Surface Pro 3 thoughts and alternatives

[heedpantsnow]

Dell often has crazy coupons, often stackable, that you can combine with their rewards program, and on top of sale prices.  Could be that.

[tjcaustin]

I did just find some refurbs for about 440

[mikew0w]

I just found what I think is a decent deal on a Dell venue 11 with the i5 for $420 out the door.
I think that is Dells attempt to clone the SP3.

I'll post a shot of it with my 60% when I receive it.

Where in the world did you find it for that low? That's like half off the baseline i5 model.

factory refurb stacked with a 30% off coupon. I had to use the chat to get it; The sales rep found the cheapest i5 venue config they had and then sent me the quote and I stacked the coupon on checkout.
Should be here thursday!

[slip84]

I just found what I think is a decent deal on a Dell venue 11 with the i5 for $420 out the door.
I think that is Dells attempt to clone the SP3.

I'll post a shot of it with my 60% when I receive it.

Where in the world did you find it for that low? That's like half off the baseline i5 model.

factory refurb stacked with a 30% off coupon. I had to use the chat to get it; The sales rep found the cheapest i5 venue config they had and then sent me the quote and I stacked the coupon on checkout.
Should be here thursday!

Oh snap! Good job.

[nuclearsandwich]

I'm about to head to the coffee shop where I do a lot of my work. Surface + GON pictures incoming.

[tjcaustin]

I'm debating selling my mac mini for a pro 2 or 3.

[heedpantsnow]

I'm about to head to the coffee shop where I do a lot of my work. Surface + GON pictures incoming.

Sweet.

[slip84]

I'm debating selling my mac mini for a pro 2 or 3.

Do it now before they announce a new Mac mini. HA!

[nuclearsandwich]

Stuck in a bad corner with naught but a cellphone camera. But here's my travel setup



It was running Archlinux until about three weeks ago when I had to wipe for firmware updates. Returning to it as soon as I force Windows onto an SD card.

[tjcaustin]

*temptation increases*

[tjcaustin]

Double post time

My only thing holding me back is I don't know if I want to cheap out and get a surface pro 1 for stupid cheap or spend more for a used pro 3/2.  I'd mostly use it for work related stuff and then to be able to play some simple games while travelling. so I don't know if the premium for current gen is worth it.

[heedpantsnow]

IMHO Surface Pro 2 is the current sweet spot, or at least until Pro 3 comes out with Core M.  It's much cheaper, still powerful, still decent battery life (unlike Pro 1), and like Pro 1 has the USB port on the left side so you only need a 4-6" cable for your little travel mechy.

[slip84]

IMHO Surface Pro 2 is the current sweet spot, or at least until Pro 3 comes out with Core M.  It's much cheaper, still powerful, still decent battery life (unlike Pro 1), and like Pro 1 has the USB port on the left side so you only need a 4-6" cable for your little travel mechy.

I agree with this for the most part, from what I've seen. The big kills on the Surface Pro 3 would be the full adjustable kickstand, higher resolution display, and larger form factor (if you want a bigger screen) that's considerably thinner.

Otherwise, the Surface Pro 2 probably is the best bet. I have the original Surface Pro and the battery life is pretty crap and gaming performance is dreadful (Diablo III runs like a slideshow). Plus the Surface 2 at least has a few kickstand points, where the Surface Pro has one.

[tjcaustin]

IMHO Surface Pro 2 is the current sweet spot, or at least until Pro 3 comes out with Core M.  It's much cheaper, still powerful, still decent battery life (unlike Pro 1), and like Pro 1 has the USB port on the left side so you only need a 4-6" cable for your little travel mechy.

I agree with this for the most part, from what I've seen. The big kills on the Surface Pro 3 would be the full adjustable kickstand, higher resolution display, and larger form factor (if you want a bigger screen) that's considerably thinner.

Otherwise, the Surface Pro 2 probably is the best bet. I have the original Surface Pro and the battery life is pretty crap and gaming performance is dreadful (Diablo III runs like a slideshow). Plus the Surface 2 at least has a few kickstand points, where the Surface Pro has one.

There's a wholesaler on ebay that just dumped a ton of SP2s that I'm going to see if I can grab one for super cheap.  The bigger/thinner screen interests me, but not enough to spend double or more on considering my planned usage.

[mikew0w]

Enjoying mine so far. Just traveled and this all fit nicely in a tiny targus 'netbook' case (http://amzn.to/1z8Mv1d)

[genkidama]

I finally got one and already needed to replace it unfortunately :/
I got it this week's Wednesday and after I connected to my wifi and started updating through Windows Update it got real loud and really hot on the back and the front. Microsoft Support wrote me that this shouldn't be the case and especially if after all updates it still gets this hot it seems there is a defect. What I find disturbing is that the replacement seems better but just like my initial SP3 it gets really loud and hot when I start watching a Twitch stream on "High" if I put it on "Source" it gets louder and hotter quicker. In like 3-4mins you can already hear the fan and how it gets hot. Please tell me this is normal? I only opened two tabs, one normal website and one Twitch stream nothing else was opened. If you care to try.

In another forum a lot of the SP3 users told me that they almost never get the fan to the max and most of the time he is not active at all. Like playing around in "Fresh Paint" oder another app from the Windows Store for half an hour and it doesn't get hot or the fan is noticeably loud.

[heedpantsnow]

I have an original Surface Pro. My dad has the 2. My fan occasionally spins up when watching 1080p video and doing other things in the background. My dad's never does.

Do you have a Microsoft store nearby?  I've found the folks there incredibly helpful and technically competent.

[Matt3o]

Do you have a Microsoft store nearby?  I've found the folks there incredibly helpful and technically competent.

you can't subvert the status-quo with such statements!

[genkidama]

I found one, but I'm not sure if they can help me with this as I didn't buy it via their store but rather through a reseller. My thought is, that they say it doesn't bother them because I didn't purchase it through the Microsoft Store. But I'll give it a try as the Store isn't that far away from my home

[heedpantsnow]

Hope it works out!

[genkidama]

I was able to get a replacement and I already got my second replacement and finally it works fine. I tried some 1080p videos, surfing the web and working with OneNote/FreshPaint and it was normal I'd say. The fan didn't turn on while watching an 1080p video, it only got slightly warmer than before I started watching. So far I'm happy, I bet when I get my 60% this will be so georgous

[heedpantsnow]

I was able to get a replacement and I already got my second replacement and finally it works fine. I tried some 1080p videos, surfing the web and working with OneNote/FreshPaint and it was normal I'd say. The fan didn't turn on while watching an 1080p video, it only got slightly warmer than before I started watching. So far I'm happy, I bet when I get my 60% this will be so georgous

Cool, glad you got it sorted out.

I really love love LOVE using my 60 with my Surface. Seems like they were meant for each other.

[slip84]

Blargh - my replacement Surface Pro is now exhibiting random issues with the USB port. It will sometimes just stop working for 1 - 3 seconds, then find the device(s) again and work normally for an indeterminate amount of time. Good thing I just moved near a MS store, I suppose. That and when I got the replacement, it rattled when moved. Should have been a sign I took more seriously!

I love this device, I just wish they were a bit more reliable.

[heedpantsnow]

Blargh - my replacement Surface Pro is now exhibiting random issues with the USB port. It will sometimes just stop working for 1 - 3 seconds, then find the device(s) again and work normally for an indeterminate amount of time. Good thing I just moved near a MS store, I suppose. That and when I got the replacement, it rattled when moved. Should have been a sign I took more seriously!

I love this device, I just wish they were a bit more reliable.

Wow that's awful. Are you using a hub?  I had a cheap Chinese hub that did the exact behavior you're talking about. Got an Anker and haven't had any problems since.

I hope you're able to get it all worked out!

[slip84]

With and without the official Surface Docking Station. It's really frustrating. I use a combo of a HHKB / wired trackball and when it turns off, I lose mouse and keyboard.

I'll pop by there today (ugh, the mall during Christmas) and see what they say. My year warranty is up in late February, so I want to do this sooner, rather than later!

[nuclearsandwich]

I love this device, I just wish they were a bit more reliable.

I've been through three of the Surface Pro 3s and all have had bad Wifi cards (won't remain connected to WPA 2 PSK networks for more than 40 minutes before the card itself goes haywire. I'm starting to regret putting hardware faith in Microsoft and wishing I'd just gotten a 10 year old Thinkpad.

[slip84]

I love this device, I just wish they were a bit more reliable.

I've been through three of the Surface Pro 3s and all have had bad Wifi cards (won't remain connected to WPA 2 PSK networks for more than 40 minutes before the card itself goes haywire. I'm starting to regret putting hardware faith in Microsoft and wishing I'd just gotten a 10 year old Thinkpad.

Oof. That's not fun. I use a hardwire connection whenever I can, but so far, my Surface Pro has been rock solid on wifi, thankfully. That's a bad break, man.

[heedpantsnow]

My work is providing me a Thinkpad Helix after the new year; I've heard they are unreliable and I'd frankly just rather have an upgraded Surface Pro 2 or 3. I really like the integrated kickstand for use with my 60.

[genkidama]

After all the updates I downloaded via Windows Update I never encountered a problem with the wifi. They put up an update for that if you wake your device. My WLAN is working fine with this. I tried this at home and at my university. So far I'm happy I bought this, like heedpantsnow said it's a wonderful handy device. I would've loved if it were a little thicker and they had put more fans in it to cool it more easily and quieter. Maybe the Surface Pro 4 will do the trick ^^

This is the thing for the future to come, such hybrid gadgets! Much wow! So excellent!

[linziyi]

IMHO Surface Pro 2 is the current sweet spot, or at least until Pro 3 comes out with Core M.  It's much cheaper, still powerful, still decent battery life (unlike Pro 1), and like Pro 1 has the USB port on the left side so you only need a 4-6" cable for your little travel mechy.

I agree with this for the most part, from what I've seen. The big kills on the Surface Pro 3 would be the full adjustable kickstand, higher resolution display, and larger form factor (if you want a bigger screen) that's considerably thinner.

Otherwise, the Surface Pro 2 probably is the best bet. I have the original Surface Pro and the battery life is pretty crap and gaming performance is dreadful (Diablo III runs like a slideshow). Plus the Surface 2 at least has a few kickstand points, where the Surface Pro has one.

There's a wholesaler on ebay that just dumped a ton of SP2s that I'm going to see if I can grab one for super cheap.  The bigger/thinner screen interests me, but not enough to spend double or more on considering my planned usage.

:O where can I find the wholesale on ebay! I want to buy a laptop for myself as well!