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Surface Pro 4 (etc); observations from long term use?
wraith808:
Decided to buy now. Too much uncertainty over whether the next version will be out during this tax year. And I can use it now. And might still have business profits to offset in a few years when it comes to replace it.
Was going to go for the i7 8/256GB Book but in the end went for i5, 8/128GB; I didn't think I could justify paying 44% more, when I can just do anything needing more power on a desktop. I expect it will significantly reduce my desktop usage.
So hoping for the best now.
-Dormouse (June 12, 2016, 06:29 PM)
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I've actually decided to sell my XPS13 and go with the i5/8/256. Haven't decided between the book and the regular surface yet, so it will be interesting to see how yours goes, as I won't be fully ready to pull the trigger until the fall. Congrats on your purchase, and let us know what you think!
Dormouse:
Interesting that you're going with the 256gb ssd. Locally that is nearly 25% more expensive, and I couldn't justify that. Instead I'm going with a big, fast sd card and a Samsung T3 portable SSD. Easier to switch the use between computers which I will be doing fairly often, and still cheaper. Also bought a dock, so will see how well it works as a desktop replacement.
Got pushed a bit into buying since my desktop was playing up a bit and my tablet suddenly stopped (battery I assume, and Samsung may take up to a week to get it back to me fixed). I didn't even think of using my ipad, which was an interesting comment to self.
My initial impressions of the Book are very positive. Best laptop I've ever had by far - though that's not saying a great deal since I've never liked laptops. Only installed a few very frequently used programs so far.
Glad I went with the book as Windows is clearly poorer than Android (and iOS, I suppose) for use on a tablet. But I have no problems with the tablet size, which is very nice for some things. The pen is nice, but I would have liked a smaller one which fitted inside as the Samsung does; the magnetic attachment may be better than the last version but is hardly a secure attachment. I think I will revert mostly to using the Samsung for pure tablet use when I get it back.
Otherwise, I can see myself feeling like this:
I'm absolutely in love with the machine. The sound quality and video quality is phenomenal, the responsiveness is amazing, and the versatility is hard to beat - you can either use it as a standard tablet, as a tablet + stylus, or as a laptop with the type cover. The pen is great, it attaches to the Surface magnetically, it has an eraser, the palm-block technology they use is wonderful, so is their handwriting and speech recognition.
-w3bcrawler (April 09, 2016, 03:40 PM)
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I will update as and when I have more observations, but seems likely I will shift to using this most of the time for everything.
wraith808:
Interesting that you're going with the 256gb ssd. Locally that is nearly 25% more expensive, and I couldn't justify that. Instead I'm going with a big, fast sd card and a Samsung T3 portable SSD. Easier to switch the use between computers which I will be doing fairly often, and still cheaper. Also bought a dock, so will see how well it works as a desktop replacement.
-Dormouse (June 18, 2016, 05:23 PM)
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Maybe you were looking at dGPU vs non? In the same category, i.e. non-dGPU, i5/8GB/256GB vs. non-dGPU, i5/8GB/128GB, the difference is only $200 on the Microsoft Store, i.e. $1499USD vs $1699USD. It's the same $200 difference with dGPU prices. It's only if you compare non-dGPU vs dGPU that the difference becomes that extreme.
Dormouse:
:-[
I'm afraid I forgot completely about the GPU. Wasn't important to my use and I'd been put off a little by some comments saying that it made the balance of the Book worse. So my decision was between i7/16GB/256GB/dGPU and i5/8GB/128GB/integrated graphics; put like that it may not have been the right decision but I'm still very happy. If they can produce hardware like this, I cannot understand why MS didn't do it years ago; I hope they keep it up.
I'm being very minimalistic in what I'm installing. If I don't see a program as an essential part of my working ecosystem, it doesn't get installed (I'll use my desktop for the times I need those); happier to try programs that don't need installing.
On the Samsung front, they picked it up on Thursday (the earliest day convenient for me) and will deliver it back tomorrow (Tuesday). Seems like very impressive service to me.
wraith808:
Pretty encouraging words! I hope you have an overall good experience with it. And it's easy to look back on a purchase and wish you'd done something else... I do it all time. But it really just matters if you're happy with it. :)
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