Should I return my i5 for an M3 model?

[Jazmac]

Funnest post ever.

So I got this stone in my shoe while I'm out jogging. After about 10 minutes, it hurt so bad I'm limping on the track. I don't jog as much as I used to, maybe 4 miles at least 5 times a week but I have to get my run in and did I say these shoes look great? Waited 6 months for em to come out and when the store opened, I grabbed em bit this stone is killing my foot. Should I take off my shoe and remove the stone or just ignore it because these Jordan's look great on my feet?

 

[Geo Hutchings]

I haven't even received my SP4 yet, but the heating and excessive fan noise are bothering me already.

I am a light user - web browsing, Netflix, YouTube streaming and office apps. The most resource intensive task I do on the machine might be some Excel work with sheets with a couple of thousands lines of data.

Should I have got the M3 to begin with? I went with the i5 because I wanted it to be a little future proof. But fan noise when streaming YouTube of Netflix when I'm in bed is a deal breaker for me.

Thoughts?

So keep your order man, the I5 is beast and gives you more freedom and in two years time your computer will run things faster as programs get lighter

 

[poddie]

I've been trying to decide if the m3 would be enough for my wife's computer. I know she would appreciate no fan noise. But I want it to be snappy too, and I don't want lag. Decisions, decisions.

 

[boltman2013]

I've been trying to decide if the m3 would be enough for my wife's computer. I know she would appreciate no fan noise. But I want it to be snappy too, and I don't want lag. Decisions, decisions.

There is no "lag" save money and get her an M3 she'll thank you for being smart and not wasting money plus it runs cool.

M3 is the best computer I have ever used apart from my sons Devils Canyon i7 desktop.
That includes my own i5-3570K desktop and my old i3 Vaio. Of course it cant do everything my desktop or Vaio do due to 4GB of Ram BUT for the things I need it to do it flies. Your wife I can guarantee does not push her computer as I do.

 

[poddie]

I ordered hee the m3. She mostly does browsing and meeting note taking. Supposed to be here Wednesday. I have an i7 16GB/256GB on order for myself... I run VMs, and develop software, and would like to so some light gaming (mainly Street Fighter V as that won't be on Xbox One). Will be interesting to compare the two.

 

[badMojo69]

I think the m3 is a great CPU but the way Microsoft has chosen to package it the Surface implementation is not so good.
I need more memory I'm always running at least 4gb memory, so I'm just scared id over tax it and it would run like crap.

 

[zkyevolved]

I am in the same boat. I have the i5 SP2; I want to upgrade to the SP4. I don't know if I should get the i5 again or the M3. It's not about the money, even though spending the money is worse than saving it of course, but rather heat, and battery life. I saw a review that said that the M3 and i5 had about the same battery life! Even though the M3 used 1/3 the power for the processor. I guess the processor in comparison to the screen, wifi, audio, bluetooth etc is a minor power drain... I was very surprised to see that the M3 got roughly the same battery life!

 

[boltman2013]

I am in the same boat. I have the i5 SP2; I want to upgrade to the SP4. I don't know if I should get the i5 again or the M3. It's not about the money, even though spending the money is worse than saving it of course, but rather heat, and battery life. I saw a review that said that the M3 and i5 had about the same battery life! Even though the M3 used 1/3 the power for the processor. I guess the processor in comparison to the screen, wifi, audio, bluetooth etc is a minor power drain... I was very surprised to see that the M3 got roughly the same battery life!

The M3 has a smaller battery and IS lighter (do not sleep on the fact the M3 is the lightest one which is a significant plus) the battery life on all versions was to meet the 9hr claim..not more

More> They offer SurfaceBook 12 hours

 

[surface-m3i5i7]

The M3 has a smaller battery and IS lighter...

That is not right. The Surface Pro 4 battery is only slightly smaller than the Surface Pro 3. The lower weight is due to the lack of fan.

 

[surface-m3i5i7]

I find the decision between i5 and m3 very difficult.:sweaty:

Pro M3
- ? 100 cheaper
- Slightly less weight
- No fan

Pro I5
- Faster CPU
- Better performance and USB charger greater

And the battery life is certainly similar. Possibly the I5 is better, because the CPU is faster ready with the tasks. Or it affects the lower power consumption of the M3? Reliable Reviews are not revealed.


(Excuse my bad English - Writing from Germany)

 

[bugelrex]

same boat. Hoping someone willl do a 'detailed' comparison between i5 and m3

 

[badMojo69]

same boat. Hoping someone willl do a 'detailed' comparison between i5 and m3

No idea why WC hasn't done their review yet. This is i5 vs M3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbhl8fmQL8k

 

[surface-m3i5i7]

Benchmark

I compared the data from Anandtech and Notebookcheck.

Although the I5 has more power, I now ordered the Fanless M3.
Price is now almost equal here: M3 999 ? , I5 , 1030 ? .

 

[Tsang Fai]

I am using SP4 m3 right now. And I can tell you it isn't much cooler than my SP3 i5.

Perhaps it is because the m3 model just does not have a fan.

I expect that SP4 i5/i7 is quite efficient with the new liquid cooling mechanism. The heat and fan issues should be much improved compared with SP3 because the heat is evenly distributed around the whole body. Just my reasonable guess.

 

[snakebitten]

I could easily have lived with the processing power of the M3. I know that. But I objected to the 4 Gig ram limit enough to step up to the I5.

I haven't even had the fan come on. Or, if it has, it wasn't noticeable. (My office isn't real quiet. So maybe it has. But at home I haven't heard even a peep) I can tell you I haven't even felt a "warming" of the SP4. My SP2 I5 DOES have the fan come on occasionally, and when it has, it also is warmer than the SP4.

 

[GatsbyGlen]

I could easily have lived with the processing power of the M3. I know that. But I objected to the 4 Gig ram limit enough to step up to the I5.

I haven't even had the fan come on. Or, if it has, it wasn't noticeable. (My office isn't real quiet. So maybe it has. But at home I haven't heard even a peep) I can tell you I haven't even felt a "warming" of the SP4. My SP2 I5 DOES have the fan come on occasionally, and when it has, it also is warmer than the SP4.

The only time I really heard the fan kick on with my i5 is when I installed Office 365. Other than that, it's almost always quite.

 

[RichBrown68]

SURFACE PRO 3
View attachment 115759

In power saving it runs at 1.08 GHz about 35-41c fan off
View attachment 115760.

High performance 2.65ghz 60-70c fan turns on

I clocked it to 1.4ghz which feels much better but still cool and no fans
View attachment 115761

This is an awesome idea. I rarely have the fan come on, but hey, NEVER having it come on is even better.

 

[tvoltz90]

I went with the M3 model, and really glad I did. The fan noise wouldn't have bothered me if I had bought the higher-end models. I just knew that for my usage of the SP4 (business & college-related work) the M3 would perform just fine. I've yet to see this thing become sluggish! It's definitely a great value at $899 and worth giving a chance.

 

[boltman2013]

I went with the M3 model, and really glad I did. The fan noise wouldn't have bothered me if I had bought the higher-end models. I just knew that for my usage of the SP4 (business & college-related work) the M3 would perform just fine. I've yet to see this thing become sluggish! It's definitely a great value at $899 and worth giving a chance.

Exactly ...people think they need 8GB on a tablet and to spend another $500..they don't (they just think they do)

The M# is perfect for the SP4, i5 not so much..i7 sure if money is no object and you can wait

Its human psychology to go with the crowd...the smart ones never do that..crowd is wrong because the crowd is not that smart hence they are members of ...the crowd.

Think about this MS wants to to buy the i5/8GB at $1399 (margins) hence it was the ONLY demo..they did not dare demo the M3 because they never would have sold any i5's..don't be a lemming people, no one givees a care what cpu or ram you have..be happy with what works..the M3 does and is the smartest buy and saves you $100-500 over i5..and is fanless + better 3D graphics and lighter.

 

[badMojo69]

i5 vs M3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJCL3nFfoMs