Could an SP4 replace a desktop?

[podsnap]

I have a 7 year old Dell (Core i7 920 2.7GHz) desktop which is getting a bit long in the tooth now. I would love to have an SP4 for the portability (I don't have laptop) which would be great when going to see clients. But I'm really interested in the pen and the ability to draw directly on the screen (I have an old Wacom tablet which I never use because drawing on a surface that doesn't show anything is just weird). I could get the Surface Dock and just have everything linked up to that.

My question is, do people think it would be fast enough? (Considering the CPU benchmark of the SP3 is, amazingly, below that of my desktop, despite its age according to cpubenchmark.net).

Now I realise overall system performance is more than just CPU (and I know my HD is super slow) but I genuinely have no idea if an SP4 would be significantly faster or not and I'm not sure how I could find out without buying one. Benchmarks from reviews of the SP3 naturally compare it to competitors not desktops.

Anyone got any experience of replacing a desktop with a ultrabook type or SP3?

 

[Tumultus]

I used my SP3 as a desktop for more than a month. Got me the docking station and hooked everything up (monitor, keyboard, mouse, external hard drives and DVD drive). Worked excellent, so, I am pretty sure the SP4 would do just fine.

My main concern was the battery: with the SP3 dock, you have the device permanently on the charger; the dock doesn't function otherwise. Since the battery is sealed in, I wasn't comfortable anymore to keep the device as my desktop. Didn't want to ruin the battery with constant charging.

 

[Talldog]

My wife and I replaced our laptop AND desktop with 2 SP3s and a docking station last March and we've never looked back. The desktop was a fairly high-end HP Pavilion Elite (when we bought it) that was 5 years old. We don't miss it, and our new SP4s will be even better.

 

[a5cent]

Yes. On the other hand, so can the plastic fork I used last night for supper... it depends what you want to use it for.

If you're willing to spend the same amount of money on a desktop as you are willing to spend on a laptop, or ultrabook, or convertible, then the desktop will always perform better. There is no getting around that. A desktop will always get you the best performance/dollar ratio.

The better question is whether you actually need that performance/dollar ratio. Since you're already willing to spend a lot of money on a computing device, you'd probably also be willing to spend more on an extremely powerful desktop if you actually needed that performance. I'm guessing you don't.

If it's not performance that you're worried about, but ergonomics, then I would say it depends on what you use your device for. If you are a person that does a lot of writing, then you want a large and comfortable keyboard. A large monitor is also a lot better for document editing. However, if that's not the type of work you do, then a smaller device may be perfectly fine. Even if we prefer the large monitor and comfortable keyboard, some of us simply have no choice because we want/need the mobility. Unfortunately we can't have both all the time, but Tumultus explained how to get the best of both worlds at least some of the time (docking station setup).

 

[podsnap]

Yes. On the other hand, so can the plastic fork I used last night for supper...

LOL :grincry: If I'd been drinking at the time I'd definitely have spat it all over my keyboard!

Sorry, yes, I should have said. I do a lot of work in Adobe Creative Suite (for me CS6) so Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator mainly. So they aren't lightweight packages (not just because of the features but also because IMO Adobe couldn't right a fast, efficient application if they tried). So I would be getting a 16GB 512MB version (just a shame we can't get the 1TB version here in the UK).

Obviously, as you say, I could get a desktop for a grand and it would kick the butt of the SP4. But eight years ago laptops weren't powerful enough and still portable enough to even consider, which is why I have the desktop. Now I feel the features of the SP4 (the pen specifically) and portability might outweigh the extra power of a desktop.

While I'd be getting a high end version, the price does make me wince over the price of a more powerful desktop but that's not something you can help me with! :wink:

 

[Tumultus]

Wouldn't the Surface Book be a better choice? Better graphic (high end version), larger screen, better laptop mode and, most importantly, no need to buy the docking station since you have all connections already on the keyboard part.

 

[Hans Swolfs]

For what it's worth,I replaced my desktop with a surface pro 3 i5 256gb and 8gb ram and couldn't be more happy...

Using it for Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign and web development.

With the dock, 2 screens,arc mouse and a keyboard my workflow for much better.

So if the sp3 can do the trick, the 4 surely can too.

 

[podsnap]

Yes, possibly (although as I understand it, it's the same processor) but it's not available in the UK and so far MS have no plans for it to come to the UK.

The integrated graphics should be fine for the work I do. I don't do much gaming on my PC now I have an Xbox.

 

[podsnap]

Thanks Hans, that's really useful to hear. Basically the same use case as me.

Wonderful, thank you. Guess I'd better get a pre-order going!

 

[a5cent]

LOL :grincry: If I'd been drinking at the time I'd definitely have spat it all over my keyboard!

I'm glad your keyboard is safe and sound, and I'll remember to include a liability disclaimer next time ;-)

I completely misunderstood the OP in this thread, but you might be interested since the OP there asked a similar question for similar usage scenarios (mainly Photoshop).

To be brutally honest, the SP4, to me, is a bit of a toy. For me the screen is just too small. But that is just me...

I can see it working for you if you use Photoshop as the digital equivalent of an A4 sized sheet of paper, i.e. your primary method of interaction is the pen. For my use of Photoshop the keyboard isn't of major importance, because I use it for nothing more than a few keyboard shortcuts/minute. If your workflow in CS is similar, i.e. you also view the keyboard only as a secondary or irrelevant input method, then the keyboard on the SP4 should suffice.

I'm of the opinion that it's not a good idea to store a lot of data on a mobile device. They get transported around a lot and are far more likely to break or be stolen than a desktop sitting at home. If you can, I'd recommend storing everything you can in the cloud or on a NAS at home, and only synchronizing the stuff you're currently working on onto your device. If you're comfortable storing your files in the cloud, or you already have a NAS, then that could save you some money, as you'd probably easily get by with 256GB of storage. But again, that may not work for your particular usage. Just something to think about.

I personally don't need the portability the SP4 offers. If you do, and the screen and keyboard size aren't an issue for you, then it's a no brainer. Performance wise you shouldn't have any issues with the SP4, as long as you stick to the model with 16GB of RAM.

I personally prefer a larger screen, so I'd go with the SurfaceBook, which also supports pen input. I'm waiting for the i5 model (because I value battery life) with 128GB SSD (because my storage is in the cloud, not on my local SSD) but with 16GB or RAM. That's not currently available, so I'm waiting until it is, or more likely, until I can get RAM modules separately and do the RAM upgrade myself.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[podsnap]

Thanks a5cent, that's a helpful viewpoint (and interesting thread). Yes, I agree the screen is too small for all day use but I'd be plugging it into a large monitor and full size keyboard etc... when I'm in the office. So the screen size isn't a big issue. Indeed, for having on my lap and sketching it's probably better that it's not too big.

As for storage, I agree. I don't have a NAS but do have a large external which is where I keep most of my stuff (which itself is automatically backed up to the cloud). I'd use the on board storage for active projects. I'm quite happy to use the cloud for active projects as well (which I do to some degree).

I'll probably use the cloud more once I upgrade to a 4G phone and can tether at useful speeds! (Still limping along on a 3 year old HTC 8X on 3G.)

Appreciate your input.

 

[Hans Swolfs]

I agree about the storage... I have a nas and a usb3 external drive at home.

On the go the 256gb is more than enough for me.

I love the portability as I often do photoshoots on location where my camera is connected to the surface for bigger preview. When at home, the files move to the external drive which backs up to the nas.

Today i did some adjustments to a website on the go via my Lumia 930 hotspot. All really fluent so productive like a BOSS

 

[onysi]

My desktop is now being used as netlfix only or steam gaming. All productivity moved to surface

 

[IMissMyPsion]

For what it's worth,I replaced my desktop with a surface pro 3 i5 256gb and 8gb ram and couldn't be more happy...

Using it for Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign and web development.

With the dock, 2 screens,arc mouse and a keyboard my workflow for much better.

So if the sp3 can do the trick, the 4 surely can too.

Presumably you have some sort of external hard disk - 256GB is nothing.

I've got a Dell XPS 17 with 1TB hard disks, which I use with an external mouse and keyboard using wireless Logitech unifying USB, and a 24 inch screen that I have to plug in using an adaptor.

I'm already close to the full usage of the hard disk, and trying to plan what to do next. I'm considering replacing my data drive with a bigger one!

My processor is an i7 2720QM, and I've changed the main HDD for an SSD, so it is still fast, and I am amazed that an i3 which is a significantly lower CPU can cope with Photoshop and Lightroom.

 

[Hans Swolfs]

Presumably you have some sort of external hard disk - 256GB is nothing.

I've got a Dell XPS 17 with 1TB hard disks, which I use with an external mouse and keyboard using wireless Logitech unifying USB, and a 24 inch screen that I have to plug in using an adaptor.

I'm already close to the full usage of the hard disk, and trying to plan what to do next. I'm considering replacing my data drive with a bigger

check my second reply in the thread

On the go the 256gig is sufficient and when I get home, large files (mostly raw files from my 5D2) get transferred to a 3tb external which is backed up to a Synology nas which, if needed, can be accessed from wherever I am.