Best place to purchase: Staples, Microsoft, Best Buy or...?

[kelton]

Surely this has been discussed....but I'll be darned if I can find this topic.

So, what are the advantages of ordering through Microsoft compared to one of the other outlets?

I'd love to order from Costco (for the looong 60 day return policy), but they only sell a low spec Surface and a very expensive high spec Surface with 16mb RAM. I'm pretty much at my top tolerance at $1550 for the i5 with 8gb...which isn't available with Costco.

So, in terms of service, returns, etc..... is it better to order direct from Microsoft or are any of the outlets just as good?

(and as I write this, this forum gives the impression that the Surface Pro 4 is an unmitigated disaster!!!!... I guess forums always give that impression)

 

[dkp23]

sp4 is a disaster to me, while it isn't as bad as the RT when it released, but i compare it similarly because you have to tweak the hell out of it to make it respectable. Out of the box, the battery drain is horrid and still is and the intel graphics driver is total trash. Even Edge didn't work properly out of the box. No win feb and still no update to address the sleep drain which is pretty bad, i've never experienced this type of drain in any device in my life. Right now it is coming "soon".

To get good battery , you have to tweak the hell out of this and you are probably only improving minimally.

I actually regret replacing my sp3 for this, i had same issues in terms of battery issue after installing win 10 on it, with win 8, the battery life was solid and no issues at all. I figured replacing a sp4 would be better with improved specs and such and nope, win 10 is still pretty bad on it in terms of battery.

If i could go back since i sold my sp3, i'd go back with the sp3 and deal with the issues with that device.

 

[WildKarrde]

I got mine at Best Buy because they had 18 month 0% financing, versus Amazon's 12 month 0% financing... and I didn't have to wait a couple days for it to be delivered by buying in person. I don't know if Microsoft offers financing, but their support seems to be the best. The fact the nearest Microsoft store is about 3 hours away negated them from my possible retailers though. Never bought a computer from Costco though, so not familiar with their return policy, but 60 days is pretty sweet.

My SP4 has been mostly trouble free. I am a power user though, and I don't get all pissed and angry when a brand new computer doesn't work exactly the way I want out of the box. I set it up the way I want it, and after a couple days it was fine.

 

[kelton]

With all of the complaints, it is actually fascinating that 99% of reviewers fail to notice these issues.....light bleed, battery drain, flickering and freezing issues.

I just discovered that my town has a Microsoft kiosk in our mall. Just paid a visit today and they are fully stocked with Microsoft and dell products....impressive for a kiosk.

The sales guy was pushing the "special"....a bundled 2 yr accident warranty, a case, and keyboard...for around $300.

So, an i5 with 8gb SP4 would c9me to $1,700 or so with tax

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[dkp23]

I got mine at Best Buy because they had 18 month 0% financing, versus Amazon's 12 month 0% financing... and I didn't have to wait a couple days for it to be delivered by buying in person. I don't know if Microsoft offers financing, but their support seems to be the best. The fact the nearest Microsoft store is about 3 hours away negated them from my possible retailers though. Never bought a computer from Costco though, so not familiar with their return policy, but 60 days is pretty sweet.

My SP4 has been mostly trouble free. I am a power user though, and I don't get all pissed and angry when a brand new computer doesn't work exactly the way I want out of the box. I set it up the way I want it, and after a couple days it was fine.

im just pissed that i close my SP4 for about 2 hours and it drains 10% each hour, so i now i have to change to hibernate, but now it just drains a 5 %. What a great solution.

Im also pissed that using MS own browser results in constant intel driver crashes, oh, but it is intel's fault..Well, it doesnt happen on my lenovo device ever.

I dont think it is unrealistic to not expect the drain in battery for an hour is 10%, or using a 1st party browser results in constant driver crashes. I beleive MS wants people to move from chrome right? well chrome doesnt have this problem.


But an update from MS will be coming to fix it of course, ya we all have been waiting since october..

 

[WildKarrde]

I don't use sleep or hibernate, and I do use Chrome, so yeah, that does eliminate a lot of the trouble areas for me, lol.

 

[RichBrown68]

I understand it's your right to do so, but I don't understand why people intentionally leave their Surface unplugged when not in use. I suppose that might be why I never run into this issue.

 

[kelton]

In my case, I am moving all over the place during my day-to-day work. A key feature of a surface is the portability. If I remained in one location, I'd have a 17" behemoth and love it.
Walking around with a power cord defeats the need for portability and lightness.
The battery life is important.