Thoughts on Surface 3 4GB? Worth it?

[Luuthian]

I'm debating purchasing one of the 4GB Surface 3 models, but I'm in canada so it's ludicrously expensive to get the tablet + type cover.

I managed to tinker with one of these at Costco the other day and my 5 minute impression is it blows my iPad Air out of the water. What's killing me is the price. If i'm going to buy one of these things it needs to be future proof as much as possible. At least I know if i get an iOS device I'll probably be safe to receive updates for 3 or so years without the tablet falling behind too much. I'd have that same confidence here but what scares me is the Atom processor... It feels like it's really first gen, kind of like the new Macbook is simply not worth the current asking price for what you get.

Anyone else have one of these and tinkered with it more in-depth? Does it handle the more demanding Windows Store games well enough?

 

[Jas00555]

I wouldn't let the name Atom fool you. This is the brand new Cherry Trail architecture and the 4GB version will be more than future proofed. I would honestly wager that if you're only doing it for things that you would do with your iPad, you'd easily be able to squeeze out way more than 3 years.

 

[illegaloperation]

Well, here's the comparison between the Surface 3 with Intel Atom x7 and the Surface Pro 3 with Intel Core i5 in real life scenarios:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNkNEFlUtEk

 

[Luuthian]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm still split on my feelings but it looks like the Surface 3 will do everything i'd demand of a portable device. I don't really need it for GTA V level gaming or Photoshop. I have a real PC for all that. Looks like I'll be buying one in a couple weeks. Appreciate the help!

 

[3earnhardt3]

I have owned several atom devices (Acer aspire one, Acer W3, Lenovo Miix 2, HP Stream 7) and the surface 3 blows them away. This device is more akin to a higher level core2duo or original core i3 in terms of performance. That may not sound like much but we are comparing a portable all day device to a 65Watt desktop machine. Microsoft will support this thing for at least 3 years, and the build quality is high enough I expect it to last at least 4-5 years heavy use.