Surface Pro 4 Core m3 vs Surface Pro 3 Core i5

[nufcfanatic]

Thanks guys, it looks like that i will get the one with m3 processor. I hope it is the right decision.

 

[boltman2013]

Thanks guys, it looks like that i will get the one with m3 processor. I hope it is the right decision.

It is..you'll love it

 

[Neil Scrivens]

The battery size for the m3 and i5 (SP4) are the same, but the SP4 batteries are smaller than the older SP3 battery.

 

[snakebitten]

I think that is what I read in the linked article. Not sure why folks think it said the M3 battery is smaller than the I5 or I7

 

[realwarder]

Here's an article from PC World which confirms that the m3 model has a smaller battery.
Surface Pro 4 teardown confirms fanless m3 design, smaller battery | PCWorld

Only than the SP3

 

[zkyevolved]

I'm pretty sure the SP4 battery is the same size as the SP3 battery... but I don't remember where I read that.

But I'd like to present a 3rd scenario here.
3) With Connected Standby disabled, I was able to underclock my CPU (current max is 50%). So I'm now using way less power, yet I still have the full sized battery that came with my i5 model. Using only 50% may seem kind of absurd, but I've still got processing power to spare for 90% of the time I'm using my SP4. I've been running about 2 hours and I've only used 20% of my battery.

I propose that scenario 3 is the best of both worlds, and would suggest that the i5 model really is the better option for the same price as the m3, unless you are considerably sensitive to the weight of your device.

Hmm, would you mind explaining how you did this? I'm going to be buying the i5 version of it as I'd like to sometimes replace my desktop and do 100% of my work in the living room, bedroom or even on the road. But for 90% of the time, I don't need that much power since I'm just browsing the web or editing documents. I'd prefer to have more power and not use it daily, but have it just in case, than need it in a year or two and have to dish out another 1,300 for the tablet, insurance and keyboard. That's what I did with my SP2 and it's in perfect condition and works very well! But I want the larger screen and for sure the larger keyboard and better trackpad. The trackpad is the killer for me. I hate using the SP2 trackpad! ARG! haha.

Regardless, could you explain how you disabled connected standby? And share your results with everyone here I'm very interested.

 

[WildKarrde]

I never, ever used the trackpad on my SP2, lol. To say the SP4 trackpad is much better is an understatement. I'm quite liking the rest of the keyboard on the SP4 as well. To be honest, I'm still kinda debating returning the SP4 though (still got about 9 days to decide). Almost everything about the SP4 is better, but the SP2 was still pretty adequate, so I'm just not sure if it's the right time for me to upgrade. That said, I do plan on doing a write up of my power plan in a day or two after I've finished testing it and optimizing it. Send me a PM if I don't post a link here by the weekend.

 

[snakebitten]

<snip>

Regardless, could you explain how you disabled connected standby? And share your results with everyone here I'm very interested.

There are a few articles out there for how to disable "sleep" mode. But basically it comes down to editing 1 registry setting and then rebooting. Keep in mind that this change removes "sleep" mode from any choice in your "Power Plan(s)". (In the control panel) However, this is far from some kind of sacrifice since the whole reason for "sleep" mode was to decrease the time it takes to "resume" after you put the PC to sleep. "Hibernation" is the alternate to "sleep" and it DOES take longer to resume from hibernation than resuming from sleep. But, we are blessed to be holding devices in our hands that can boot up from OFF, in a mere 15 seconds! So seriously, I can live without the teeny tiny benefit that sleep mode offers.

So, first do the registry edit to kill sleep. Then go to the control panel and BUILD you a personal "Power Plan" that addresses ALL the various parameters that now include "Processor" power. (You can literally choose to have 50% of the processor power available when you are "on Battery" and using "My Personal Power Plan"

The real beauty is that if you find yourself in a scenario where you want ALL your processor power available while you are on battery, you just quickly click the default "Power Plan" you already have configured. (For most of us that power plan is called "Balanced")

This Windows Central article gives detailed step-by-step instructions for disabling sleep mode. Ironically, it is an article to both create your own "Personal Power Plan" AND to get maximum processor power! (The exact opposite of what we are aiming at....... Less power and longer battery)
How to max out the Intel HD graphics on Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 | Windows Central

By the way, that article exposes the fact that we are NOT getting 100% of the processor power from our new Skylake processors. So use that article to build 2 Power Plans:

1: My Long Battery Life Power Plan
2. My KickAZZ Video Editing Power Plan

 

[boltman2013]

I do not recommend disabling connected standby even the article linked above suggested turning it back on, a plan that only uses 50% of the cpu on battery is pretty ludicrous too. There is a reason Microsoft hid most of the power settings from the average user as above post illustrates.

I am not an average user , pretty much recognized by peers as an expert in Windows and I leave connected standby on...my alternative modes are battery max mode...30% screen, screen off in 3 minutes and no data while sleeping on battery. Also I did create the max video plan and reverted back to connected standby at the end. I use the max video plan only when I need to. The rest are automatic according to being plugged in or not.

DO NOT USE HIBERNATE..if you want it completely off hold in power button for 20-30 seconds. Hibernate is not good at all and a ridiculous choice.

 

[snakebitten]

Not sure why you are so against Hibernate. It's a legitimate offer in Windows Power Plans for some time now. For many years, in fact. And saving to disk would be considered by many even safer than saving to memory.

The battery life extending capabilities of hibernate are quite obvious.

Maybe I am missing something about Hibernate that you feel strongly about?

 

[boltman2013]

Not sure why you are so against Hibernate. It's a legitimate offer in Windows Power Plans for some time now. For many years, in fact. And saving to disk would be considered by many even safer than saving to memory.

The battery life extending capabilities of hibernate are quite obvious.

Maybe I am missing something about Hibernate that you feel strongly about?

The whole idea of paging RAM contents onto a SSD the reloading it ...is wrong and MS badly implements it..they themselves recommend SLEEP for most every scenario in fact going as far to say the only time not to use SLEEP is if the device will be out of service long term.

Besides complete OFF (Power button depressed for 20-30 secs) to desktop is maybe 15 seconds giving you a clean ram configuration (if you are concerned about battery which I think is not a worry) . Hibernation is just wrong all around. There is a reason the default is connected sleep.

Start using the Surface 4 Pro and stop worrying about specs like battery life..its an amazing device out of the box and about to get even better.

 

[snakebitten]

Paging from ram to hard drive is far from rare, even on a pc that is up and running. Anyone with an under-ram-equipped pc is likely to see hard drive activity due to paging, as they switch between applications that have memory demands beyond physical ram available.

I'll admit it sucks performance wise when you exceed your ram availability, but paging does assist you and is quite normal.
Again, I'm just curious what is so "wrong" about paging? It's not dangerous or harmful. And in the SP4 case, it actually serves as a legitimate alternative to the buggy sleep mode.

In my opinion, if Microsoft implemented anything wrong, it is their sleep mode, not their hibernate-paging mode.
I do think the sleep mode will get sorted soon enough though. Until then, I'll avoid it with a clear conscious.

And personally, I don't think I'm "ludicrous" for running my processor at less than full throttle while doing things that do not demand more.
Folks drive the speed limit in Ferraris. Its difficult sometimes to find a place to let her rip. But it is nice having that beast motor under the hood for when you need it.

 

[GatsbyGlen]

Some like sleep, some like to hibernate, and some never shutdown and run 24/7. Pick whatever fits you, just don't listen to bolt ;0

 

[WildKarrde]

Start using the Surface 4 Pro and stop worrying about specs like battery life..its an amazing device out of the box and about to get even better.

It's great that you don't need to worry about power consumption, I don't worry about it on my desktop PC, but my SP4 is for mobility. If I was always connected to a power outlet then I wouldn't even have an SP4.