What's new

Surface Pro 3 - Why?

Tsurugaya

Active Member
That certainly sounds right in theory but in practice this will not work depending on the number of devices. I have had success with a max of 7, others have reported success with 10. Once you exceed the max your hub will allow, you will receive an error message telling you that you have exceeded maximum USB resources.

I'm saying there is three USB 3 ports on the docking station, attach a 10 port hub to each of those and you'll have room for 30 devices, then there are the USB 2 ports (also three I believe) they could take 7 port hubs to those. The final number isn't really relevant, you'll have more than enough USB ports available for your usage scenario. Windows supports 127 ports, but I don't know of any computer that does.
 
OP
K

Knuck

Member
I'm saying there is three USB 3 ports on the docking station, attach a 10 port hub to each of those and you'll have room for 30 devices, then there are the USB 2 ports (also three I believe) they could take 7 port hubs to those. The final number isn't really relevant, you'll have more than enough USB ports available for your usage scenario. Windows supports 127 ports, but I don't know of any computer that does.

Physically you can connect unlimited # of devices with multiple HUBs. The problem is that the Surface only has one port and the USB power resources of that one port is limited, Windows might support 127 ports but the Surface only has one and as a result only a finite number of devices will function on a single port at one time. Once you exceed that number Windows will not recognize that device and will display the USB resources exceeded error message. So far the most I have heard that will work at one time is 10. The variables of how many devices can be hooked up appears to be related to the power requirements of the devices connected and possibly the power management of the various Hubs. The Docking station is simply a HUB. The fact it has 3 USB 3.0 ports does not change the reality that the computer only has one port and is limited by the maximum resources of that single port.
 
Last edited:

CrippsCorner

Well-Known Member
No sour grapes, just disappointment as I hoped that the Surface would take off and as a result we would get more app support and better updates. If you want to develop a customer base you don't come out with new models every 6 months and you don't make purchases that may have been made a day before the announcement obsolete, especially when it comes to accessories. I will be very surprised if Microsoft is not out of consumer computer hardware production within the next two years if they continue on this path.

I understand your disappointment but dude this happens to every device out there eventually. I have to buy new phone holders every time a new model comes out (although it doesn't mean I have to buy that model does it) at the end of the day I'm very happy with my Surface Pro and I'm going to hold on to it for a few more years yet and enjoy it for what it is... then we will see where we are :)
 
OP
K

Knuck

Member
I understand your disappointment but dude this happens to every device out there eventually. I have to buy new phone holders every time a new model comes out (although it doesn't mean I have to buy that model does it) at the end of the day I'm very happy with my Surface Pro and I'm going to hold on to it for a few more years yet and enjoy it for what it is... then we will see where we are :)

I agree with you kayzee but the key word is eventually. Apple with much greater market share and therefore the ability to make current models obsolete at a much shorter interval traditionally update devices once a year but their accessories usually survive a few generations before becoming obsolete.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
I honestly believe that the Surface Pro 3 was the vision for the Surface Pro 2, but they had chasses from the Pro 1 and Intel was struggling with the Engineering of creating a "U" Variant of the S0iX SoC and the Windows Team didn't have Connected Standby support in x64 till MWC.
 

Ruffles

Active Member
The sad reality is that is sucks to be a corner case. As an engineer, I run in to this all the time. A problem arises and we ask ourselves how many users will hit it. If the number is low, it doesn't get fixed simply because the are other bugs that will affect more people. It's not because we're trying to stick it to you and make your life difficult, it's just that there are ALWAYS bugs and they get prioritized. Something like this would be pretty low on the list. I hope you can find a work around.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
When I first started managing IT Projects, my mentor once told me...."Not all bugs are show-stoppers but all show-stoppers are bugs..." :D Focus on the Show-Stoppers first...

We assigned level of impact and severity of impact....
 

mohcho

Active Member
I honestly believe that the Surface Pro 3 was the vision for the Surface Pro 2, but they had chasses from the Pro 1 and Intel was struggling with the Engineering of creating a "U" Variant of the S0iX SoC and the Windows Team didn't have Connected Standby support in x64 till MWC.

I agree completely. Sadly, the way the market is, they want to make sure then enter the market, even though their device wasn't perfect and clearly had some potential issues. As with any new piece of hardware, car or gadget, early adopters tend to get the short end of the stick because they buy the first iteration and then the 2nd and third have resolved the issues with the first.
 

drolem

Active Member
they want to make sure then enter the market, even though their device wasn't perfect
More often than not, hardly anything is perfect nowadays -- they just have to be good enough, and preferably, better, or better value than what the competition is offering.

With high tech items, time to market is very important, and a year could make all the difference. I worked for a major and still well known, though no longer independent company in the late 90's, early 00's, and there was a major SW change all across our product lines around 2000, and partly as a result of that, the new products slipped a year. And that turned out to be the beginning of the end, because they lost out on a huge opportunity. They did have some successful products later, but they could never recover and reclaim their former glory.
 
Top