Considering Upgrading from Surface Pro 4 to Surface Go

[Darthbobcat]

Hi all. I've had a Core m3 Surface Pro 4 for a couple of years and I'm considering an upgrade to either a Surface Pro 6 or a Surface Go. The Go is appealing becaues I like the size of it, but I have a few concerns.

1) Will I notice a dip in performance?
2) Will I notice a dip in battery life?
3) How comfortable is the keyboard for extended typing?
4) I've heard something about external display troubles on the Go. Is that the case?

 

[Jcmg62]

I've read and seen dozens of reviews for the Go, and the majority are very happy with overall performance.

I think if you were moving from a core i5 machine, you'd probably detect a difference in performance, but given that you've been using an M3 model, I think the daily performance will be about the same. In fact, because it would be updated hardware, chances are you'll feel an improvement in overall performance.

I guess because no two users are exactly the same, daily performance will come down to what you use the device for.

Virtually every review so far has concluded that the Go is a good device for productivity (Office tasks, email, web browsing), entertainment (netflix, spotify), light gaming (assuming you stick to games in the windows store) and everyday applications (using the photo's app to edit pics and videos, using the fitbit app, news reading, etc)

I'm told it's also very good at inking. For me, that's a key component. I gave up on using a traditional pen and paper 4 years ago and moved to onenote. Never looked back

Battery life. Harder one to answer. Most reviews conclude a 6-8 hour battery life is about average. Personally, I'd love to see Microsoft release a Go running Windows-on-Arm. A device like that would hit 18-20 hours and have instant on capability. That would be fun

Typing and external display issues...no comment. I honestly wouldn't know. Daniel Rubino's review says that typing takes a bit of getting used to, but is a comfortable experience.

I've bought one of these devices for my daughter, for Christmas. I guess I'll know more in January. But overall, the machine has been in the wild for a few weeks now, Microsoft are saying it's sellign very well, and the forums aren't lighting up with unhappy users, so have to conclude people are happy with the machine

 

[Zeem Frostmaw]

jcmg's reply is good. Also I haven't had any external display issues with my Go using the Lumia Display Dock.

 

[Mike Buckhurst]

I bought an 8GB/128GB Go to replace my i5 Pro 4 when travelling, I've since used it twice whilst working away from home. To get an idea of what it was used for:

1) SQL Server; running a relatively small asset database, quite often with several SSMS queries. Barely noticeable performance difference, especially with SQL restricted to use only 4GB.

2) Adobe Photoshop CS3; this is the one most people think would be an issue, worked fine, but I don't use photoshop for more than basic editing, so very little use of the brushes etc. but I noticed no issues.

3) Visual Studio; running several instances at the same time, yes a bit slower to start, but fine when running.

4) Browsing; keep the tabs to a minimum and I found it's better to close tabs before opening new ones, at any given time I would typically find 4GB in use by the browsers I have running, if it wasn't for these a 4GB Go probably would have been fine.

5) Office, Skype and all those general apps; just like most people say, work fine and you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference.
There were times when the device appeared sluggish for a few seconds, which although irritating when it happens, not enough to counter the benefits.


Battery life, you won't get a full day without charging unless not really taxing the device, especially if you start connecting extra displays and USB devices, but the dock will charge at the same time, although slowly. So if you can use it, then it should be less of an issue. I keep a large USB-C PD battery pack to keep me going, when on the move.

Issues I did have, the screen is too small to run at 100% scaling, and once you go up to 125% or 150% you lose a fair bit of screen real-estate, which was annoying, wherever possible I attached an external monitor, and this is where I hit problems, although the dock is great for modern displays, older HDMI devices don't seem to work. I carried a USB->HDMI display adapter, which worked perfectly, so it wasn't an issue. But to run this I needed a USB-C to USB hub, but the good news, mine also has a network, so was good and none of the devices required the hub to be powered. Typically in addition to the USB display adapter I'd have a portable SSD and memory sticks plugged into the hub.

Overall, I've given the device 4 weeks of hard work to find out, and I still think the jury's out, when on flights, it's a real boon the smaller footprint, but the screen size is a bit too small for working full days, imho. But USB-C and particularly charging is a real benefit, so I don't know what I'll do for my next trip, it's good that a $500 device is competing against a $1200 device, so value for money you can't knock it.

mike

 

[Ryujingt3]

I bought an 8GB/128GB Go to replace my i5 Pro 4 when travelling, I've since used it twice whilst working away from home. To get an idea of what it was used for:

1) SQL Server; running a relatively small asset database, quite often with several SSMS queries. Barely noticeable performance difference, especially with SQL restricted to use only 4GB.

2) Adobe Photoshop CS3; this is the one most people think would be an issue, worked fine, but I don't use photoshop for more than basic editing, so very little use of the brushes etc. but I noticed no issues.

3) Visual Studio; running several instances at the same time, yes a bit slower to start, but fine when running.

4) Browsing; keep the tabs to a minimum and I found it's better to close tabs before opening new ones, at any given time I would typically find 4GB in use by the browsers I have running, if it wasn't for these a 4GB Go probably would have been fine.

5) Office, Skype and all those general apps; just like most people say, work fine and you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference.
There were times when the device appeared sluggish for a few seconds, which although irritating when it happens, not enough to counter the benefits.


Battery life, you won't get a full day without charging unless not really taxing the device, especially if you start connecting extra displays and USB devices, but the dock will charge at the same time, although slowly. So if you can use it, then it should be less of an issue. I keep a large USB-C PD battery pack to keep me going, when on the move.

Issues I did have, the screen is too small to run at 100% scaling, and once you go up to 125% or 150% you lose a fair bit of screen real-estate, which was annoying, wherever possible I attached an external monitor, and this is where I hit problems, although the dock is great for modern displays, older HDMI devices don't seem to work. I carried a USB->HDMI display adapter, which worked perfectly, so it wasn't an issue. But to run this I needed a USB-C to USB hub, but the good news, mine also has a network, so was good and none of the devices required the hub to be powered. Typically in addition to the USB display adapter I'd have a portable SSD and memory sticks plugged into the hub.

Overall, I've given the device 4 weeks of hard work to find out, and I still think the jury's out, when on flights, it's a real boon the smaller footprint, but the screen size is a bit too small for working full days, imho. But USB-C and particularly charging is a real benefit, so I don't know what I'll do for my next trip, it's good that a $500 device is competing against a $1200 device, so value for money you can't knock it.

mike

It definitely sounds like the Surface Go can survive a lot of stuff that you throw at it that goes beyond just 'light internet usage'. Thanks for sharing that with us.

 

[camaroz1985]

Have been considering trying to trade my i5 Pro 3 for a Go. I think the smaller size would be better suited for my needs, and I don't need the i5 at all. This thread is making me consider it even more.

 

[Jcmg62]

Have been considering trying to trade my i5 Pro 3 for a Go. I think the smaller size would be better suited for my needs, and I don't need the i5 at all. This thread is making me consider it even more.

Me too my old i5 Pro3 has really been put through its paces over the past 4 years and is looking well worn out. But I don't need a powerful replacement, so I'm definitely going to pick up a Go, as soon as the LTE model arrives

 

[camaroz1985]

My Pro 3 is still going strong, no issues at all, but I think the smaller Go would be better suited to what I need. That said I'll probably just keep using the Pro 3 for a while unless I find a really good deal on the Go.