SP3 vs Dell Venue 8?

[cba191]

Will this be a major improvement over my venue 8? I don't really want to drop the coin on an SP3, but the venue has been cool but kind of underpowered for Garmin's mapping software.

 

[HeyCori]

Word on the street is that the CPU in the Surface 3 is only a modest bump over Bay Trail. However, the Atom x7 GPU is supposed to be significantly better than Bay Trail GPUs. I guess we'll know more once benchmarks are available. Even without benchmarks, I'd imagine the performance improvements will be noticeable.

 

[alisaad619]

the Surface 3 is almost better in everything ,better screen size and resolution ,better ram and storage ,better cpu and gpu , better design and quality ,better ports and accessories, pen and kickstand , pure windows with no crapware.

 

[Chris_Kez]

Wait, do you have the Android (Venue 8) or Windows (Venue 8 Pro) device? If it's the Windows one, then the S3 should be a noticeable upgrade in every respect except portability. Then again it is like 60% more expensive.

 

[cba191]

A lot more than that. I got the Venue 8 Pro around Christmas when they first came out for $99.

 

[tangledW]

Are you comparing the Venue to the Surface 3 or Surface Pro 3?

Because you said SP3 but everyone else is talking about the S3 for some reason.

 

[cba191]

Both, actually. But I've effectively eliminated the SP3 due to charging issues on the motorcycle. The SP2 could be a possibility, but not likely.

 

[tangledW]

Both, actually. But I've effectively eliminated the SP3 due to charging issues on the motorcycle. The SP2 could be a possibility, but not likely.

Maybe I'm not sure what you mean about charging issues, but I use a small power inverter to charge my SP3 on the go and it works great.

 

[cba191]

Maybe I'm not sure what you mean about charging issues, but I use a small power inverter to charge my SP3 on the go and it works great.

Just that with a 1 or 2 month road trip on a motorcycle, space is limited. I know that there are small inverters out there, but anything bigger than a pack of cards is bigger than I want.

 

[P_Devil]

Then you don't want the SP2 since its charging setup would be similar to the SP3.

In terms of performance (and everything really), the SP3 is a better device than the Dell Venue 8 and Venue 8 Pro. It has a more powerful CPU, more powerful integrated graphics, faster RAM, an SSD instead of eMMC (SSDs are faster), a larger display at a higher resolution, a very capable Pen, etc. But it also starts out at 4X the cost of the Venue 8 Pro and it's not fair to compare an $800 system (actually $950 with the keyboard cover) to an 8" Windows tablet at $200.

The Surface 3 is more expensive than the Venue 8 Pro as well and pretty much offers all of the same benefits as the SP3 (Surface Pro 3). It has a faster CPU, more powerful graphics, a larger display that is higher in resolution, faster RAM, faster eMMC storage, better battery life, and supports a Pen. They are really in two different categories as the Atom x7 SoC in the Surface 3 is above and beyond the Atom SoC in the Venue 8 Pro both in terms of CPU and integrated graphics performance. Either one is an upgrade over the Venue 8 Pro but then again, they are both a lot more expensive than the Venue 8 Pro (which is a really good 8" Windows tablet).