How practical is the base-level Surface Pro 4?

[Lone Swordsman]

Here's the deal: I currently have a six-year-old Sony VAIO laptop that serves as backup for my desktop, in case I need to get work done just that badly. A Surface would potentially be a wonderful upgrade, but money is tight and frankly, I don't need something with desktop-level specs.

So then - how well does the base-level (Core M3, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD) Pro 4 handle apps like Photoshop CC and Office? Just about anything would be better than my old laptop, but of course, I want to go in the right direction.

 

[jo-pa]

Check out my post above, about which SP config would be the best, some users posted some great responses. I am looking to do much of the same thing you are as well. I have a base level SP3 which does many of the things you mentioned above with no problem. It is a very practical device, I really enjoy using it.

 

[Lone Swordsman]

Thanks for feedback on that one, I'll check the other thread too. You should see the old VAIO in action - it keeps popping in and out of Aero graphics in Windows 7, even though it has a dedicated graphics card.

 

[demon09]

To be honest, I've been seeing the core i5 model for less than the core M one in some places. I'm using the i5 with 4gb of ram and it works very, very well. I don't run too many intensive programs on it, but I'm using an almost identical SP3 at work and it does photoshop and some other more intensive programs just fine for quick edits and things.

 

[Lone Swordsman]

I'd certainly prefer to get an i5 model if I can. Of course the ideal would be to get a configuration that's a little more future-proof (8GB of RAM, etc.), but Surfaces can get very pricey very quickly.