Top end CPU is it dual or quad cpu ?

[Dariusz1989]

What is it? Why does it not say on the website?!

 

[Bluerain]

I was about to ask this myself.

 

[a5cent]

The device is available in multiple configurations:

128 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ M3 with 4 GB of RAM $899 ERP
128 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i5 with 4 GB of RAM $999 ERP
256 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i5 with 8 GB of RAM $1,299 ERP
256 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i7 with 8 GB of RAM $1,599 ERP
256 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i7 with 16 GB of RAM $1,799 ERP
512 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i7 with 16 GB of RAM $2,199 ERP

edit:
Based on reporting from anandtech, these devices come either with the Core M 4.5W CPU, or the 15W variants of Intel's newest i5 and i7 CPUs. All of these are 2 core / 4 thread CPUs.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9693/microsoft-announces-the-surface-pro-4-from-900

 

[Dariusz1989]

Humh

soo 512 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i7 with 16 GB of RAM $2,199 ERP

Is it Dual or Quad? :- )

 

[ROBBIE HALL]

Where are you getting these prices? i7 512gb 16gb ram is $2699....(MS store) if it is $2199 then I'm getting it!

 

[a5cent]

Humh

soo 512 GB 6th Generation Intel? Core™ i7 with 16 GB of RAM $2,199 ERP

Is it Dual or Quad? :- )

like I said, they are all 2 core 4 thread CPUs.

 

[a5cent]

Where are you getting these prices? i7 512gb 16gb ram is $2699....(MS store) if it is $2199 then I'm getting it!

Just copied them off a website where all were listed. Ignore the prices. Will be different form region to region anyway. It was about the configurations.

Surface Pro 4 release date, news and features | TechRadar

 

[ROBBIE HALL]

Was hoping it was $2199

 

[Cleavitt76]

It is $2199. At least in the US region. Maybe you are looking at the price for the Surface Book with the same specs. The equivalent Surface Book is $2699.

 

[Carlos002]

like I said, they are all 2 core 4 thread CPUs.

Look the RAM scales up to 16GB and there is a 1TB option, then it has to be a quad core with 8 core thread, remember the dedicated GPU, it would not fit in a just dual core!
The M3 might be a dual core though!
Check for that in the Intel page!

 

[a5cent]

^ Ehm... no... that makes so little sense I'm not going to comment on it.

If anandtech's reporting is correct, in that the i5 and i7 are 15W parts, then they aren't quad cores, because Intel doesn't make 15W quad cores.

 

[Dariusz1989]

Could it be a new secret batch? Not sure. It would be amazing if the new SP4 max out version is in fact 4 core...

 

[a5cent]

^ No. There is no secret batch, nor would it necessarily be amazing if there was.

When it comes to determining what the fastest CPU configuration is (number of cores, threads, etc) at any given power and thermal budget, the engineers at Intel are likely more knowledgeable than any of us here. If their top of the line 15W part is a dual core configuration, those of you wanting four cores at 15W would definitely end up with an inferior solution. Intel's quad core parts start at 45W, which gets us double the cores (and only occasionally better performance but never double), at the cost of tripling the power budget. If that's amazing, it's at least not unconditionally so.

Assuming we stick to the 15W CPU power envelope, the quad core system some of you want would make the device slower in most scenarios, because each core would be forced to run slower than in could in the dual core setup. If we went the opposite way and increased the 15W power envelope so as to accommodate the more powerful CPU, we'd end up with a thicker, louder and heavier device due to requiring a beefier cooling solution, not to mention suffering noticeably worse battery life. If you don't want those power and thermal restrictions, choose a bigger and thicker laptop, like the SurfaceBook, or just buy a desktop where you can go all out.

Anyway, those of us willing to step back and forget the marketing driven desire for more cores will recognize that the Surface Pro 4 is in fact the best performing device ever built at this particular size/form factor. If you want the best performing device at this size, then this is what you get. End of story. In that sense, how many cores it has is completely irrelevant.

 

[StevoPhilo]

^ No. There is no secret batch, nor would it necessarily be amazing if there was.

When it comes to determining what the fastest CPU configuration is (number of cores, threads, etc) at any given power and thermal budget, the engineers at Intel are likely more knowledgeable than any of us here. If their top of the line 15W part is a dual core configuration, those of you wanting four cores at 15W would definitely end up with an inferior solution. Intel's quad core parts start at 45W, which gets us double the cores (and only occasionally better performance but never double), at the cost of tripling the power budget. If that's amazing, it's at least not unconditionally so.

Assuming we stick to the 15W CPU power envelope, the quad core system some of you want would make the device slower in most scenarios, because each core would be forced to run slower than in could in the dual core setup. If we went the opposite way and increased the 15W power envelope so as to accommodate the more powerful CPU, we'd end up with a thicker, louder and heavier device due to requiring a beefier cooling solution, not to mention suffering noticeably worse battery life. If you don't want those power and thermal restrictions, choose a bigger and thicker laptop, like the SurfaceBook, or just buy a desktop where you can go all out.

Anyway, for those of us willing to step back and forget the marketing driven desire for more cores, and instead just judge the SP4 based solely on its actual performance, we'll recognize it is in fact the best performing device ever built at this particular size/form factor. If you want the best performing device at this size, than this is what you get. End of story. In that sense, how many cores it has is completely irrelevant.

Well said. I am wondering if the Surface Book has the quad core Skylake. I'd imagine so if they're comparing it the the MBP and it'd also explain the 3-4 tablet battery life.

 

[a5cent]

Well said. I am wondering if the Surface Book has the quad core Skylake. I'd imagine so if they're comparing it the the MBP and it'd also explain the 3-4 tablet battery life.

It's sad how none of the consumer tech sites can wrap their head around the fact that listing a Core i5 or Core i7 as the CPU means absolutely nothing. On WCentral's SurfaceBook specs page they also just list:

6th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7

*sigh*. It's completely meaningless.

None of the consumer tech sites are actually technical, so maybe they don't understand this themselves, but it sure would be nice if they did. At the very least they should mention whether it's a 4.5W, 15W, 45W or 60W part. Better yet, just give us the model number already!

I've seen some sites claim that the SurfaceBook comes with a 15W part, but I'm not buying that. If that's true, then the performance comparison MS made to the MacBook Pro is false. It's one or the other. I'm pretty sure the SurfaceBook will be using the 45W part, so yes, quad core, but I have yet to see confirmation.

 

[QuentinJ]

I found this on twitter:

As I don't know if these sources can be trusted, I figured I would go with the details available on Microsoft website (i.e. processor class and graphic processor). https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...surface-pro-4%23techspec-block&token=ffHcvAMD
I looked at the list of processors Intel offers for m3, i5 and i7 and ticked which one matched class and graphics.

For the m3, there is only one model so it wasn't an issue: Intel? Core? M Processors it is the m3-6Y30 (2 cores/4 threads, 900MHz-2.2GHz

The i5 has HD graphics 520, there are two options: 6th Generation Intel? Core? i5 Processors the i5-6200U (2/4 cores/threads, 2.3-2.8 GHz) and i5-6300U (2/4 cores/threads, 2.4-3.0 GHz)

The i7 has Iris graphics. The TDP is 15W I believe so we also have two choices: 6th Generation Intel? Core? i7 Processors The i7-6560U (2/4 cores/threads, 2.2-3.2 GHz) and i7-6650U (2/4 cores/threads, 2.2-3.4 GHz)

 

[a5cent]

^ Nice to know. I'd prefer something official, but it does sound very believable.

 

[QuentinJ]

I would too. But until the SP4 reddit AMA we won't know for sure (I believe it was during the Reddit AMA that we found out the exact SP3 CPUs as well). Or until they become available and we can find out by testing them in store or checking what's inside our own

EDIT: these guys seem to confirm my research: http://www.umpcportal.com/products/Microsoft/Surface Pro 4
Intel Core M3-6Y30 / HD 515 graphics
Intel Core i5-6300U / HD 520 graphics
Intel Core i7-6650U / Iris 540 graphics

 

[DCProjMgr]

So, we don't know. We also don't know whether they will use DDR3 or DDR4 RAM,

Here is an educated guess. The current SP3 uses the U level chips. (Mine is a Haswell i7-4650U .) These are 2 Core / 15 W chips that emphasizes low power over performance, when they are in conflict. I would expect that the SP4 will keep the same "U" line, such as the Skylake i7-6650U. So, still 2 cores and 4mb of LCache.

The big unknown is what family of Core processors will the Surface Book run? Because of the different use cases presented, I am guessing that the Book will get the HQ line - 4 Cores / 45 W. The Intel? Core™ i7-6820HQ , for example.

 

[ioaniro]

On this site they actually give out quite a lot of details:

https://www.digitec.ch/fr/s1/produc...core-m3-6y30-4go-win-10-pro-notebooks-5622676

(they have most models around)

Most of the guesses are correct they say basically:
Intel Core M3-6Y30 7W 2 cores 4 threads
Intel Core i5-6300U 15W 2 cores 4 threads
Intel Core i7-6650U 15W 2 cores 4 threads

I think they got the wrong GPU for the I7 though but the rest looks fine. Would be interesting to see the battery life of the M3 model vs the i5 and i7 models...