Is the New Surface Pro for 1080p video editing & rendering?

[Ian Mancera]

I need the new Surface Pro mainly for my education, but I want it to be pushed through even for After Effects or Premiere Pro editing until 1080p (1080p is all enough for me) maybe to kickstart being a YouTuber creator. My dad will buy it for me. But this is my first new PC for awhile, and even my first Surface, and even first Surface I'll touch or see in person (there's no Microsoft Store near me) so I'm not familiar with the performances trends of PCs or their experience these days. My current PC is my 7 year old Windows Vista HP laptop that still kickin today with Windows 10.

We're poor and from a developing country (specifically Philippines) so I wanna be sure or on what should I really be picking. Does the Core M3 or i5 enough for my needs, I wanna make sure I don't put so much price on my dad that's why I'm picking the cheapest, but is it enough for my demands? Also since there's no MS in my country, where's the best and cheapest to get it? To those that knew specs and perfomance I need your input here. I'm also thinking of buying the accessories like the Pen, Type Cover & the Dock. Also I wanna know if the Surface 2's Music Kit cover still work for this newer Surface, I'm also producing music at my spare time as a hobby, I'm also thinking of that

Thanks in advance on replies

PS: I listed it on Surface Laptop because there's no Surface Pro 5 or New Surface Pro named category. Just inform the admin to create that and maybe move this

 

[xandros9]

Moving to Surface Pro (2017)

I seriously recommend finding a more powerful but less-svelte computer. The any non-bargain-bin computer from the past few years will suffice for general usage and the Surface line certainly excels in that and then some. (light/moderate gaming, light video editing, notetaking, being light, image editing with the pen...)
These portables are made with power efficiency, lower heat output and generally the device's small size in mind and these tend to run against heavy duty tasks like video editing.

But you're primarily paying for the device's small size, features and cool factor, not raw performance. (like with other computers in that category)

I think a less glamorous option will be a better fit frankly, especially since you virtually can't repair or replace the battery in Surface computers and that's not a good option if you're strapped for cash. I'm not sure what will be the best option, but I'm saying the Surface lineup isn't it. (I favor business computers like the Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell Latitude and while they generally excel in what matters to me over their consumer counterparts (repairability, last a while, parts availability, durability) I'm not sure the discrete graphics these tend to come with will be suited for video editing for the money.

Also, I'm thinking the Surface Music Cover might not be worth it unless you know what you're doing already. Especially since I imagine the price to be non-trivial.

 

[anon(5327127)]

Wait for the reviews. Not long now.

An i5 surface pro 'should' be okay for 1080p editing especially if it has a proxy feature. Space might be an issue.

 

[onlysublime]

The i5 could do it. But you want the 8 GB model if you really want to edit video.

I use my Surface Pro 4 i7 / 8 GB / 256 GB all the time for prep work and video editing (yes, I also have a YouTube channel). And I'll render very short clips to test things like color correction and grading. Then I do true renders on a desktop PC. It would be a waste of the Surface Pro to use it render your final projects because you can't do anything else with the machine while it's rendering and that rendering can take hours.

But it can't do 4K video editing. No laptop can. Heck my previous Intel desktop rig made 4K video editing a chore. Luckily, my new AMD Ryzen 1800X rig is a beast for 4K editing and rendering.

 

[convergent]

If you are really budget strapped, you might also want to look at the Acer Switch Alpha 12, and their factory refurbished store. They are about half the price of the Surface Pro. Check some of the online reviews.... not bad for the price and you could probably get an i7 for less than SP i5.

 

[GG002]

If you intend to use a Surface Pro for video editing, definitely avoid the Core m3. It should be at least i5 with 8GB RAM, judging from my experiences with working in Premiere Pro away from home onn my SP3. If I were you and really wanted the SP, I would wait until somebody tests the fanless i5, as I don't think anybody outside of Microsoft knows what happens when you put a fanless Kaby Lake i5 under pressure.

 

[onlysublime]

the new Surface Pro is not Skylake. It's Kaby Lake.

 

[Ian Mancera]

Okay thanks for the recommendations. But I don't know, it feel meh for me. I want the premium look of Surface Pro. But I'll consider this also, and the crowdfunded Eve V tablet too

 

[Ian Mancera]

I think that compromise will work for me, I'm suing old PC for years, and waiting is no brainer for me. That is a common here on 3rd world so I think I'll be fine, besides I maybe just be doing rendering always. I maybe using this mostly for taking school lectures, binging, playing few lowend games (Overwatch), sketching and Photoshop

Also I wanna ask, is Windows tablets in general or the Surface like an iPad that you just close it to cover, sleep and lock it, and preserves battery not burn it while you carry it. So you open it hours later or days later, it's still on that state and barely just got fewer battery, or things are different with 2-in-1s PC. As I've said, I have never touched or even got an perspective with 2-in-1s Windows tablets but I'm very familiar with them through the years. Also is this type of hardware still needs to be shutdowned time to time or like an iPad that you just cover it or turn the lock button on to sleep and lock it, sleep with it and open it as you wake up, your work still there and barely minus some few battery percentage? Can you tell me it based on your experience with Surface?

 

[L0n3N1nja]

I think that compromise will work for me, I'm suing old PC for years, and waiting is no brainer for me. That is a common here on 3rd world so I think I'll be fine, besides I maybe just be doing rendering always. I maybe using this mostly for taking school lectures, binging, playing few lowend games (Overwatch), sketching and Photoshop

Also I wanna ask, is Windows tablets in general or the Surface like an iPad that you just close it to cover, sleep and lock it, and preserves battery not burn it while you carry it. So you open it hours later or days later, it's still on that state and barely just got fewer battery, or things are different with 2-in-1s PC. As I've said, I have never touched or even got an perspective with 2-in-1s Windows tablets but I'm very familiar with them through the years. Also is this type of hardware still needs to be shutdowned time to time or like an iPad that you just cover it or turn the lock button on to sleep and lock it, sleep with it and open it as you wake up, your work still there and barely minus some few battery percentage? Can you tell me it based on your experience with Surface?

My Surface Pro 3 goes to sleep like it should most of the time when I close the lid, holds battery life decently but not as well as an iPad or most Android tablets. If I don't use it for a few days I usually find the battery near dead, I find it best to shut off when I know I won't be using it again within a few hours, it's fine to just close the lid and return to what I was doing a few hours later.

 

[GG002]

My Surface Pro 3 goes to sleep like it should most of the time when I close the lid, holds battery life decently but not as well as an iPad or most Android tablets. If I don't use it for a few days I usually find the battery near dead, I find it best to shut off when I know I won't be using it again within a few hours, it's fine to just close the lid and return to what I was doing a few hours later.

Really? My SP3 holds battery well when in sleep. I frequently come home, forget to unpack and still find it in my bag the next day, with only a few percent charge gone. It's never died on me, even when left for days off the charger.

 

[anon(10237065)]

To be honest I'd also recommend you to get something else. Surface Pro can handle it, I have SP4 i5 and it can do some light video editing easily, but yeah, first of all, avoid m3, and then, if you really want to be serious with video editing, try to do some more complicated stuff and to add After Effects work? I'd recommend getting a high-end laptop or a desktop PC.

I work in the production and I do some video editing and while Surface Pro is an amazing companion, always helpful for taking notes, Skype, office work and browser work and of course some drawings, but in the end I do all the heavy work on a desktop PC. SP is a 2-in-1 after all and not a workstation for heavy loads.

 

[ajcletus500]

Okay thanks for the recommendations. But I don't know, it feel meh for me. I want the premium look of Surface Pro. But I'll consider this also, and the crowdfunded Eve V tablet too

I doubt the EVE V would do you good considering they have the Y series processors previously know as the core m processors.

 

[jmork]

Yeah, im really curious if anyone out there with an m3 processor has tried video editing and what kind of results they have. LIke, how does a current m3 compare to last years i5, or 2 years ago i5?

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Really? My SP3 holds battery well when in sleep. I frequently come home, forget to unpack and still find it in my bag the next day, with only a few percent charge gone. It's never died on me, even when left for days off the charger.

I've had the issue since I got mine in 2014, it has never had the stand by that my Android tablets offer. I think it fails to properly sleep and I know I'm not the only one with the issue. If yours does, maybe I just don't have the power options set properly.

Doesn't really bother me as I've shut my laptop off when done since I got my first one back in 2004, and now with an SSD it turns on almost instantly.

 

[onlysublime]

if you edit video for a hobby, Core M5 and Core M7, ahem... Core i5 Y-series and Core i7 Y-series. Sorry, Intel, for not following your new stupid naming schemes... Core M is fine for video editing as a hobby. Your work doesn't depend on it. Waiting an extra couple seconds here and there doesn't really matter to you because you don't have to edit that often.

But if you want to really edit video and have to do it often, you really don't want Y-series. There's editing with comfort and ease where the machine keeps up with how fast you want to edit. And then there's the laborious editing where you click on an effect and have to wait. And then do an edit and have to wait. Or slide through the timeline and have to wait.

If you are truly are dedicated in pursuing this stuff for a career, you want good tools. But too often, some person says they want to be the best guitar player and buy the most expensive guitar that they can afford and then they give up while trying to learn chords. A lot of Youtubers give up when they realize how hard it is to make money via YouTube.

The flipside is you are serious but think that maybe I can get Y-series as a starter system and then upgrade in the future. If you're not sure that you want to do this stuff long term, then it's a good way to get your feet wet. But if you are serious, then you just wasted money on a Y-series machine and have to upgrade sooner than later.