Is the i3 model really worth it? If I was going to purchase this, should I save for the i5?

[jordanzhninja]

I've had a horrible experience with the Intel i3 on my laptop which now runs slower than my first-gen surface rt. This is why I fear that an i3 surface pro 3 will become just as slow over time. If I was ever going to get this (which I'm probably not), would I be better off buying the i5 model? (I know MS like to f*** UK users by inflating the prices really high )

 

[drbanks]

I think the biggest issue with the i3 model is that it only has 64GB of storage. I find 128GB to be marginal, but even without office and photoshop and all the other junk they showed off today, I can't imagine real windows 8.1 running on a 64GB disk. (First world/Moore's law problem!)

I'm pretty sure that configuration exists entirely to convince people to step up to the base i5 model.

 

[Alex Mason86]

I'd wager any sluggishness on your laptops behalf is simply slow hard disk full of programs. My iMac is the same and thats packing an i5 that goes to 3.8GHz if it wants to.

From my quick scan of the spec sheet, the i3's in mobile flavour are approximately clocked at the same nominal speed as the i5. Both feature hyper threading to give you some more multi-tasking head room and both are dual cores. Where the i5 differs is in its ability to turbo boost to a higher cpu speed periodically.

i3 clocks are 1.4-2.6GHz and the i5's 1.4 to 2.8 GHz... not totally clear on what that means as the i3's don't have Turbo. I guess the i5 can push a single core higher than 2.8 if it needs to? Either way doing so is going to curb battery life and increase heat so its not all rosy.

Personally I would be waiting for the reviews to come out first. Hopefully some reviewer out there will get to test the base model and compare it to the higher models. This should give you a good idea. Additionally though, taking into account that its all solid state storage and new Haswell processors I really don't think you are going to run into too much trouble, unless of course you are more of a power user (video and photo editing and the like).

EDIT TO ADD: Yes as above mentions, the real issue with the base model is the storage. You're going to have to have a pretty bare bones set up going if you're gonna stick to 64 GB.

 

[jordanzhninja]

I'd wager any sluggishness on your laptops behalf is simply slow hard disk full of programs. My iMac is the same and thats packing an i5 that goes to 3.8GHz if it wants to.

From my quick scan of the spec sheet, the i3's in mobile flavour are approximately clocked at the same nominal speed as the i5. Both feature hyper threading to give you some more multi-tasking head room and both are dual cores. Where the i5 differs is in its ability to turbo boost to a higher cpu speed periodically.

i3 clocks are 1.4-2.6GHz and the i5's 1.4 to 2.8 GHz... not totally clear on what that means as the i3's don't have Turbo. I guess the i5 can push a single core higher than 2.8 if it needs to? Either way doing so is going to curb battery life and increase heat so its not all rosy.

Personally I would be waiting for the reviews to come out first. Hopefully some reviewer out there will get to test the base model and compare it to the higher models. This should give you a good idea. Additionally though, taking into account that its all solid state storage and new Haswell processors I really don't think you are going to run into too much trouble, unless of course you are more of a power user (video and photo editing and the like).

EDIT TO ADD: Yes as above mentions, the real issue with the base model is the storage. You're going to have to have a pretty bare bones set up going if you're gonna stick to 64 GB.

I'm sort of a power user, I run Visual Studio Ultimate 2013 on my laptop for web developing, filezilla for FTP, Chrome (don't hate me) for debugging and testing, and usually all at once. I like to play games as well and sometimes run Virtual machines.

 

[kurtd]

I wonder how the different processors affect the battery life. Is there a full spec sheet out yet?

 

[pedenske]

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...ce%2Fdocs%2FSurface3ProFS.docx&token=nF6pWEiX

 

[drbanks]

I have Visual Studio running on my SP1, and while it's adequate in 4GB of RAM, I think it'd be a bit happier in 8GB. Again, I don't think the i3 is such a bad processor, but the configuration they're selling with it is what really kills it for me.

 

[Niavlys77]

You absolutely won't have to worry about sluggish-ness - having a proper SSD for storage is what will make the difference. Traditional HDD's are far slower right off the bat, and over time need to be defragmented. SSD's inherently don't need defragmenting, and Windows 8 has TRIM support built right in (which let's say is a sort of equivalent to defragmenting).

 

[neonspark]

are you going to run photoshop? get the i5. otherwise, the i3 will run circles around the snap dragon 800 or 900 or whatever da hell they do over the next 2 years.

 

[StevoPhilo]

are you going to run photoshop? get the i5. otherwise, the i3 will run circles around the snap dragon 800 or 900 or whatever da hell they do over the next 2 years.

Those are 2 different kinds of processors. They aren't really comparable. If you can save for the i5 then I would.

 

[Cryio]

Windows 8.1.1 introduced the ability to run the full OS only on ~4GB of storage.

So out of 64, real probably 54, you'll get 48-50 GB for personal usage

 

[trivor]

I guess it all depends on your perspective - I have a 17.3" Lenovo (G700) with Pentium 2.4 GHz, 8 GB RAM and 120 GB SSD, 1600x900 that runs just fine - it will run all the normal home things - email, web surf, Quicken, Word, Excel, etc. If you are doing anything like Photoshop you will really need an i5 or i7. The thing that really bothers me is no upgrade options (RAM, Storage) for i3 model. I don't need an i5 or i7 for my needs so a Surface Pro 3 with i3, 128 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM for $899 would be perfect instead of having to go to $999 to get more storage. I run a 64 GB SSD on my work machine with Win 7 and it is about 80% full (not ideal for an SSD) so the budget Surface Pro is gonna have to have storage managed very carefully.

 

[jordanzhninja]

I guess it all depends on your perspective - I have a 17.3" Lenovo (G700) with Pentium 2.4 GHz, 8 GB RAM and 120 GB SSD, 1600x900 that runs just fine - it will run all the normal home things - email, web surf, Quicken, Word, Excel, etc. If you are doing anything like Photoshop you will really need an i5 or i7. The thing that really bothers me is no upgrade options (RAM, Storage) for i3 model. I don't need an i5 or i7 for my needs so a Surface Pro 3 with i3, 128 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM for $899 would be perfect instead of having to go to $999 to get more storage. I run a 64 GB SSD on my work machine with Win 7 and it is about 80% full (not ideal for an SSD) so the budget Surface Pro is gonna have to have storage managed very carefully.

I'll probably end up with the i3 but I dont know if 64gb of storage is enough, because im using 98gb on my laptop already

 

[thatotherdude24]

The 64gb storage is much more concerning than an i3. There's plenty of Windows tablets that run on atoms

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1

 

[Tepid]

But keep in mind, that you also have MicroSD and USB for data storage.
64G isn't a lot of space, true, but it's not bad either.
That is a device you only keep what you will actually use on.
Store stuff on OneDrive, MicroSD and External's.

However, I[SUP] would only recommend[/SUP] the i3 64G to those that won't be using it for a whole lot, other than Consumption.
Actually, the i3 64G will be good for some, even if they do want to do more. They will just have to manage their data a little more.
It's still a Pro Device, so,,,,,,,,,

However, If you plan on doing more, and actually using it, don't go for anything less than the
i5-4GB RAM-128GB - $999

 

[jordanzhninja]

But keep in mind, that you also have MicroSD and USB for data storage.
64G isn't a lot of space, true, but it's not bad either.
That is a device you only keep what you will actually use on.
Store stuff on OneDrive, MicroSD and External's.

However, I[SUP] would only recommend[/SUP] the i3 64G to those that won't be using it for a whole lot, other than Consumption.
Actually, the i3 64G will be good for some, even if they do want to do more. They will just have to manage their data a little more.
It's still a Pro Device, so,,,,,,,,,

However, If you plan on doing more, and actually using it, don't go for anything less than the
i5-4GB RAM-128GB - $999

Wouldn't a 64GB SD card cost less than the upgrade? Also, I want to know if the 4th generation intel i3 core with an ssd will be better than my second generation i3-2348 and hdd.

 

[mike13ftw]

You can buy a 64gb SD card class 10 for about 40? . And you can store moves and music in there . Also you can buy for 70? a 1TB external drive with USB 3.0 support and you will never run out of space . After summer I will buy the i3 version because I don't want to spend a lot of money

 

[onlysublime]

i3 is terrible. save your money and get at least an i5... really, save your money and get at least an i5...

people point to the Atoms... but you can't do real work on the Atoms. they're meant for budget people who mostly use Word, web browse, or listen to music. and you really can't do real work on the i3 either. try running Photoshop, Premiere, Acrobat, etc. on Atoms. Try them on i3. You'll be tapping your fingers an awful lot.

 

[Roderick Aspiras]

It has an SD card slot.

I'll probably end up with the i3 but I dont know if 64gb of storage is enough, because im using 98gb on my laptop already

 

[Roderick Aspiras]

Save more and get the Core i5.

I've had a horrible experience with the Intel i3 on my laptop which now runs slower than my first-gen surface rt. This is why I fear that an i3 surface pro 3 will become just as slow over time. If I was ever going to get this (which I'm probably not), would I be better off buying the i5 model? (I know MS like to f*** UK users by inflating the prices really high )