Surprisingly Bad Gaming Performance

[IlbeRevolution]

Interestingly, I found out that in singleplayer with wifi off on Starcraft II, i get about 65fps, while I get about 10fps drop on battle.net.

Also, try running your games on window mode, not full screen. I see similar (+/-10%) performance difference between SP2 and SP3, at least on window mode (I already covered that in the reply above).

Lastly, I've found that the thermals on SP3 are generally much worse than SP2. The so called "silent fan" is louder than the SP2 under load, and It straight up failed OCCT test before reaching 92'c+ (1920x1080) which the SP2 passes topping at 88'C.

I guess it's to be expected, especially with how thin the device is, with less ventilation and a single fan (SP2 had 2).

 

[be77solo]

Interestingly, I found out that in singleplayer with wifi off on Starcraft II, i get about 65fps, while I get about 10fps drop on battle.net.

Also, try running your games on window mode, not full screen. I see similar (+/-10%) performance difference between SP2 and SP3, at least on window mode (I already covered that in the reply above).

Lastly, I've found that the thermals on SP3 are generally much worse than SP2. The so called "silent fan" is louder than the SP2 under load, and It straight up failed OCCT test before reaching 92'c+ (1920x1080) which the SP2 passes topping at 88'C.

I guess it's to be expected, especially with how thin the device is, with less ventilation and a single fan (SP2 had 2).

Except we were promised the device to replace our laptops...yet it's SLOWER than the laptops they are comparing it to and it's SLOWER than the device it is directly replacing!!!

 

[Dayton]

Measure the CPU GPU when playing a game and I bet you'll see throttling, so no video drivers won't make a difference. It will be up to MS to back off on how much throttling occurs and when. Didn't the original SP have significant throttling when it first came out?

 

[be77solo]

Measure the CPU GPU when playing a game and I bet you'll see throttling, so no video drives won't make a difference. It will be up to MS to back off on how much throttling occurs and when. Didn't the original SP have significant throttling when it first came out?

You are correct and yes the SP1 did get a firmware update that helped gaming a lot.... but, my concern is even with these current "throttle" settings, things still hit 90C on the SP3.... how much more headroom can they possibly give it? By comparison, the SP2 which is faster throttles at 81C!

 

[ryot09]

but, my concern is even with these current "throttle" settings, things still hit 90C on the SP3.... how much more headroom can they possibly give it? By comparison, the SP2 which is faster throttles at 81C!

Yeah, I think you're right. I don't think there's anything that can be done. I'll probably just have to pack it back up and stick with the SP2.
Seriously bummed about it. I'd totally live with it if it were even a 25% decrease (in LoL specifically), but I'm seeing a drop of over 50% in most cases.

 

[Dayton]

If the amount of throttling remains then the i7 version won't be worth buying. The new "form" is screaming for Broadwell.

 

[ryot09]

The new "form" is screaming for Broadwell.

Yeah, I was just thinking that. Maybe there'll be a SP4 in 8 months that's just a chipset change like the SP2 was.

 

[be77solo]

Yeah, I think you're right. I don't think there's anything that can be done. I'll probably just have to pack it back up and stick with the SP2.
Seriously bummed about it. I'd totally live with it if it were even a 25% decrease (in LoL specifically), but I'm seeing a drop of over 50% in most cases.

I was curious if I was crazy or not, so loaded another game with the exact same settings, side by side on the SP2 and the SP3, and it confirmed what we are seeing... Using the Battlefield 4 Testing Grounds level, which is single player and always the same and thus repeatable, the SP2 is consistently 10+ frames per second faster... ie, when things get hectic, the SP2 runs at 30-40+fps and the SP3 runs at 18-30fps... initially they do play similar, but once the SP3 heats up (3-5 minutes of playing) things slow down and stutter. By comparison, I've let the SP2 sit here playing for over 30 minutes and it's still stable with the same framerate. I've played on my SP2 since release multiplayer as well and never noticed a slow down no matter how long I played. Plus, the SP2 is quieter!

If the amount of throttling remains then the i7 version won't be worth buying. The new "form" is screaming for Broadwell.

I agree, if I thought the i7 would be better I'd wait for it, but if the i5 is crippled by thermals, what shot does the i7 have? Even worse, the i7 have a slower base clock, so it could in theory be EVEN slower than the currently slower SP3 i5!

Microsoft should have waited for Broadwell, as my gut told me at release... yet I had to try it!

And, for what it's worth, BF4 is still playing just fine on the SP2 with no signs of temp/throttle as I type this on the SP3.....

 

[ryot09]

Thanks for doing all that legwork be77solo. You helped me solidify my decision. Unfortunately it goes back tomorrow.
Silver lining, I guess I'll have a use for the freedomcase kickstarter I backed after all

 

[be77solo]

Thanks for doing all that legwork be77solo. You helped me solidify my decision. Unfortunately it goes back tomorrow.
Silver lining, I guess I'll have a use for the freedomcase kickstarter I backed after all

I do wish the results were different as well, I'm totally disappointed and in the same boat as you! I love the new screen and was even okay with the new bigger size, but slower performance is 100% unacceptable to me.

I will wait a week or two I think just to make sure Microsoft doesn't acknowledge this problem and can magically solve it with a firmware update, but I doubt it. I too will be keeping my SP2, but as you said on a bright note, we do have the freedom case to look forward to ha! I also backed that!

 

[unruledboy]

there IS performance drop

look at "AnandTech | Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review"
AnandTech | Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review

 

[diamond.g]

there IS performance drop

look at "AnandTech | Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review"
AnandTech | Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review

Yeah it is a good review. Seems like Anand believes peak performance is better, but sustained performance is worse. Maybe MS will ease up on the throttling, but I am not confident the design can handle that much more heat to dissipate.
Waiting to be pleasantly surprised.