Surface 3 or pro 3

[Projectphill]

So I'm looking at the surface 3 lte model for work, I use mainly office, web browsing, and some hearthstone, but would the pro 3 be there better option or should I just stick with getting the surface 3 lte?

 

[neo158]

To be honest the Surface 3 should do all of that, just make sure you get the 4GB RAM version and be aware that loading times for Hearthstone may be longer as it only has an Atom x7.

 

[LibbyLA]

Can you go to a store and see both of them? It may be that the size of one will appeal to you more than the size of the other. For me, the SP3 is too big so I use my S3 (and my Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet in a Zagg autofit keyboard case) a lot more often.

If you get the SP3, you can get the new SP4 keyboard, which has island-style keys and an even better "feel" than the original SP3 keyboard, which is quite good.

 

[badMojo69]

I play HS on my S3 all the time and it's fine. I will drain the heck out of the battery, but that's nothing new.

 

[Projectphill]

I think Im looking more towards the S3 with the LTE as I can upload and download documents when I'm on the go

 

[GizmoEV]

If you are going to connect to a domain controller you may want the Pro version of Windows. I haven't seen it on the MS store website but AT&T has a 4GB/128GB version that comes with Win 8.1 Pro. Having LTE is really handy when traveling.

 

[Brian282]

If you can swing a pro. Go for the Pro. While I absolutely love my 3. The Pro comes bundled with Windows 10 Pro, Pen and has a magnetic rapid charger. Not to mention you can pick up a Surface Pro 4 type cover to seal the deal.

 

[kingkoopa09]

If you are going to connect to a domain controller you may want the Pro version of Windows. I haven't seen it on the MS store website but AT&T has a 4GB/128GB version that comes with Win 8.1 Pro. Having LTE is really handy when traveling.

Yea I have that one decent for the price I got $200 off mine with my Lumia 950 so I got both for 1200 and loving it which is what I would have paid for the pro even though it comes with a pen, but I found red pen and combo on amazon for $120 as well

 

[GizmoEV]

If you are going to connect to a domain controller you may want the Pro version of Windows. I haven't seen it on the MS store website but AT&T has a 4GB/128GB version that comes with Win 8.1 Pro. Having LTE is really handy when traveling.

Yea I have that one decent for the price I got $200 off mine with my Lumia 950 so I got both for 1200 and loving it which is what I would have paid for the pro even though it comes with a pen, but I found red pen and combo on amazon for $120 as well

Note that I was talking about Windows PRO not Surface Pro. Either tablet will run Windows Pro. If you picked up your Surface 3 at the AT&T store then you most likely have Windows Home installed and you will have to pay for the upgrade to Windows Pro if you want/need its features.

 

[kingkoopa09]

Actually no I bought the business direct with 4g 128gb with 8.1 pro... Found this by accident because I was looking for office 365 and noticed the Pro windows on my surface 3

 

[neo158]

Actually no I bought the business direct with 4g 128gb with 8.1 pro... Found this by accident because I was looking for office 365 and noticed the Pro windows on my surface 3

The Surface 3 does not ship with 8.1 Pro, the Surface Pro 3 does. Go check the version and you'll see that you have Home and not Pro.

 

[GizmoEV]

The Surface 3 does not ship with 8.1 Pro, the Surface Pro 3 does. Go check the version and you'll see that you have Home and not Pro.

Maybe this will convince you otherwise. :wink:


The one with Win 8.1 Pro is a 4GB/128GB LTE version available to business accounts.

 

[neo158]

Maybe this will convince you otherwise. :wink:
View attachment 117905

The one with Win 8.1 Pro is a 4GB/128GB LTE version available to business accounts.

The one with 8.1 Pro is plainly a Surface Pro and all AT&T did was refer to it as a Surface 3. Show me the specs where it states that it has an Atom processor and I'll be enclined to believe you.

 

[GizmoEV]

The one with 8.1 Pro is plainly a Surface Pro and all AT&T did was refer to it as a Surface 3. Show me the specs where it states that it has an Atom processor and I'll be enclined to believe you.

Wow, you really don't trust others might know what they are talking about, do you? Even WC posted an article about the AT&T offering a while back. That is how I knew it was even an option. I then went on to purchase that exact device so I know what I'm talking about. After over 32 years working with most aspects of the computer industry one would hope I'm not just making this stuff up. So here you go, direct from my AT&T Surface 3 4GB/128GB LTE with Windows 8.1 Pro preinstalled:


EDIT: I forgot to add that AT&T does not even offer the Surface Pro line of tablets. I'm not aware of any of them having LTE either.

 

[Brian282]

Microsoft doesn't even make a pro 3 with LTE let alone the new 4.... Microsoft does allow businesses to buy Microsoft Surfaces with 8.1 PRO but you loose the free office 365 for one year. I'm not sure if the same happens with the LTE version. You may want to double check if you loose 365 with the upgrade to 8.1pro.

Stupid windows 10... its underlining everything with a damn red squiggly line......

 

[GizmoEV]

Microsoft doesn't even make a pro 3 with LTE let alone the new 4.... Microsoft does allow businesses to buy Microsoft Surfaces with 8.1 PRO but you loose the free office 365 for one year. I'm not sure if the same happens with the LTE version. You may want to double check if you loose 365 with the upgrade to 8.1pro.

Stupid windows 10... its underlining everything with a damn red squiggly line......

IIRC, there was a "Get Office 365" icon on the start screen. I think it was for 3 months but I don't even want the 1 year version because it was only for the individual version and I already have the "family" version so it didn't matter to me. My guess is that it isn't going to matter to any business either. They likely have a site license anyway.

 

[Steve Adams]

Can you go to a store and see both of them? It may be that the size of one will appeal to you more than the size of the other. For me, the SP3 is too big so I use my S3 (and my Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet in a Zagg autofit keyboard case) a lot more often.

If you get the SP3, you can get the new SP4 keyboard, which has island-style keys and an even better "feel" than the original SP3 keyboard, which is quite good.

This is what I did for my wife and I. We both decided the surface 3 is the better option for us because of size. We travel a lot so the smaller foot print of the s3 is a better fit than the bigger sp3. Is the horsepower missed, not really. Our surfaces are 10x faster than our asus vivotab RT are. So we are 100 percent happy. You want to get all the accessories to get the full surface experience however. I love taking my keyboard with me, and the pen. THen at home putting my surface in my dock and having a full desktop setup. Its a great device and even better all in one. Its not a 2 in 1, its an ALL in ONE.

Also, We have surface 3s, with 8.1 and 10 pro installed on them. We even have 4gb ram/64 GB of storage. Now, theres one to blow minds! Never even mentioned by Microsoft...its usually 2gb/64gb 4gb/128gb. Well we have 4gb/64gb.