Buy a Surface Pro 3 now?

[ColdKiller93]

Hi,

I'm struggeling about buying a Surface Pro 3 in the next few weeks.
I am an engeneering student in germany and use an Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 for doing all my notes during class and a 15,6 inch Laptop if I need a larger screen or two screens for work. Most of the time my Laptop is hooked up to a 24 inch monitor at home and I only use my tablet if I'm in university.
So far so good, but my tablet is getting old and sluggish, so I thought about buying a Surface Pro 3 to replace both devices.
If I had a more powerful Tablet to use as my digital Notebook everyday and as my deskptop using a Docking Station at home, it would be much more convenient for me. Is a Surface Pro 3 really capable to replace both devices? I only do some light Photoshop sometimes or play some Point and Click Adventures on PC. For more demanding games I use my XBox
However, I struggle with my decision because I think there will be a new Surface right around the corner. Surface Pro 3 has been out for a year and a half now, which is longer than Surface Pro 2 and 1 were sold. So there must be a new device soon. I plan on using the Surface for at least the next 3 to 4 years!
What do you think? Buy now or wait for a newer device?

PS: There is this Amazon-Prime-Day tomorrow in Germany wherer they sell stuff like stupid-cheap. Maybe they offer a good deal...

 

[EMitchell]

You have made some good points about whether or not to buy a Pro3. I haven't seen any official announcements from Microsoft, but I think it's a pretty safe bet that a new version will be coming out. Based on normal release schedules, a release in the Fall is likely, to capture the back-to-school buying season, but this is just speculation. Whether to buy a Pro3 now or wait for the "Pro4" is the same question we all face when jumping into a tech purchase, given the fast product turn times. One thing I've noticed, however. New platforms typically have a new set of bugs that take time to resolve, and I'm guessing the Pro4 will be no different. The long life of the Pro3 has allowed most of the bugs to be resolved or work-arounds have been found.

So I guess it comes down to 1) how sluggish is your current tablet. You've successfully figured out how to work back and forth between your tablet and Lenovo. Are you willing to continue for several months until the new Surface is available for purchase? And if so, once the next-gen Surface is available, there will be some adjustment period needed. 2) Or do you prefer to jump in now with the current Surface Pro 3, and enjoy a new system immediately.

I was facing the same question at work, I had the opportunity to replace my current Lenovo laptop with a Surface Pro 3, but wasn't sure if I wanted to do it, or wait until the next gen was released. I went forward with the Pro 3, expect to pick it up this week.

 

[BGrewer]

Its a hard question really, buy the pro 3 or wait till the Pro 4 is released, all down to when you need it...

I'm also a student (studying Geology) and personally I think that the Pro 3 was a good investment as it WILL replace both your tablet and computer, simply due to portability and power.
Due to the Pro series having fairly decent processors PhotoShop and other 'real' applications will be able to be run easily, however I've heard that throttling is an issue on some programmes (I occasionally use Minecraft and the fans spinning like mad!).
Now then about the Pro 4, as you've said there must be a new surface in the pipeline, what I've heard from forums is that it could either be released along with Windows 10 or next year (apparently Intel is releasing more energy efficient processors next year). If you can manage balancing your tablet and laptop I would wait, as you could get better battery life, however as EMitchell said there could be bugs and other teething problems. If you can't wait (like me!) go for the Pro 3, as there will be hardly any bugs and you'll have the luxury of getting the device at a fairly cheap price.
I was also having the same issue of whether to buy the Pro 3 or 4, my old 1st gen. Surface RT packed up in February and I needed a device for uni so I could either wait 'till the Pro 4 was released or get the Pro 3. Personally I think that the Pro 3 is already a good device apart from the ok battery life 6-7hrs (mix of Office, browsing the web (Google scholar, Web Of Knowledge, Youtube, etc.) PDF and the occasional windows store app), so if battery life isn't an issue got for it :grin: Also IF you do get the pro 3 don't attach the pen to the keyboard (as it falls off!!!)

Hope this helps!

 

[ColdKiller93]

Thanks a lot to both of you!
I think I'm gonna wait as long as I can for a new surface announcement. That would be about 2 months from now on because I take all my 6 exams in the coming 3 weeks for this semester. After that I dont need any kind of tablet at all, because there are no classes for me until the next semester.
Closely to the start of the new semester I'll sell my Laptop (btw. Acer Aspire V5, Intel i5 4200U, GT750m) and tablet and go for the currently available or announced Surface The worst thing that could happen until then is the SP3 to get cheaper.
to EMitchell: My tablet is not really sluggish but it has only an quiet old Atom Processor and is only capable of light office tasks and taking notes to pdfs. Drawboard PDF for example seems to be too much for this little one, thus I have to rely on Pdf Annotator which has much longer loading times.
It's all in all just unconvinient to have a powerful Laptop at home which can be portable but not be used as a digital notebook with handwriting capabilities and on the other hand carry a old tablet thats too slow to work fast.
I think waiting as long as I can will be the best option in my particular case