Surface 3 vs Surface Pro 3 i3

[bo_woods]

How does the highest spec'd Surface 3 compare to the lowest spec'd Surface Pro 3 model (i3 64gb)

Is the Pro i3 significantly faster?

Gaming?

In what ways as far as power go is the i3 better?
( physical reasons such as kickstand,screen size/res aside)...just power/speed/processing

I currently have an i3 and was curious as to How the new Surface 3 compared to it performance wise

 

[illegaloperation]

Intel Core i3-4020Y = 2 faster cores, no turbo
Intel Atom x7-Z8700 = 4 slower cores with turbo

According to benchmark, in multithreaded tasks the Atom X7 is just as fast as the Core i3; in single threated-tasks the Atom x7 is 2/3 as fast as the Core i3.

(Personally, I am not a big fan of benchmarks and don't believe them.)

The Surface 3 has eMMC while the Surface Pro 3 has SSD. This means that the Surface 3 has slower load time for things like games.

The Surface 3 is lighter, smaller, and has a better screen than does the Surface Pro 3. It is also completely silent since it has no internal fan.

The Surface Pro 3 has a bigger screen, is heavier, and has internal fan.

As for the Type Cover, the Type Cover for the Surface Pro 3 has a bigger touchpad than does the Type Cover for the Surface 3. The keys for both are about the same size.

 

[onlysublime]

if performance is your priority, go with the i3.

 

[Andrew Fratkin]

if performance is your priority, go with the i3.

I agree /\

 

[James8561]

The Surface 3 is a better tablet than the Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 3 is a better laptop than the Surface 3. What's your priority?

 

[Anglerdk]

The z8700 is based on a different CPU core (atom). In some areas the i3 4020y and the z8700 offers similar performance. In some areas like raw calculation in eg superPi the atom is twice as slow as the i3.

I have the Lenovo ThinkPad 8 with the z3770 (atom) , so I took it along too, since it is in many ways like the z8700.

http://kortlink.dk/notebookcheck/gphq


Imo it is a fairly fast chip as long you use the touch part of windows 8.1 - but since the windows apps are even worse than WP apps I often have to use desktop mode programs which is
Slow and often poorly optimized for touch. Eg chrome / Netflix when I want to use my chromecast my tablet struggles alot.

One of the reasons is the slow eMMC hard drive , but for me wp8.1 tablets are more slow laptop pcs than an alternative to android/ios tablets (I really need a mouse and keyboard since all to much have to run in desktop mode like vlc since I cannot play my videos in touch mode because they doesn't play fluid or at all.

Also there is the security, windows/ third-party apps like adobe , Java and so on have often attacks so you probably need a real time security scanner / anti virus.

Anyway if you want a tablet and the easy use, consider android / ios. If you want to be able to run a small , but slower ultrabook surface 3 is perhaps perfect (with the keyboard) . If you want more performance in the big tablet format the pro 3 can be fine, but look at a real ultrabook too.

 

[al404]

The Surface 3 is lighter, smaller, and has a better screen than does the Surface Pro 3. It is also completely silent since it has no internal fan.

i would say the exact opposite, just seen surface 3 near surface pro 3 in local tech store and SP3 is way better than S3, i'm not toking just about screen resolution but about viewing angle, brightness and color saturation

SP3 is more like high end android / ipad screens
S3 is more like / medium price android tablets

 

[Dos101]

The i3 in the Pro 3 is a decent amount faster than the x7 Atom in the Surface 3 System Performance - The Surface 3 Review

You'll also benefit from the much faster SSD in the Pro 3, also well as virtualization support if you needed to run a VM. the GPU in the i3 is also much better GPU and NAND Performance - The Surface 3 Review

​

 

[dirtyvu]

That shouldn't be the case. The surface 3 is rated higher nits so it should be brighter. It's also been praised for how great its screen is.

 

[illegaloperation]

The i3 in the Pro 3 is a decent amount faster than the x7 Atom in the Surface 3 System Performance - The Surface 3 Review

You'll also benefit from the much faster SSD in the Pro 3, also well as virtualization support if you needed to run a VM. the GPU in the i3 is also much better GPU and NAND Performance - The Surface 3 Review

​

I want to note that that review is of the 64GB Surface 3 model with 2GB RAM.

That shouldn't be the case. The surface 3 is rated higher nits so it should be brighter. It's also been praised for how great its screen is.

Yup.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9219/the-surface-3-review/7

 

[Dos101]

I want to note that that review is of the 64GB Surface 3 model with 2GB RAM.

That is true. It's the same CPU though, so the benchmark results they have pertaining to CPU performance are still valid.

 

[illegaloperation]

That is true. It's the same CPU though, so the benchmark results they have pertaining to CPU performance are still valid.

If the system is starving for memory, it certainly would make a difference.

 

[Dos101]

If the system is starving for memory, it certainly would make a difference.

Yes, I'm not too sure what that has to do with the actual CPU performance though. The benchmarks are pretty conclusive.

 

[onlysublime]

I'm not sure why all these versus threads are popping up. Different machines for different segments of the population. You don't see Corolla versus Camry. It's okay for the Surface Pro 3 i3 to be faster than the Surface 3. Some people want a lighter, smaller machine that's better as a tablet and that's what you get with Surface 3. Some people want a Surface machine but don't want to spend a lot of money and that's what you get with Surface 3.

If you want higher performance, think about what you're willing to spend. Sometimes it's better to get the stripped down Camry instead of the fully loaded Corolla. A fully loaded Corolla is almost the same price as the Camry but the Camry is roomier, has a better chassis, etc. But if the Camry is too big or too expensive, the Corolla is a good car on its own.

 

[onlysublime]

Here's a nice real-world comparison video for the 2 machines:

I didn't know things like how the S3 speakers are louder than the SP3 ones.

 

[-Dice-]

I'm not sure why all these versus threads are popping up.... Some people want a lighter, smaller machine that's better as a tablet and that's what you get with Surface 3. Some people want a Surface machine but don't want to spend a lot of money and that's what you get with Surface 3.

Well, i asked my self the same question because if you look at the pricing in Germany, you don't really get MS' strategy. I would love to relplace my Surface 2 with a Surface (Pro), but performance wise there isn't too much information on the webs... Can you draw with multipe Layers in PS on the Surface 3 or is that too much?

 

[onlysublime]

A Surface Pro 3 with only 64 GB is almost a waste of a machine. Most people that want a Surface Pro 3 want it to be a complete laptop (and often desktop) replacement. If you're going to do a full workload or are a power user, the SP3 with only 64 GB is going to hurt especially if you plan to keep the machine for a very long time. Heck, just installing the Adobe Creative Suite will just suck up a vast amount of that space. Remember, these machines cannot be upgraded after purchase.

If the machine is ONLY for work or ONLY for a specific task, then you can get by on 64 GB. But if it's your personal machine that you use for everything, 64 GB is going to hurt.

A MicroSD card helps but only to a certain extent. MicroSD cards are slower than SSD. So if you're using the memory card for a paging file or scratch disk (like in Photoshop), performance will suffer. Also, Windows Store apps must be stored on Drive C:. Also, a lot of Windows desktop programs still use drive C: for operations and file storage even if you have the installation to a different drive.

Again, even Atom machines can do very basic Photoshop operations. It just depends on how high the resolution the image is (are you working at 75 DPI, 150 DPI, 300 DPI, 600 DPI, etc.) is and, like you said, how many layers you're working with. If you just want to blot out acne, make color adjustments, composite elements, etc. on images meant for the web, then Surface 3 is perfectly sufficient.

Aren't consumer laws good in Germany? Try out the machine and if it doesn't work out, return it. Heck, if a used Surface Pro 2 or 3 doesn't interest you now and you could wait it out, you can probably get the Surface Pro 3 at a good deal when the Surface Pro 4 comes out later this year.

 

[al404]

In italy you can't buy, use and then return. You can return it just you don't open package and don't break seals.
And you have to pay return shipping in most cases.

At same price point can't see why buy surface 3 unless you need a smaller screen

Display viewing angles of surface 3 are not in specs?

 

[-Dice-]

Actually I'm mainly looking for tablet which can run 2 Apps side by side and has a pen to draw/scribble. I own a new and very decent Dekstop and have a 2012 MacBook, so I'm really just looking for a tablet which can do a bit more.
​

Aren't consumer laws good in Germany? Try out the machine and if it doesn't work out, return it. Heck, if a used Surface Pro 2 or 3 doesn't interest you now and you could wait it out, you can probably get the Surface Pro 3 at a good deal when the Surface Pro 4 comes out later this year.

Well, consumer laws in Germany are good, you can order any item and return it for free within 14 days (30 days for some retailers) if it costs more than 40?. Hoewever, it takes almost forever to get your refund if you don't order via amazon. Even the Microsoft Store needs about 14 to 30 days for that simple task... That's the so called "service desert" in Germany. So it's still better to gather as much information as possible

 

[Dos101]

I think what it's going to come down for most people is price and use case. If you want more horsepower and don't mind paying a little extra for it, then the i3 will suit you. Otherwise, the Atom in the Surface 3 will do what most people need.

For people who are accustomed to a certain level of performance though (like me, using my high-end desktop and a Razer Blade at home, and a Pro 2 at work) the performance, or lack thereof, is noticeable on the Surface 3. Both the Pro 3 i3 and the Surface 3 have compromises, it just depends what matters to you.