Microsoft Surface Pro
I have to replace my laptop. Ok, "Have to" might be a little strong, but its like 4 years old, slower than I run and generally annoying me and CB agreed that I should get something new.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is what I'm thinking I will be going with( the Pro 4 is nice but doesnt seem like a substantial upgrade over the 3), but I need help deciding between the i3 w 4gb of RAM and the i5 with 4gb of RAM. The i5 with 8gb seems a little pricey for just more RAM. Anyone have a recommendation between those?
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I have to find the posts/tweets but I am fairly sure several people in my stream have said the 4 is really good. Performance may not be better than the 3, but features/user experience is.
Here is a video about the 4 from the Microsoft event: http://www.tested.com/tech/546219-hands-microsoft-surface-book-and-surface-pro-4/
The 4 can have up to an i7 processor and it is thinner than the atom based 3
The processor difference will be noticeable between the i3 and i5. If you plan on doing anything other than web browsing / docs, I would splurge for the i5 because you can never upgrade the CPU and you don't want to be stuck with an i3 as your usage of the computer evolves.
The performance increase isn't huge between the 3 and 4 however, the cpu in the 4 will give you better battery life as it uses less power, and it doesn't need as much to cool it so again improving battery life, and it will be quieter.
Also if this is going to be like a main working kind of laptop I would never recommend less than 8. 4 gigs gets chewed up pretty easily, THANKS CHROME.
ok, well let me ask a different way then. Is there anything else similar to the surface that is cheaper than $1000. I like that it runs Office (real office not google docs) and is a tablet that I can seamlessly use a mouse & keyboard with. (yeah I know that I can turn on Bluetooth on a lot of tablets to hook up a keyboard, but Bluetooth eats battery life and I'm not really interested in that) And I don't like apple products.
I mostly just internet (Facebook, pinterest, internet banking) with an occasional (like a couple times a year) helping of steam games (think Peggle, not TF2) and like the tablet form factor so I can use it in my chair/couch/ while lounging and not at a desk if I don't want to. Oh, also, that I can hook up Google Drive so that I can continue to put my pictures there from my camera SD card.
I still think the i5 would be your best bet for longevity reasons.
Relevant:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2989906/laptop-computers/here-are-the-details-of-the-surface-book-and-surface-pro-4-chips-and-why-they-matter.html
Though not directly applicable, it might be worth noting that I have a laptop with i3, and I regularly encounter horrible lag while writing my inspection reports in word. I3 just doesn't cut it anymore. At least that's my experience. (Its also worth noting that I recently nuke and paved my laptop with very minimal improvement.)
Maybe tablets are more forgiving, but I think it's pretty damning that an i3 laptop can't handle word processing software with a few tables and pictures.
Do you have an SSD and 8GB RAM? If not, it may not be the i3.
Truth. Most bang-for-buck upgrades in our 64-bit world is RAM and SSD.
Might also look at a refurb model.
Microsoft Will Give You $200 For Your Aging Laptop—Or $300 If It's a Mac
http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-will-give-you-200-for-your-aging-laptop-or-1736889039
My sister is getting my old laptop
but that's good to know about.
Betsy, which cpu do you have in your current laptop? Chances are fairly big that the cpu in the surface is slower than what you have now. From what you describe, more cores that are substantionally slower will not make a laptop faster. Higher frequency is in most of the cases faster. The tradeoff is worse battery life. Is mobility and battery crucial in your choice of a laptop?
Depending on if Time or Money is an issue... The Surface Books (see article Prime posted) are looking smoking. They range from $1500+ (i5) to $2000+ (i7) and are currently on pre-order.
This is my old laptop: http://www.cnet.com/products/lenovo-ideapad-z575/specs/
Yeah, I really don't want a laptop. I want a tablet that I can do some laptopy things on. (Mostly just steam). Also, I really don't want to spend more than $1000 on the base product (I know that the surface tablets end up getting over that with all the add-ons)
Right now I'm thinking that I'm going to watch the Costco bundles and see if I can get it for Christmas: http://www.costco.com/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-4-Bundle-|-Intel-Core-i5-|-2736-x-1824-Display-|-Office-365-Personal-|-Windows-10-Professional.product.100234173.html
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-series/yoga-700-14/
The base model comes in under 1000, i5 processor and 8G with a 1080p screen. Can use as a laptop or flip around to go tablet mode. I've heard basically nothing but good things about the Yoga series. I'm probably going to get one myself (when I have the cash to).
I'll have to look at that.
I have the Lenovo Yoga e11 (educational series) that the school bought me and I love it. The higher models with even better specs would be even better I'd wager.
So we went to Costco tonight and picked me up a Surface pro 4 i5 combo pack. ive spent the last 3 hours installing everything.
BetsyD, sounds nice. Was that the 4GB/128G version?
I am seriously looking at the i5, but want more memory and storage.
I am still hunting
yep thats the one.