SP5 M3 4GB or SP4 i5 8 GB ?

[Nicolasss]

Hi everyone,

I m really close to buy a Surface pro. The real question is : which one.

I've managed to find two of them at an equivalent price : the SP5 4GB 128 GB and the SP4 8GB 256GB.

I really don't know which one to buy.

The 8GB of RAM of the SP4 seems nice to do multitasking (I like to open a lot of tabs in Chrome), and maybe for times to come with more demanding softwares.

But the better battery of the SP5 along with the fanless/noiseless system is really seducing too...

I don't think that the capacity of the SSD will be an issue cause I can always add a massive microSDcard.

What do you recommand?

Thanks for your advices,

Nicolas

 

[ClintRo]

I would always go for the newer machine, since the drive space is not an issue, basically you are just looking at the RAM difference, graphics and processor generation. IIRC the Surface 4 is about 22 months old and I prefer newer tech.

I think the benefits or the new SP"5" out weight the reduction in RAM.

 

[convergent]

The three things I like on the nSP over SP4 are 50% more battery life, softer edges when holding as a tablet, and the better pen performance. If those aren't a big deal for you, then get the SP4. Also, the microSD slot performs pretty slowly... way slower than USB3 speeds.

Here are the speeds I got doing testing:

nSP - 1630MBps Read / 848MBps Write
MicroSD Slot w/Samung EVO Plus 256GB - 84MBps Read / 75MBps Read
PNY external 480GB USB3 SSD - 422MBps Read / 412MBps Write

 

[TennisGuy45]

Seems like an easy choice to me.

Core m3 vs Core i5
128gb ssd vs 256gb
4gb RAM vs 8GB Ram

Faster processor, more ram, and bigger ssd are all tangible things that will make a real noticeable difference in day to day use and longevity of use.

The only reason to even consider the Core m3 version would be battery life. And only then if you know you will be in frequent situations where its a necessity to have all that extra battery because you dont have access to power.

The newer tech comment is a little ridiculous. Buying a newer model just because its newer is not a smart decision.
When shopping for a truck I would not buy a 2018 over a 2017 (assuming equal pricing and brand new) if it had a smaller motor, no navigation systtem, etc. Thats absurd.

 

[ClintRo]

7th gen vs 6th gen processor is not a joke. Also they are not talking about M3 vs i5

They are asking if they should get either the

Surface Pro 4 with 8GB RAM and 256GB HDD (Intel Core i5-6300U (2.4 to 3.0 GHz)) or
Surface Pro "5" with 4GB RAM and 128 GB HDD (Core i5-7300U (2.60 to 3.50Ghz)


I suggested the newer version because there are several advantages the OP already listed. Plus they didn't think the HDD capacity was a large factor in their use case.

Better battery, faster processor, fanless.

 

[TennisGuy45]

The thread title stated M3 so that is what I assumed they were referring to.

There is a new Surface Pro M3 (uses the m3-7Y30 CPU) with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD and it is $800.

Personally I think the SP4 8GB 256GB w/type cover for $999 is the best deal. https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...r-bundle%2F93k99974kn4w%2F4p7q&token=3aWeMdcM
The SP5 with same specs and no type cover is $1299.

 

[ClintRo]

Absolutely... my apologies I didn't read the title closely, just the OP.

I think if better battery is a need for web surfing and what not, the M3 might be the better buy but that does change everything.

 

[anon(5327127)]

Just this week, in work, I changed, from a 4Gb Core M SP4, to an 8Gb SP5 SP5 2018.

Obviously the core i5, along with a faster SSD (256Gb compared to 128Gb), extra ram etc is noticeably faster than the SP4 core M. In every way, including battery life, the new SP5 is better. of course there's the Core M SP5 but if you can stretch to the i5 go for it!

 

[BrianEmbry]

Is not the I5 Surface Pro "5" also fanless???

 

[ClintRo]

Yes the i5 SP5 is fanless.