Surface 2 vs. Surface RT

[Strings78]

I am looking into getting a Surface tablet this christmas and I am unsure of which one I want to get. I know that there are going to be numerous black friday sales on the original Surface RT (down to even $150) while the surface will be full price I assume. I will be using it for the office software, browsing the web, watching netflix, and playing games. Which Surface do you think I should get? Or is there something else out there that would be better for me?

 

[HeyCori]

If gaming is highly important to you then you will be disappointed by the Windows Store offering. Games are slowly trickling out with no clear sign that things are going to pick up. Both the Surface 1 and 2 can fulfill all your other needs. Of course the S2 has a superior processor so it's going to do everything faster. The S2 also comes with 200GB of SkyDrive storage, free for two years and 1-year of Skype Premium for free.

 

[etphoto]

I am looking into getting a Surface tablet this christmas and I am unsure of which one I want to get. I know that there are going to be numerous black friday sales on the original Surface RT (down to even $150) while the surface will be full price I assume. I will be using it for the office software, browsing the web, watching netflix, and playing games. Which Surface do you think I should get? Or is there something else out there that would be better for me?

I kind of have the same question and I OWN a Surface 2. My 76 year old mom kind of showed a little interest in my Surface and I was thinking about picking her up one for Christmas. I was thinking an RT will suit her but don't wish to get her old technology. Hate to pay for a 2 price when an RT would work. grrrr. just don't know.

 

[AR2186]

I have both an RT and a 2, and the 2 is everything I hoped the RT would have been. The $100 difference is absolutely worth it, not only for the speed increases (which definitely detract from the original in a meaningful way), but also for future proofing (miracast support, etc).

I loved my RT, but it was really a beta test for the real thing, which has arrived in the form of the Surface 2

 

[berty6294]

I agree with everything stated above. Both Surface's do the exact same thing (miracast support only for 2) but I still find the $100 jump for the 2 worth it for the speed alone. Now these wicked deals for black Friday might make it harder for me to say that...

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

There's also the much better screen, which makes a big difference with Netflix and things of that nature (plus the snap multi-tasking).

Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk 4

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I agree with everything stated above. Both Surface's do the exact same thing (miracast support only for 2) but I still find the $100 jump for the 2 worth it for the speed alone. Now these wicked deals for black Friday might make it harder for me to say that...

Unless money is not an issue, the Black Friday deals on the RT are a no-brainer.

 

[Strings78]

Unless money is not an issue, the Black Friday deals on the RT are a no-brainer.

Being a rather broke college student, every single dollar helps out. I've heard stories of the RT becoming so incredibly slow after just a few months of being used. I'll spend the money on the 2 if it is genuinely worth the price, but if the RT can do all of the things I need it to do, and most importantly do them right, then spending $200 less would be a great bonus.

 

[berty6294]

Being a rather broke college student, every single dollar helps out. I've heard stories of the RT becoming so incredibly slow after just a few months of being used. I'll spend the money on the 2 if it is genuinely worth the price, but if the RT can do all of the things I need it to do, and most importantly do them right, then spending $200 less would be a great bonus.

You heard kinda wrong. RT doesn't get slower after months, it doesn't change speed at all! (except software updates tend to make it quicker and quicker with each one)

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Being a rather broke college student, every single dollar helps out. I've heard stories of the RT becoming so incredibly slow after just a few months of being used. I'll spend the money on the 2 if it is genuinely worth the price, but if the RT can do all of the things I need it to do, and most importantly do them right, then spending $200 less would be a great bonus.

I don't know what stories you've heard, but my first hand experience says otherwise. My RT running 8.0 was acceptable, after upgrading to 8.1 and applying some additional registry tweaks, the RT is more responsive than ever. $250 for an RT w/TouchCover vs. $550 for a Surface 2 w/TouchCover... again is a no-brainer.

You heard kinda wrong. RT doesn't get slower after months, it doesn't change speed at all! (except software updates tend to make it quicker and quicker with each one)

 

[etphoto]

Being a rather broke college student, every single dollar helps out. I've heard stories of the RT becoming so incredibly slow after just a few months of being used. I'll spend the money on the 2 if it is genuinely worth the price, but if the RT can do all of the things I need it to do, and most importantly do them right, then spending $200 less would be a great bonus.

As with any computer device, the more apps you install and more hard drive space taken up, the more processing power is required slowing your system down. add the crap downloaded while surfacing the internet your system becomes frustrating sluggish.

 

[Strings78]

I don't know what stories you've heard, but my first hand experience says otherwise. My RT running 8.0 was acceptable, after upgrading to 8.1 and applying some additional registry tweaks, the RT is more responsive than ever. $250 for an RT w/TouchCover vs. $550 for a Surface 2 w/TouchCover... again is a no-brainer.

I'm thinking that I will just jump on the Original Surface, it seems to make the most sense money wise and with all of your glowing reviews of the device I feel that I can't go wrong with it!!

 

[jobinthomas]

So I only saw the Microsoft store ad on pcmag which said $199 and the best buy ad for $199. Where did you find the surface for $150 this black Friday? Cuz I'd totally like to save even more money if possible. And I know I'm getting a surface with type cover 2, for the backlight and since me and my wife like the type cover better

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Tapatalk

 

[AR2186]

Being a rather broke college student, every single dollar helps out. I've heard stories of the RT becoming so incredibly slow after just a few months of being used. I'll spend the money on the 2 if it is genuinely worth the price, but if the RT can do all of the things I need it to do, and most importantly do them right, then spending $200 less would be a great bonus.

While the RT can probably do all the things you need it to do RIGHT NOW, I don't think it will be able to keep up over the next few years. I love mine, but round the performance to be middling at best. I absolutely love my Surface 2, just got the Type Cover 2 and it is now replacing my laptop

 

[coolqf]

You will like it when you first get it, but over to me you will wish you had paid the extra money. The surface rt uses a CPU that more closely gives performance to that of an iPad 2. The CPU on the surface RT is the slowest of all tegra 3s made.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Wendy Haylett]

OK ... on the same theme. I bought a Surface 2 two weeks ago and I absolutely love it! Now I want to buy a Surface for my partner for Christmas and with the specials on the RT coming up for Black Friday, I'm tempted not to spend the money. Will the difference in performance/speed, display, and kick stand by glaring when we're both using theme??? It won't be used as intensively as I use it ... more for email, browsing, reading, videos.

 

[AR2186]

OK ... on the same theme. I bought a Surface 2 two weeks ago and I absolutely love it! Now I want to buy a Surface for my partner for Christmas and with the specials on the RT coming up for Black Friday, I'm tempted not to spend the money. Will the difference in performance/speed, display, and kick stand by glaring when we're both using theme??? It won't be used as intensively as I use it ... more for email, browsing, reading, videos.

Yes, the performance and screen are massively different.

 

[Wendy Haylett]

I meant tempted "not to spend the money on the RT" ... and be glaringly different, not "by glaring." Typing too fast, sorry.

My partner is coming from a Kindle Fire HD, so the speed would hopefully be (or seem like) an improvement over the laggy Kindle Android performance, even with an RT, wouldn't it? I'm going over to Best Buy today to play with the RT and the 2 side-by-side. I watched the video of the performance comparison, and although notably slower, I'm wondering in real-world use, when you're not doing performance comparisons, it may not feel laggy. It's like to old discovery of how slow your old desktop was, after you started working on a new quad core. You only think you can't go back if you had the good one to begin with.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I meant tempted "not to spend the money on the RT" ... and be glaringly different, not "by glaring." Typing too fast, sorry.

My partner is coming from a Kindle Fire HD, so the speed would hopefully be (or seem like) an improvement over the laggy Kindle Android performance, even with an RT, wouldn't it? I'm going over to Best Buy today to play with the RT and the 2 side-by-side. I watched the video of the performance comparison, and although notably slower, I'm wondering in real-world use, when you're not doing performance comparisons, it may not feel laggy. It's like to old discovery of how slow your old desktop was, after you started working on a new quad core. You only think you can't go back if you had the good one to begin with.

I have a Surface RT and a Kindle Fire HD. I unlocked mine and installed an alternative launcher (Nova Launcher). That greatly reduced the lag and gave me the ability to use the KFHD as a Android tablet OR have the standard Amazon Fire experience. Even with that performance improvement, the KFHD was still a bit laggier than the RT.

Even with the limitations of the RT ecosystem, I'm a fan. With a proper understanding of what to expect, the RT is quite nice. And with the black Friday deals going on , including 32GB Surface RT for $169 on eBay (Nov 28), I mean honestly... it is premiere hardware (in my opinion the best consumer tablet on the market hardware quality-wise) and a very solid operating environment.

I find there to be a slight bit of lag at times. Not enough to be bothersome, just noticeable. And this observation coming from someone who owns more tablets than one should be allowed to own. Performance-wise, the best tablet I own is an iPad 4 running iOS 6.1.3. Nothing comes close to that. So even with that option, I don't find the occasional lag on the RT an issue.

just my opinion, hope this helps.

 

[HeyCori]

The OMAP processor is one of the biggest reasons why I didn't get a Kindle Fire HD. Benchmarks test put the OMAP well behind the Tegra 3. It's very apparent when web browsing and jumping between menus. The performance difference between the Kindle Fire HD and Tegra 3 is significant.