Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 21, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Surface
- Surface Pro 2
CPU Performance
While multitasking on Surface 2 can struggle, the same really can’t be said for Surface Pro 2. The tablet is effectively a Haswell Ultrabook, capable of delivering the exact same performance as a 2013 MacBook Air – but in the form factor of a thick tablet. The performance of Intel’s Core i5-4200U is a fairly known quantity at this point, but to put Surface Pro 2’s tablet performance in perspective here are some comparisons to the best of the best in the ARM tablet space.
I ran tests using both Chrome and IE11, the latter is really only optimized for SunSpider and horribly unoptimized for everything else. In general you're multiple times better performance than what you can get from a quad-core Cortex A15 based device. If we look at Kraken, Surface Pro 2 running IE11 completes the test in 1/4 the time as Surface 2 running the same browser.
GPU Performance
Intel’s HD 4400 is good enough for light gaming and is a huge step above what you can find in a traditional ARM based tablet. Microsoft only gave us a few days to review both devices so I didn’t have a ton of time to re-characterize the performance of Intel’s HD 4400, but I’ve done that elsewhere already.
Storage Performance
My review sample appears to have a SK Hynix based SSD. I ran it through the same modified IO tests I did on the ASUS T100:
Our Android IO tests rely on Androbench with a relatively limited LBA span. I increased the difficulty of the test a bit under Windows 8.1 but still kept it reasonable since we are dealing with eMMC solutions. I’m testing across a 1GB LBA span and testing for a period of 1 minute, which is an ok balance between difficulty of workload and sensitivity to the fact that we’re evaluating low-class SSDs here.
Surface Pro 2 is a completely different league of IO performance. The number to pay attention here is the tremendous increase in random write performance compared to the eMMC solutions we’ve tested. I suspect the gap increases if we were to look at worst case sustained random write performance. Killer sequential performance definitely helps Surface Pro 2 feel quick.
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LOL_BEAN - Monday, January 20, 2014 - link
@Mondozai - Do you know some thing called surface. which is solid example of what you are looking for. This is for PROs. compare apple to apple not to oranges.Surface 2 comes for $450 which is priced similar to google nexus.
LordSegan - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I purchased an 8/256 model of the Surface Pro 2. I know it's not perfect, but working in an office environment, my iPad simply isn't enough computer and I don't need a full laptop. I also do want to stylus for editing and marking up documents for other people to finalize. So for me, it's a great machine. I'll probably get the Broadwell model eventually too.doobydoo - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Have you tried an 11" Macbook Air? You should. You'd prefer it.SpartanJet - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Actually I'd rather poke my eyes out with a sharp stick than use osx. Second I see no advantage to using a netbook type form factor I have a real laptop running windows 8 when I need a notebook.. People in the market for a tablet that does more than silly little apps with cash shops or microtransactions are looking at the Surface 2. I love windows 8, and I'm looking for a tablet this is the natural choice for me.meta4our - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Yeah, I tried going from a 1080p IPS touchscreen with built in wacom digitizer to a 1366/768 TN panel with no input and I wanted to throw it out the window when I was done surfing facebook and wanted to actually do things.backbydemand - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Try taking the keyboard off the MBA and using it as a tablet. No? Didn't think so, if I wanted just an ultrabook with an OS not optimized for touch there are plenty out there better spec, lower price with Windows 7.B3an - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
The shit low res TN display on the Air is enough alone to make the Surface Pro better. EVERYONE will benefit from the much better display.With a Type cover you also have a keyboard just as good, and its backlit now as well. Pro might cost more with a Type cover but you get what you pay for - a way better product plus advantages like touch screen + SD card slot + quality wacom digitizer. Theres no contest here.
GotThumbs - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
We have two of the Surface Pro first gens and I'm going to get the same config you got. We run SQL Server and Toad (Oracle) on ours. I find the Surface Pro is a great balance between the convenience of a touch screen tablet-like device and PC workings/flexibility. I believe the Surface Pro models are mistakenly lumped with ARM based tablets, when they are clearly Tablet PC's (remember the early Motion Computing PC Tablets with XP) I would have liked to see the Macbook added to the charts. Comparing a PC tablet against ARM tablets just didn't make as much sense to me, especially when Anand brings up the MacBook in the article. Comparing the thickness of ARM based tablets with a PC Tablet is like comparing Apple and Oranges IMO (no pun intended). How about comparing the weight and thickness of the Surface Pro and some of the Ultra Books out there...including the MacBook?At the end of the day, People will buy what works for them. As they should.
~Best wishes
MrSpadge - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Agreed - either compare Surface (2) Pro to real computers, or compare the ARMs with something of their league, like Kabini and Silvermont Atoms. Otherwise it's like comparing Geforce Titan to a Geforce 7200GS os so.. the Titan is way faster and is obviously bigger and sucks more power.melgross - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Weight isn't everything. It depends on what you're getting for that weight. An 11" notebook has a vastly better keyboard, and you really don't need a stylus with it, whether it's Windows or OS X. So the Pro, without the keyboard-cover weighs 2pounds, and the Air, as the example used here, weighs 2.5 pounds with the much better built in keyboard. Very little difference once the several ounce Typing Keyboard is added in.