Just got the Surface Pro 2 256 gb and now reading about Surface Pro 3

rchillin

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I'm telling you now, take it back and pre-order the Pro 3. I'm a Surface Pro owner bought when it first came out and while I love it, the Pro 3 fixes a lot of issues I have with my Pro. I found myself wanting to use my pro in portrait more often; commutes on the train or lying in bed, but is really awkward because its top heavy and elongated. The kickstand being able to go from 22 - 150 degrees I can't tell you how beneficial that will be in real-world use. Then there's the speakers which aren't front facing so I find myself using my hands to cup the speakers in order to hear better which they've addressed in Pro 3.
 

MCube74

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As tempting as it may be to get the Pro 3, I think it will be better to wait for the next Surface Pro with new CPU and GPU and possibly new Windows.

It will not be too long until it releases.
 

erasure25

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I feel ya, but I think the SP2 has value. The SP3 has no place to store the pen other than a fairly ugly loop attached by a sticky to the type cover. It does not have a dedicated spot to magnetically connect the pen. I find the widescreen format of the SP2 to be good for giving you ample space to lay your palm while writing. I think the format of the SP3 will make this a little more difficult (your palm will often be resting off the screen when writing on the right hand side of "pages" which makes for uneven writing). The processor will be an upgraded version (maybe a 4400 Haswell vs. the 4300 Haswell in the SP2), but I don't think drastically so. The Intel Broadwell processors are slated to be out for the holidays, so there could be yet another upgraded Surface Pro late this year/early next year. While the SP3 reportedly has no lag or parallax in the pen input (compared to the slight lag and parallax in the Pro 2) I am ok with how the Pro 2 pen currently functions.

I personally don't think its worth it to shell out for a Pro 3 if you have a Pro 2 (if you have a Pro 1, then probably worth it). I'm more than likely going to hold out for the Broadwell Surface Pro if/when that comes out (unless I get a nice raise/bonus or windfall of money :p).
 

onlysublime

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again, multiple reports that Broadwell will not be released to OEMs in time for this year. because you can't just release the chips and have instant machines. you still have to design around the chip. no Broadwell Surfaces until next year.

And for all the criticism of 16:9. Here's some food for thought. If you like to use the Windows 8/8.1 snap mode, 16:9 gives you more room. When I'm snapping Sound Recorder to the side and taking notes in Word on the other side, that extra length helps.

As for portrait mode, because it's a heavy machine, you're not going to hold it in a traditional tablet manner where your hand bears the burden. My brother and I both cradle it in our arm.

fwkb4h.jpg

Now, for my Surface RT, I can hold it more like a traditional tablet because it's light but I still end up cradling it most of the time when I'm in portrait. But here's another advantage of 16:9 in portrait. I have a spreadsheet for my medical offices. I can see a lot more rows without scrolling because it's 16:9. Yes, the narrowness means I can't see as many columns. But for seeing a wide view of multiple rows (the different offices), it's more important to see more rows than more columns. And if I want to see a ton of columns, well 16:9 landscape lets me see more than 4:3 landscape.

this isn't the old days. machines are going to be updated regularly. If you don't have an SP2, then get the SP3.

I can definitely see upgrading from SP to SP3 as SP had all the roughness of a first-gen model. But SP2 is really really nice.
 

Marlon Bu

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As tempting as it may be to get the Pro 3, I think it will be better to wait for the next Surface Pro with new CPU and GPU and possibly new Windows.

It will not be too long until it releases.
There will always be a "next Surface". So you can wait forever.
 

chezm

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Honestly, i would take it back and wait for the SP3. I love my SP2 but the improvements to SP3 at the same cost, just difficult to recommend staying with the older model.
 

WillysJeepMan

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again, multiple reports that Broadwell will not be released to OEMs in time for this year. because you can't just release the chips and have instant machines. you still have to design around the chip. no Broadwell Surfaces until next year.

And for all the criticism of 16:9. Here's some food for thought. If you like to use the Windows 8/8.1 snap mode, 16:9 gives you more room. When I'm snapping Sound Recorder to the side and taking notes in Word on the other side, that extra length helps.
That's nice, but using the Surface in landscape mode causes the onscreen keyboard to take up 3/4 of the screen.


As for portrait mode, because it's a heavy machine, you're not going to hold it in a traditional tablet manner where your hand bears the burden. My brother and I both cradle it in our arm.

View attachment 67214
But 16:9 is not optimal for comic reading. Even in the photo you attached, it is clear that there is dead-space where there is an ad. (my reader doesn't show ads and on the Surface 2, I end up with part of the next page peeking up) A 3:2 or 4:3 screen allows for more optimal use.


Now, for my Surface RT, I can hold it more like a traditional tablet because it's light but I still end up cradling it most of the time when I'm in portrait. But here's another advantage of 16:9 in portrait. I have a spreadsheet for my medical offices. I can see a lot more rows without scrolling because it's 16:9. Yes, the narrowness means I can't see as many columns. But for seeing a wide view of multiple rows (the different offices), it's more important to see more rows than more columns. And if I want to see a ton of columns, well 16:9 landscape lets me see more than 4:3 landscape.
In your use case it is more important to see more rows than columns. In mine, it is important to see a balance.... not many rows more than columns or vice versa.
 

MCube74

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There will always be a "next Surface". So you can wait forever.

If a new product released every 12 months or longer it would be a different thing altogether.

Surface pro 3 has the exact same CPU as he Surface Pro 2 (except for the i7 Option).
The i7 model will release at the end of Aug. Then a couple months later Broadwell.
 

MCube74

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Honestly, i would take it back and wait for the SP3. I love my SP2 but the improvements to SP3 at the same cost, just difficult to recommend staying with the older model.

The Surface pro 3 will release in my country at the end of Aug. I will check them at the stores then.


I doubt I will see a big difference as the big screen is already a negative thing for me.
I hope he next surface with Broadwell and Windows 9 will not only release in 12" size. I hope there will be 10.6" size as well.
 

Gwenddoleu

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Hello!

Same situation -> Recently bought the SP2 and feel some frustration because these days there are so many articles and good opinions about the SP3. I think all these speakings will calm and we'll very soon enjoy the excellent SP2 ;-) And time passes so fast... just forget the SP3 as a new SP4 will already be here :)
 

MCube74

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Hello!

Same situation -> Recently bought the SP2 and feel some frustration because these days there are so many articles and good opinions about the SP3. I think all these speakings will calm and we'll very soon enjoy the excellent SP2 ;-) And time passes so fast... just forget the SP3 as a new SP4 will already be here :)


There will always be something new and better.

By the time people actually get their hands on a Surface Pro 3 i7 model it will be end of Aug or early Sept. Then just a couple of months later Microsoft may announce a new surface with the Broadwell CPU.
 

stephen_az

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I got the Surface Pro 2 256gb last week with the i5 4300u CPU. I am still getting used to the new tablet and now I am reading about Surface Pro 3.

Not sure if I bought my Surface Pro 3 at a wrong time.

If Surface Pro 3 will have a larger screen then I am not bothered as if I wanted a larger screen I could have got the Sony Vio Tap 11 Tablet or a Dell XPS 12 Ultra book.

I like the 10.6" screen size as it is easier for me to carry around.

The only thing I will be disappointed is that if I had waiting, I would have bought my Surface Pro 2 at a lower price. :unhappysweat:

Why are you expecting Surface Pro 2 discounts? They haven't been announced and really aren't due for awhile yet. At the I5 level, Surface Pro 2 and 3 also share some essential hardware including the CPU & GPU. There is really no reason to expect any discounts yet. The fact that everything is now Surface Pro 3 in marketing is typical Microsoft and is not reflected in pricing. I expect that the week after Surface Pro 3 is released, Surface Pro 2 will be visible again. They did a version of the same thing with Surface RT and Surface Pro when Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 were released. FWIW, I have actually found it rather amusing that the Scottsdale AZ Microsoft store continues to push three tablets: Surface Pro 2, Surface 2, and Dell Venue 8 Pro and barely even acknowledges Surface Pro3 (and preorders) exist. The coming soon display is up but it might as well be a Blackberry ad in a Verizon store - unattended and ignored.
 

onlysublime

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Just read some more tidbits about the SP3 to know that upgrading from the SP2 is not a given.

The SP3 sounds fabulous and if I didn't have a SP2, I would definitely buy the SP3.

But read enough now to get a feel for the SP3. We all know the improvements and benefits so I won't rehash them. But from what I've gathered, the 10% performance improvement is not from the same processor according to the CNET article. Maybe other articles will say otherwise, but the 10% improvement is going to the Core i7. And apparently, because a larger resolution is being driven, that's why you're only seeing a 10% improvement? Or maybe they weren't doing enough multithreaded work to show the benefits of i7 (like video encoding)?

People have talked about how the Core i5 is the sweet spot anyway. The Core i7 just has more hyperthreading and a little higher clock. Structurally, it's not better than the Core i5.

And because the same processor Core i5 4300U is driving both the SP2 and the SP3, because the SP3 has to drive more pixels (2160x1440 versus 1920x1080 of the SP2), it can feel slower. This was observed by Gabe, an artist at Penny Arcade, who loves his SP2 and is playing around with the Core i5 SP3. Microsoft is going to provide him a Core i7 SP3. He did notice significant performance gains by dropping down the resolution to 1650x1050 but then he has black bars around his display. Let's not forget. this is still Intel integrated graphics, the worst graphics for pretty much all time.

I can't even fathom an i3 driving that 2160x1440 display. I already hate the Core i3 driving my 1366x768 PC and 1440x900 PC at work. I can't imagine it running a 2160x1440 with digital pen.

Anyway, Gabe's "review" was really positive and made me feel okay about the N-Trig pen. I'll drop money on the SP4 when it has Broadwell. I'll keep enjoying my SP2 until then.
 

MCube74

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I will also use the SP2 until Sp4 releases later this year or early next year.

I rather see better speed improvements than just 10%.
 

Disturbed_Angel

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I actually just ordered a Surface Pro 2 because of the 3. I mostly bought it for class, but as a bit of gamer with experience building my own rigs I know that the larger screen with more pixels just means more work for the chip with less to show for it (no plans for hard core games, but Minecraft between classes would be nice). This is of course comparing to the i5 SP3, the i7 is a different story, but was not in the budget, so I had to compare the i5 models, and SP2 wins in my book. YMMV of course.
 

flotto

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Just gat back from Microsoft and checked out the SP3. Wow! Talked with the manager and she said anyone that purchased a SP2 within the part 60 days can return it towards the SP3. Food for thought far anyone in the same situation as me and the original poster!

Sent from my Surface Pro 2 using Tapatalk
 

cdf3

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Just gat back from Microsoft and checked out the SP3. Wow! Talked with the manager and she said anyone that purchased a SP2 within the part 60 days can return it towards the SP3. Food for thought far anyone in the same situation as me and the original poster!

Sent from my Surface Pro 2 using Tapatalk

Does this apply if the Surface Pro 2 was purchased at BestBuy, or will they only accept units purchased from the Microsoft Store?
 

flotto

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Does this apply if the Surface Pro 2 was purchased at BestBuy, or will they only accept units purchased from the Microsoft Store?



My guess is Microsoft Store only, but I don't know. I was at the Microsoft Store.

Sent from my Surface Pro 2 using Tapatalk
 

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