HD 4000 on the Surface Pro, good enough to game?

[VagrantWade]

WoW and Diablo 3 should both be able to run in max graphics on this machine. Seeing as how I have done it with SandyBridge i5 chips.

 

[coolqf]

Intel's new CPU due in June in laptops has about double the graphics power. Is waiting worth it?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[bauerbach]

I wouldn't expect a surface update for any new CPUs for atleast 12 months... so while I might wait for june, I would not wait till next February.

it wouldn't appear that OEMs are tripping overthemselves to make pro tablets... infact Im only familiar with 1 or 2 in existence so far, W700 and I think theres a Samsung, maybe not in the US? In any case, I wouldn't expect these to get updated so early in their product cycle.

 

[coolqf]

I wouldn't expect a surface update for any new CPUs for atleast 12 months... so while I might wait for june, I would not wait till next February.

it wouldn't appear that OEMs are tripping overthemselves to make pro tablets... infact Im only familiar with 1 or 2 in existence so far, W700 and I think theres a Samsung, maybe not in the US? In any case, I wouldn't expect these to get updated so early in their product cycle.

Correct, no Samsung RT for US of A. Asus has the Transformer Book, seems very attractive. The Lenovo Yoga also looks interesting.
MS is also the culprit in all this. They themselves have missed their own deadlines for selling the SurfacePro. It's taking them 8 months after unveiling to begin selling the SurfacePro.

 

[bauerbach]

afaik that was intentional to not compete with the OEMs at launch.

all the same, there are no rumors of upcoming pro tablets. Only thing I even know of is the Lenovo taichi... and that's still not a tablet.

Thus far, tablets seems to be highly proprietary, almost no customization available. good chance that swapping to even a relatively similar cpu would possibly require a redesign. These are being mass produced in a single configuration. To answer the question with just my opinion, you wont see haswell chips in these pro tablets any time soon.

 

[picklo]

If you want to game on a tablet and you want to have dedicated graphics why don't you wait for the Razer Edge? $100 more gives you dedicated graphics and the ability to buy peripherals that aren't a keyboard. And there is supposedly less bloat ware. BTW I'm really excited for the Edge!

 

[VagrantWade]

If you want to game on a tablet and you want to have dedicated graphics why don't you wait for the Razer Edge? $100 more gives you dedicated graphics and the ability to buy peripherals that aren't a keyboard. And there is supposedly less bloat ware. BTW I'm really excited for the Edge!

Because 90% of the things Razer comes out with, are trash.

 

[QuattroPuppy]

Hi everyone,
for information, i play starcraft 2 and fifa 13 (Origin) :
- starcraft 2 : at native resolution, i can play with all settings set to medium. I did not test the 4v4 mode yet but in all other mode, it runs smooth.
- fifa 13 : at native resolution, i can play with medium setting with no AA.
For those who can't install Origin on Surface pro, a special Origin version for the tablet is available here : EA Forums

And i also update the latest Intel HD4000 drivers. I've noticed better performance like the others people on that ea forum.
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=22375&lang=eng

I've only one problem with motioninjoy to connect my ps3 controller in bluetooth to play Fifa 13 wireless. The built-in bluetooth is not recognize by motioninjoy.
I also tried with an old bluetooth adapter which worked under windows 7 but not on the surface pro, guessing because of W8.

 

[jsgiv]

Fyi - downloaded new Simcity late last night - runs very smoothly on "default" settings...

Only negative is that the SP fans fire up after awhile and you hear a little constant hum - but very impressive overall... Played the game for about 2 hours without a single hiccup..

 

[Polychrome]

So far, tried running:

Various Telltale Games fare.
Portal 1 and 2.
Everquest 2.

Everything runs, Everquest 2's default settings are pretty low, but that game is notorious for not running well on most modern computers. Max settings on that are for people with heavily-overclocked single cores. However the textures and animations are set pretty high. I don't expect to be setting it to cloth sim or shadows anytime soon.

Portal runs great with settings up. It'll initially set you low because steam doesn't recognize the video card, but feel free to turn 'em up and start jumping through portals.

The Telltale games run well on moderate resolution with settings up. Wacom is REALLY nice to have for those games, and now we have it portable.

I'll be trying Aion later. It seems to run well on many laptops at mid-range settings as long as multiple cores are present and is typically very efficient.

 

[justinm001]

Also played SimCity on mostly low settings at 1080p. Ran perfect, but lagged at medium or high. Run at max on my desktop and really not much different since its just SimCity. runs great, used it only plugged in and heard fan for first time. Quieter than any other laptop I've had. really want to see battery life while gaming, but haven't had a chance
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

 

[superlawyer15]

are you referring to the new SimCity?

where you able to install it on both computers with just one key?

 

[Ted Ritsick]

So far I've ran minecraft on lowerish settings with no problem, Star Wars Battlefront 2 with high settings very well and The Force Unleashed which absolutely freaked out on my Surface. I'm going to take a crack at TF2, Rome Total War soon also but I'd imagine they'll work well. I might also install BF2 for laughs and Company of Heroes. In case anyone is wondering, yes, I love star wars.

 

[KingCrimson]

I think the Surface Pro 2 will feature Haswell, maybe coming out March 2014.

 

[hysonmb]

I posted video of a couple of games on my YouTube channel: zs450's channel - YouTube
I've also tried Battlefield F3- need to tweak settings a lot to make it playable, Mass Effect 3- same as BF3, and Need For Speed Most Wanted- Unplayable.
I should get a couple more done this weekend.

 

[justinm001]

Yes, new sim city. I did digital download and I installed on 2 pcs and able to switch from 1 to other. You have to login and it saves your city online so when switching pcs your city's are still there. You have to login to origin so they know what PC you're "online" on. also you need to install a special origin file for surface pro. If not is thinks you're on terminal services PC for whatever reason. the games great but ea is having server issues so its been a pain to get on
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

 

[justinm001]

Also I needed to lower settings from all low at 1080p to 900x1600 all low so it is smooth. The touch screen is a pain, so I need a mouse. Ran for about 3 hours on battery with these settings. That includes 2 20min waits though, because of their server issues.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

 

[bsd107]

Mass Effect 1 plays at 1080p with graphics maxed.
Portal 1 plays fine at 1080p with graphics maxed.
Bioshock 1 plays fine at 1080p with graphics maxed.

Note that I'm deliberately trying only older games, which I know will not stress the graphics card too much.

Agree that it is awesome that Civ V has a windows 8 touch mode - I wish more games (like Red Alert 3) had this support.

 

[Polychrome]

Agree that it is awesome that Civ V has a windows 8 touch mode - I wish more games (like Red Alert 3) had this support.

Tales of Monkey Island, I've always noticed, tends to work *better* with Wacom than with a mouse. It's not for windows 8 by any means, just a happy accident. (One I only found since I use a WACOM tablet at home and got curious since mouse controls in that game are pretty clumsy.)

 

[hysonmb]

I just posted a video of Black Ops II running smoother after changing the desktop resolution!
Improved - Surface Pro Running Black Ops II - YouTube

Easy fix that makes even more games playable. So far Black Ops II and Mass Effect 3 are looking good! I'll do more soon.