pro and her 2nd generation on the ultrathin neoprene covered Grifiti Deck, someone on another thread recommended. I'd been holding off awaiting resolution of the wifi problem, and our lap use with a keyboard requirement - she abandoned her "clamshell requirement" with a store visit.
I'm going from 5 systems with 3 OS and 3 Office versions to manage, to 3 systems, 1 OS and 1 Office version to manage.
http://www.amazon.com/Grifiti-MacBo...8&qid=1406291745&sr=8-1&keywords=grifiti+deck
