Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 23, 2014 3:55 AM ESTLaptop Performance
Just like with battery life, we need to evaluate the performance of Surface Pro 3 as both a laptop and a tablet. As a laptop, Surface Pro 3 delivers performance comparable to other Ultrabooks of similar specs - assuming we're talking about short bursts of performance. In prolonged workloads you'll see a bit of a gap, and even a slight regression vs. Surface Pro 2 due to the thermal design targets for the new chassis.
With the exception of the Work suite in PCMark 8 v2, we're mostly looking at performance in the range of a 13-inch MacBook Air - the prototypical Haswell ULT notebook. Surface Pro 3 is definitely in good performance company. In the Work suite however the MacBook Air (running Windows) is able to deliver around 16% better performance than Surface Pro 3. I'm guessing this has to do with thermals more than anything else.
We see a similar story if we look at GPU performance:
In terms of playable games, with some tweaking to detail settings you should be able to average 30 fps in titles like Dota 2. Running at the panel's native resolution is generally out of the question but for lighter titles on Steam like Transistor, you can have a reasonable experience. The higher end Core i7 Surface Pro 3 does ship with Intel's HD 5000 graphics instead of HD 4400 in the Core i5 review sample I tested. It's entirely possible that we see better gaming performance or thermal management (more EUs at lower voltage) in that design.
Just like in previous designs, Surface Pro 3 integrates a SATA SSD (likely M.2 this time). In this case Microsoft uses an OEM version of Samsung's SSD 840 EVO, a 3-bit-per-cell MLC design that we've found to be a pretty good value. I am disappointed we didn't see a move to PCIe storage but for general use I doubt there's much value in it. PCMark 8 v2's storage test isn't particularly stressful but it does show that Surface Pro 3's SSD is at least competitive with its predecessor and the MBA despite moving to TLC NAND.
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ymcpa - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
A decent laptop is $500-$600. A decent 10" tablet is around $400. Those two devices will cost about the same as the surface. Each of those devices will perform a little better than the surface is certain tasks, but you have to carry both of those devices with you to get the same functionality as the surface. The MacBook air (don't know why you mentioned the MacBook pro which is much more expensive) has the better keyboard but can't really do any tasks that the surface can't. Same with the Ipad Air. It is lighter and has a longer battery life, but can't perform any task that the surface can't. However, you will need both those devices to perform the same task as a single surface.basroil - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
Where the hell can you find a decent laptop for $600? The cheapest ones on newegg are about $800!ymcpa - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
depends what your definition of decent is. The newegg list of most popular laptops has plenty of laptops in the $500's and $600's. They will probably meet the needs of many people. I used that price range because a person arguing that the surface is too expensive would most likely buy a budget laptop.basroil - Thursday, June 26, 2014 - link
"I used that price range because a person arguing that the surface is too expensive would most likely buy a budget laptop. "That has to be a joke? Microsoft is selling a premium product and makes no effort to hide it. "People say it's too expensive and instead buy a budget laptop" is not a valid response, since a decent laptop WITH THE SAME SPECIFICATIONS (other than screen of course) generally runs you just as much. Pentium, Celeron, and AMD chips are NOT decent laptop components, they are budget garbage for people who don't understand the difference.
joaoasousa - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
The Surface is competing in the top end with it's high build quality and thinness, you can't compare it to plastic 600$ laptops. You must put it against similar products like the Macbook Air, Zenbook, etc.mkozakewich - Monday, June 30, 2014 - link
The Air has a better trackpad, but I wouldn't say it has a better keyboard. Different people like different things, and the Surface family has my favourite keyboard ever. I was using an HP Mini netbook in 2010 which was my previous favourite, and had a similar keyboard.Honestly, those big mechanical things just required too much horizontal and vertical travel and were annoying to use.
You're welcome to like the keyboards you like, and maybe get one of those Cherry MX mechanical keyboards, or stick with the one on the Air, but that doesn't mean something is 'better', only that it's more suited to you.
(Think of what one of those mechanical-switch people would say about the keyboard on the Macbook Air.)
PaulC543 - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
Did *you* read the article, or did you just see a headline that mentioned the Surface and felt you had to criticize it?What bases does it cover? Let's see:
Media consumption tablet, check.
Light productivity work while mobile, check.
Heavy productivity work while docked, check.
Light to medium gaming, if that's your thing, check.
Single device that can handle tablet and laptop tasks, check.
In fact, this would probably be easier if you name a base the Surface *doesn't* cover, and make sure whatever you mention are tasks appropriate for notebooks/tablets. As far as I can tell, the only things you can bring up are:
Heavy mobile text entry (but put it in a dock with a desktop keyboard and mouse and it's as good as any desktop/notebook)
High-end gaming.
Latest and "greatest" "apps".
That's really about it.
As for a lower cost option, you *are* aware that Dell, Lenovo, Acer and the like are building $200-$300 Intel Atom based full Windows 8 tablets, aren't you? There's your Windows tablet entry device. Niche product? Literally everyone who's seen my Surface Pro 2 has said it's the device they want as their "mass market" iPad has proven so useless that it just sits on a shelf.
TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
I would dispute your "Heavy Productivity While Docked" claim. Merely docking the Surface doesn't automatically give it a quad core processor with discrete graphics. So what does that leave? A single device that could serve as a Tablet or Notebook suitable for media consumption, light productivity, and lite gaming...all for the not so low price of $1177+tax (with keyboard and Pen)If your needs are humble I can see the Surface Pro 3 working well, but there are devices costing hundreds less that could do the same. I know many people who's PC's are now e-waste - an iPad and iPhone are their only devices. But for an enthusiast or power user the Surface Pro 3 will always be a secondary device to a more capable computer.
PaulC543 - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
"I would dispute your...."Is your dispute based on hands-on experience? Because mine is. I attach mine to my 30 inch monitor and desktop keyboard/mouse, and it easily handles 3D modeling and Photoshop work. Certainly not to the level of my workstations, but when they're tied up rendering, the Surface easily fills in.
And this is why I said to make sure the tasks you mention are appropriate - of course it's not going to offer workstation-level performance, but no ultrabook class laptop will either.
As for the price, this has been beaten to death. The Surface is entirely in-line with ultrabook-class laptops, offers key features they typically don't (touch screen, pen input, etc.) and is able to serve as a straight tablet. Add the price of a laptop AND a tablet, and you're going to spend more and have to carry at least several times the weight/bulk of the Surface.
Everything you're written speaks quite loudly to the fact that you don't see the value in what the Surface offers and have never used one. Why, then, are you compelled to criticize a device which you clearly don't understand or would ever purchase?
TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
I never said I didn't see value in it. I think it's a great device along the lines of other great machines like Apple's entire MacBook line and Lenovo's ThinkPad Carbon X1 Touch and Yoga 2.But your claims are just ridiculous... An iPad Air weighs only 1 pound..the iPad mini weighs much less. Adding a tablet to a notebook doesn't add "Several times the weight/bulk" it's not even 1-time the weight and bulk. Finally a two-in-one device isn't the same as having two devices. I can prop my iPad up next to my MacBook for a second screen. You can't do that trick with a Surface Pro 3, unless you carries another tablet with you.