Surface Pro X as daily driver. Need suggestions how to make it more productive

[ViktorOTitov]

Dear friends! I am using Surface Pro X as one device for everyday work now. I am working with tons of emails and different types of docs (Word, Excel, PP, Acrobat, etc.). I am using Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, etc.), Edge, WhatsApp, Telegram, Adobe Acrobat DC Pro, Zoom. I like the Pro X very much, it has LTE (which I need). But it is a bit sluggish in Outlook, Edge, f.e.
Need Your professional suggestions how to make it more productive. Many thanks!

 

[HeyCori]

If Edge isn't too your liking, you can try the ARM version of Firefox. You'd want to download the beta version though because I don't think it's been officially released.

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/desktop/#beta

 

[ViktorOTitov]

Thanks very much. I have the 83.0.478.37 version of Edge now. I think, that it is ARM64. So it works same as the Firefox ARM64.

 

[TechBob]

Dear friends! I am using Surface Pro X as one device for everyday work now. I am working with tons of emails and different types of docs (Word, Excel, PP, Acrobat, etc.). I am using Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, etc.), Edge, WhatsApp, Telegram, Adobe Acrobat DC Pro, Zoom. I like the Pro X very much, it has LTE (which I need). But it is a bit sluggish in Outlook, Edge, f.e.
Need Your professional suggestions how to make it more productive. Many thanks!

Not enough information to really comment. Most of the apps you describe, except for Edge (if you have the ARM version) are not optimized for the Pro X, but are 32 bit x86 apps. They run as emulated apps, which are slower. With that said, I really don't see much of a slowdown when I use those apps, but I may use the device in a different manner. How much RAM do you have? The ARM apps can take advantage of more than the emulated 32 bit apps. How many programs do you have open at once? How many tabs in Edge do you keep open at once. When things appear sluggish, try opening the Task Manager and check what apps are making significant demands. It may be something specific rather than the system in general. Otherwise, keep your eyes open for ARM replacements for what you use. There aren't many, but rumor has it that Zoom is looking at releasing one and there may be others.

 

[jnjroach]

Dear friends! I am using Surface Pro X as one device for everyday work now. I am working with tons of emails and different types of docs (Word, Excel, PP, Acrobat, etc.). I am using Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, etc.), Edge, WhatsApp, Telegram, Adobe Acrobat DC Pro, Zoom. I like the Pro X very much, it has LTE (which I need). But it is a bit sluggish in Outlook, Edge, f.e.
Need Your professional suggestions how to make it more productive. Many thanks!

How big is your Outlook ODT file? My inbox is 11GB on my main work account, and the other 3 O365?Outlook.com are about 2GB each and my SPX handles them all without issue. Teams is my biggest issue, not performance, but stability and battery drain, I'm considering going back to using just the PWA version.

 

[ViktorOTitov]

Not enough information to really comment. Most of the apps you describe, except for Edge (if you have the ARM version) are not optimized for the Pro X, but are 32 bit x86 apps. They run as emulated apps, which are slower. With that said, I really don't see much of a slowdown when I use those apps, but I may use the device in a different manner. How much RAM do you have? The ARM apps can take advantage of more than the emulated 32 bit apps. How many programs do you have open at once? How many tabs in Edge do you keep open at once. When things appear sluggish, try opening the Task Manager and check what apps are making significant demands. It may be something specific rather than the system in general. Otherwise, keep your eyes open for ARM replacements for what you use. There aren't many, but rumor has it that Zoom is looking at releasing one and there may be others.

Thanks. Only 8GB Ram. In the Task Manager - 85-95%. Outlook, Edge (10-13 tabs), WhatsApp, Zoom...

 

[ViktorOTitov]

How big is your Outlook ODT file? My inbox is 11GB on my main work account, and the other 3 O365?Outlook.com are about 2GB each and my SPX handles them all without issue. Teams is my biggest issue, not performance, but stability and battery drain, I'm considering going back to using just the PWA version.

Thanks. Two mails. Work - 13 gb, home - 35 gb

 

[ViktorOTitov]

https://news.lenovo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Lenovo-Yoga-Duet-7i_Datasheet.pdf

Competitor to Surface Pro X? What do You think?

 

[HeyCori]

Given that it's powered by Intel, I'd say it's more of a competitor to the Pro 7 despite the fact that it looks like a Pro X.

 

[jnjroach]

Thanks. Two mails. Work - 13 gb, home - 35 gb

So those inboxes are loading as much as it can into RAM, so that explains some of the sluggishness...you would have been better served with the 16GB version...

 

[ViktorOTitov]

So those inboxes are loading as much as it can into RAM, so that explains some of the sluggishness...you would have been better served with the 16GB version...

Thanks. How can I make my SPX faster? Delete one of my mails? F.e. home? Am I right?

 

[ViktorOTitov]

So those inboxes are loading as much as it can into RAM, so that explains some of the sluggishness...you would have been better served with the 16GB version...

There is still no ARM64 MS365, am I right?
Many thanks.

 

[jnjroach]

Thanks. How can I make my SPX faster? Delete one of my mails? F.e. home? Am I right?

You can clean up your inboxes by Archiving older email or using the conversation clean-up setting

There is still no ARM64 MS365, am I right?
Many thanks.

My understanding is the UI and some of the API Hooks are 32bit x86 for plugin compatibility but they backend is ARM64