Current Events > Opinions on this Microsoft Surface deal?

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://goo.gl/A3X65Z

Surface Pro 5
Core i5 model
8 GB RAM
128 GB SSD
Comes with keyboard cover

$799
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What is your usage scenarios with the device?
What do you plan on doing with it?
Is this your main PC?
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i have a surface pro 4 with pretty much the same specs (256gb SSD tho) and I like it. but it depends on you usage imo
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KamenRiderBlade posted...

What is your usage scenarios with the device?
What do you plan on doing with it?
Is this your main PC?

Basically everything but gaming. I need a Windows computer for compatibility with my hospital's EMR
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Coffeebeanz posted...

Basically everything but gaming. I need a Windows computer for compatibility with my hospital's EMR

Then it should be fine assuming your Hospital's IT staff has that device type pre-approved or you know how to get it to be compatible with your Hospital's IT list of requirements.

Ask them for what you need to do to make it compliant with their Software / Network infrastructure.

There are Security / Legal / Procedural reasons for why they do whatever they need to do, regardless of what you may think about their stated policies.

I know you'll probably find some of their policies to be stupid, but you might have to put up with it.
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If you can get a Surface Pro with more RAM and you think you might need it.

Get it NOW!

The RAM is soldered onto the Mother Board, there is NO WAY to UPGRADE it.

Same with the Storage.

So get as much as you think you'll need.
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I hate the pro series.

Now, the surface book? I love mine. It's basically a non shit version of my macbook air.
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more details

Pros
- Really good build quality
- Very fast
- Super light and compact, great for travelling or throwing in a small bag
- Type cover keyboard is surprisingly good, touchpad is good too, and obviously they're replaceable
- Surface Pen works really well for quick note taking or showing someone a picture
- Very good screen quality, I don't think you'll find a better screen in that price range
- I love the magnetic charger, it's like the one on old macbooks

Cons
- Battery life sucks on my 4 and I hear it's not better on the 5. I get like 3 of usage on average
- The surface is usable on your lap but it sucks, it's only really good on a table
- Screen size is small, as is the keyboard, so it's not really ideal for intense work that involves a lot of keyboard input and multitasking
- I use the touch screen a lot but the Surface as a tablet is kind of weak due to Windows 10 Tablet Mode not being that great
- Only one USB port

Verdict: I really like mine as a travel laptop, something I can do light work on in a portable sense. However as a main computer it's kind of lacking due to the small size and the fact that it's only really comfortable to use in certain conditions (regular table). If you need a main PC for everything in your life I'd get something else, if you want a light and well-made PC mostly for being on the go then the Surface is a good call
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Thanks for all the info. I have a 2014 Macbook Pro but I've started to really disdain the Apple ecosystem. That's another reason I'm considering it.

I looked it up - apparently SP5 has 50% better battery life than SP4, so that's something.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

Thanks for all the info. I have a 2014 Macbook Pro but I've started to really disdain the Apple ecosystem. That's another reason I'm considering it.

I looked it up - apparently SP5 has 50% better battery life than SP4, so that's something.

You'll hate the keyboard. I'm telling you now, as someone who had a pro, and now uses a surface book, get the surface book.
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pogo_rabid posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

Thanks for all the info. I have a 2014 Macbook Pro but I've started to really disdain the Apple ecosystem. That's another reason I'm considering it.

I looked it up - apparently SP5 has 50% better battery life than SP4, so that's something.

You'll hate the keyboard. I'm telling you now, as someone who had a pro, and now uses a surface book, get the surface book.

i dont think the pro's keyboard is that bad. the keys have good travel and the type cover is definitely a good quality keyboard, but there is kind of a "hollow" feeling to the key presses because the keyboard is raised and since the screen is so small on the pro, the keyboard is a bit smaller as well. you should go to a best buy or something and try it out if you're considering the laptop.

my wife has the surface laptop, however, and i think that has one of the best keyboards i've ever used. we found one with identical specs to yours in a black friday sale for like $900
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I'm trying it out at Best Buy right now. It seems pretty impressive. Crazy fast. The keyboard definitely does have a hollow, tinny feel to it. It's not bad and totally usable, but the MBP keyboard is definitely better. At least, the pre-butterfly keyboard ones were.
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I decided to hold off. I got out my MBP and it's definitely better in every way except not having tablet functionality. It's faster and the keyboard is a lot better.
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I would have made the same decision in your case
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I'm just wondering why a laptop from 2014 is so clearly faster than a brand new 2018 tablet/laptop.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

I'm just wondering why a laptop from 2014 is so clearly faster than a brand new 2018 tablet/laptop.

Older processors can still be faster than newer ones if the clock speeds/processor count is high enough. Also how much crap that comes preloaded.
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I'm wondering if it's also a power draw kind of thing. The Surface probably uses an ultrabook processor.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

I'm wondering if it's also a power draw kind of thing. The Surface probably uses an ultrabook processor.

I think it runs off a 63 watt, but the docking station uses a 90
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Also, for all the shit that OSX gets, I much prefer its minimalist style over Windows 10's everything-in-your-face explosion of info, apps, text, etc.
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So I looked it up. Apparently the new i5 surfaces are fanless. I can only venture a guess that such a design choice would impact performance.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

So I looked it up. Apparently the new i5 surfaces are fanless. I can only venture a guess that such a design choice would impact performance.

It does, but they cared more about noise than performance when they made that decision.
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I was considering getting a surface book for rounds but i hear the battery life off the dock sucks a fatty. Shame. Im sure a souped up surface would work fine and i dont type anymore with dictation software anyway
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NeuralLaxative posted...

I was considering getting a surface book for rounds but i hear the battery life off the dock sucks a fatty. Shame. Im sure a souped up surface would work fine and i dont type anymore with dictation software anyway

Get a Dell XPS 13 with those tiny 4-5 mm bezels and a 1080p screen if you want insane battery life.
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Better off getting a $300 iPad and Bluetooth keyboard tbh unless you really need the USB ports or Windows programs

I like the Surface a lot but its a hard competitor to MacBooks overall
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AvantgardeAClue posted...

Better off getting a $300 iPad and Bluetooth keyboard tbh unless you really need the USB ports or Windows programs

I like the Surface a lot but its a hard competitor to MacBooks overall

I guess I expected more advancement in CPU tech in the last four years. That said, I think MBPs used normal laptop i5s and not Ultrabook models.
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While thats true

Just what exactly would you be doing on either one to justify the extra hardware

If an iPad can render 4K video easily then tbh most mid-range hardware is more than enough for most people
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AvantgardeAClue posted...

While thats true

Just what exactly would you be doing on either one to justify the extra hardware

If an iPad can render 4K video easily then tbh most mid-range hardware is more than enough for most people

Yeah but I don't see the point in spending $800 to "downgrade" my computer
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Older hardware has stable firmware by now. That and OS optimization can make older hardware quite good for some time, especially since newer hardware isn't really that much faster than old hardware (in the case of CPUs)

Coffeebeanz posted...

I guess I expected more advancement in CPU tech in the last four years

Yeah, not with Intel's monopoly.

They've been slowly drip feeding the public consumers.

Only very recently with AMD's Ryzen/ThreadRipper consumer CPU & EPYC server CPU lineup has there been any real competition.
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the surface pro i5 is basically the same speed as the i5s in a 2014 Macbook Pro iirc

sustained heavy load will slow it a down a bit due to throttling, but for basic stuff(web browsing, office, etc) it's as fast or faster. The speed difference comes down to some other factor(the differences in OS, differences in storage speed, etc) than raw CPU performance.
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Also, just as an aside, is using the Surface on your lap as uncomfortable and awkward as I'm imagining it to be?
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Coffeebeanz posted...

Also, just as an aside, is using the Surface on your lap as uncomfortable and awkward as I'm imagining it to be?

Yeah with a keyboard it sure is

I have the OG pro and like it. Still going strong. The only was thing is I lost the stylus and it's really costly to replace

The keyboards are never right.

Does the new surface have more usb ports?

Also if you have a working MacBook and you only want to get out of iOS why not just boot camp got windows
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The Surface I tried seemed to have one USB port. USB 3.0, not the C variant.

As for Boot Camp, the only thing holding me back is that I don't have a lot of storage on this MBP. It's a mid-2014 model with 128 GB SSD.

Frankly I'm kind of amazed it runs so well for how old it is.
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>128 GB SSD

Still, should be usable if youre careful about what you put on the Mac side

No guarantees for the Windows side though since something always likes to bloat it up
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I guess all I need the Windows side for is the EMR software, so maybe 32 GB might be enough.
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@Coffeebeanz posted...

I guess all I need the Windows side for is the EMR software, so maybe 32 GB might be enough.

I'd recommend for a little bit more storage than what you initially estimate.

Give you some buffer in case of unexpected future needs.
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From my experience at work Surface Pros and Surface Books are nothing but ticket generating headaches. But that's in a domain office environment, I'm sure for personal use they're alright.
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