SP3 or wait for the 4?

[ckeegan003]

I'm kind of torn here. I have had the 256GB SP2 for quite some time, and I'm not a fan of the screen size, the bulkiness, and I'm running out of space. Thought I'd reach out to you SP3 owners and see if you could go back in time, but the SP4 was somewhat around the corner (who knows, since there's almost no info about timing), would you buy the SP3 again? I'm definitely going with the 512GB no matter what I do, so I'm not really concerned about the rumors of the faster Samsung 256GB SSDs. If Skylake turns out to be true, is it really enough of a performance bump (speed, battery life, etc) for someone who primarily does office tasks, photoshop, etc?

The main reason I'm asking is due to the fact that this is tax free weekend in my state, so on top of the $150 off that Microsoft is doing, I could get another $115ish in savings, and right now, this rewards program I belong to through work would yield another $175 credit back to me after purchase. So effectively, I could get it (and the type cover) for $1,628 out the door, but only if I buy this weekend.

What would you do? ...and thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Pete]

For what you need, there's no reason not to jump on the SP3 now, it's an extremely capable device.

You've not really said why you need the storage, but don't forget there's an micro SD slot so you can easily add more.

 

[jwpear]

I just went from the SP1 to the SP3. I really like the thinness of the SP3 over the SP1. The slightly lighter weight is nice too. I'm not entirely sold on the display size. I had no big problem with the size of the SP1 screen and liked that it was compact. I could carry it around easily and it fit nicely in cramped places (e.g. the corner of someone's desk while on a call). I find the SP3 takes too much space when using as a desktop/laptop. I'll adjust, but the fit issues were surprising.

I considered waiting too, but decided the price was right on a used SP3. I wanted at least 256 GB storage because my 128 GB SP1 was just too limiting. I also wanted the 8 GB RAM so I could run at least one VM. Getting that new with a type cover was just too steep for me, even with the sales. If I'm going to pay $1600+, I want a premium 15 inch laptop.

Another factor in my decision to go ahead was the fact that there is virtually no detail on what a SP4 might have inside. I've read a few speculative articles, but nothing seems concrete.

I'll add, the SP3 is a vary capable device. I don't think you'll have any performance issues with the activities you describe and I don't believe the SP4 will be substantially better. I'm admittedly guessing about the SP4.

I picked up my SP3 on eBay. It was an in-warranty refurb with an i7, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB storage. The i7 was nice, until I installed Windows 10. With Windows 10, it gets incredibly hot--can't hold in upper-right corner--and the battery life is terrible. I'm really expecting the Surface and Windows teams to work together to get the battery life up and heat issues down. This needs to happen soon; otherwise, I'm going back to 8.1.

 

[ckeegan003]

Honestly, I had no idea that it had a microSD slot. That definitely helps, but I would probably just use that on demand file transfer between my smartphone and the Surface Pro. It is tempting though, since I could save $400 and then even if I went with a 200GB microSD, they're only $250. In reality, I wouldn't need that much though. I have 43GB free on my SP2 after this long, so I don't really need another 256GB. If I kept all music and movies on the microSD, that would free up a little more.

As for why I need the storage though. I own a real estate office, so I have quite a bit in ad layouts, home pictures, contracts, and other clients files.

 

[Pete]

I don't have an SD card in my SP3, but do on my Surface 2. On the Surface 2, it's a snug fit and not really made to be used in an ad-hoc way - there's no little eject button, if you do want to take it out you have to tease at it with your fingernail. If you want to exchange files between the phone and PC, I'd use OneDrive (then you have the option of a cloud based copy if you need it).

Obviously, you also have the choice of using a USB flash drive, you can get a lot of storage into a tiny drive these days.

 

[ckeegan003]

I use Google Drive for cloud storage, and my 64GB microUSB/USB 3.0 dual flash drive has been a lifesaver when needing to transfer larger files to others Android phones, tablets, or their computers. The Apple crowd tends to whine a little when their proprietary ports can't handle such a common sense solution.

 

[ckeegan003]

Just to close this out with an update, I went with the 512GB SP3. I'd rather have all the storage integrated, and having filled 80% of my SP2's storage when it wasn't my full-time computer, I figured I would be better offer maxing it out since the SP3 will be my full-time system. Or at least that's my goal.