The Surface 3 Review
by Brett Howse on May 4, 2015 9:00 AM ESTGPU Performance
The Surface 3 with the Atom x7-Z8700 pairs the Intel Gen 8 Graphics from Broadwell with the Airmont CPU cores of Atom. Unlike the Broadwell cores though, the Surface 3 SoC only has 16 execution units (EUs) as compared to 24 in Core M. The maximum frequency is also reduced to 600 MHz for these cores, as compared to up to 900 MHz in Core M. This is all necessary to keep the x7-8700 in the 2 watt SDP.
So performance will be a step back compared to Core M, but really this should be no surprise. The interesting comparison will be how it compares to Surface Pro 3 with Haswell Gen 7.5 graphics and of course to Bay Trail equipped tablets.
We will start with some synthetic tests and then move on to DOTA 2 to see how it performs on a real world game.
3DMark Tablet
The GPU upgrade is a big improvement over the ASUS T100's Bay Trail graphics, but the Atom GPU still can not compete with the fastest tablet SoCs out there.
3DMark Notebook
Comparing the Surface 3 to PC class hardware puts it in a pretty poor light when looking at GPU performance. Our 3DMark tests have the Surface Pro 3 with the Core i3 on average 40% faster than Surface 3. Comparing it to the Dell Venue 11 Pro with Core M, we find the Core M GPU is on average 47% faster, which is quite a gap. Let’s not forget though that the Surface 3 is a mere 2 watt SDP, whereas Core M is a 4.5 W TDP and the Haswell-Y in Surface Pro 3 is an 11.5 W TDP.
GFXBench Tablet (OpenGL)
As with the 3DMark scores, the GPU upgrade is significant, but still a ways back of the best tablet GPUs out there. Intel still has some work to do on this front.
GFXBench Notebook (DirectX)
We see a similar story with GFXBench on the notebook side. The 16 EUs in our Atom SoC just cannot compete against the larger and faster GPUs in Core.
Moving on to a real-world game, we use a custom DOTA 2 benchmark for our lower powered devices. It is a very popular battle-arena game, and the GPU requirements are not too demanding.
The GPU in the Surface 3 is really not enough to play most games, and even on our value settings, the Surface 3 is not a great experience for DOTA 2. The higher TDP of Core M lets it do ok in this test, but overall the Surface 3 is a long way back of even the Surface Pro 3 Core i3.
Storage Performance
Like most tablets, the Surface 3 utilizes eMMC storage rather than the SSD storage found on higher priced laptops and Core M tablets. It costs less, it is less complex, and it works. So expectations are that it will not be able to compete with the fastest solutions out there. But as a tablet, workloads should be less complex, at least in theory.
Unfortunately Microsoft shipped me the 64 GB version of the tablet, and due to PCMark 8 requiring a large amount of free space in order to perform its tests, it was unable to be run on this device. But we have run into this issue in the past, and we can turn to a couple of other tools to get a feel for how the storage performance is. Even though eMMC is slower than a good SSD, there is still different levels of performance based on the NAND in use and the controller.
I ran CrystalDiskMark over a 4 GB span and the results are below.
Surface 3 eMMC Storage (left) vs Surface Pro 3 Core i3 SSD (right)
Compared to a true SSD, the eMMC performance leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, most of the time when I was using the tablet and I found it slow, such as installing software, or loading programs, it was mostly disk bound. There are faster eMMC options available, but I will refrain from comparing it to other tablets since we do not have the same benchmarking tools for both.
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MrTetts - Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - link
The IPad is ALWAYS going to be an inferior product regardless of use case.1. For video/media consumption - you would have access to more media players, more content markets (than just the itunes store) and simply more choice overall.
2. For media/content creation - You do not even have this option (or intergrated well enough) on an IPad.
3. Basic office duties - We can all agree that any office applications on an IPad would be very watered down and frankly quite useless. If you have to buy a keyboard to access an application properly on an ipad, then my friend, I have news for you... your use case clearly aligns you to a surface 3.
An IPad is no where near up to par. You are getting a very big IPod Touch for your money. Don't give in to the marketing from Apple telling you you can be productive on an IPad...
V900 - Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - link
Oh my holy God! Amazing! Through some sort of quantum fluctuation in some internet backbone somewhere, a wormhole in space time has made your post appear three years into the future!Hello there Anandtech reader from 2012! We hear you loud and clear this is Anandtech 2015! As for your points, a lot has changed/will change from your perspective!
1: IPads in 2015 are better for using content... The vast majority of video is in MP4 formats. The few formats an iPad can't decode natively you can get a third party app for in the AppStore for a few dollars or free. As for content, the vast majority is available through the web or (usually) free third party apps.
2: Content creating: In 2015 its a clear win for the iPad if you want to use a touchscreen. It's not even close with Windows tablets. Adobe for example has over 20 apps for iPad. In your future and my present, even content creation suites that used to only be available for PC/Macs have an iPad app solution available as well.
3: Basic Office: everyone in your time that is skeptical about Microsofts plans are right. In 2015 there is a
multitude of office solutions for iPads, and even Microsoft have given up and gone all in on the platform... The MS Office for iPad is on par with the MS Office for Windows, and blows MS Office for Touch Windows completely out of the water. Microsoft of the future will bet big on iOS...
Take care 2012 Anandtech reader! Oh, I probably cant tell you much about this, but be careful with the middle east! There is a group in Iraq that you really shouldn't underestimate... They will wreck some major chaos later in the timeline if you don't try to stop them in 2012!
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Yet if you type one line of text on the ipad it's a great big pain in the rear to edit. Where's the back arrow key? I've an Air 2 and, being honest, it's a pain to use for anything serious. Heck the other day I just wanted to copy some comics onto the thing... usually I'd just slap them on but instead I had to place them onto the network, launch an app, log in and then read.The app situation will improve when Windows 10 hits but, until then, I'll be happy to just launch the FULL application.
digiguy - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
how much nonsense in a single post.... You probably don't know how to use Office and Adobe professionally.... or you live in 2015, but on a different planet... My ipad air is a great device, but that's far from being the machine to work on....Michael Bay - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
>MS Office for iPad is on par with the MS Office for WindowsIf you step aside from pure lulz one has with such a comment, it`s quite sad that sheeple actually believe that.
MrTetts - Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - link
Bottom line is...If you're in the market for an iPad. Consider the Surface 3 for the 'Just In Case' factor.
1. Just in case you want to edit a word document properly.
2. Just in case you want to create media.
3. Just in case you want to download movies/music from a website.
4. Just in case you want to use adobe products.
5. Just in case you don't want to connect the tablet to your TV.
6. Just in case you want to charge your phone using a tablet.
7. Just in case you actually want to write notes in class/during meetings at the office.
8. Just in case you want expandable memory.
9. Just in case you don't want to be locked into the apple ecosystem.
10. Just in case you save things to a memory stick, rather than a cloud which you get charged for.
and i could go on... Just consider the Surface 3.. Just in case.
V900 - Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - link
OMG! The wormhole is still open!LOL! Read my other post Anandtech from 2012! Nothing on your list is accurate or will matter much in 2015...
Both Adobe and Microsoft have gone all in on iPads. Adobe has over 20 apps on iOS, and nothing on Windows that you'd bother running on a touchscreen or with a tablet class processor.
Don't consider the Surface 3. Not even for just in case. You can always get either a better laptop or a better tablet for the same
money. The Surface 3 is worthless, considering that for 500-600$ you can get an alright laptop AND an iPad mini: Beat of both worlds!
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Or a Surface Pro 3.Michael Bay - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Do they at least pay you for this drivel?kyuu - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
How in the hell is carrying two devices -- one of them a crappy laptop, the other a tablet with a small screen that's basically just an oversized iPhone -- the best of both worlds?