I would really push for 256/8
Windows plus office is what ~40-50 gigs? And a recovery partition too I would wager.
Less than 30 with the recovery partition and no office, so maybe a little over 30 with.
I would really push for 256/8
Windows plus office is what ~40-50 gigs? And a recovery partition too I would wager.
Surprisingly, the 8/256 model like you are looking at feels if anything faster than my main laptop, a Thinkpad T440s with 12gigs ram, an i7, and a 1TB SSD.
That's great news, as for me it would be replacing my work issued T431s.
I'm still on the fence with the i5 or i7 models, as much of my work is numerical computation.
This has always been a bit of an issue for me with Windows laptops because if I already have somewhat limited battery life, I don't want to be spending it while the computer should be idle.
I'm still on the fence with the i5 or i7 models, as much of my work is numerical computation.
Yeah, power management in Windows has always been a weak spot. I've often found my Thinkpad didn't go to sleep as I pull it out boiling hot from its sleeve.
Intel is probably more to blame considering it seems to be a common issue across different operating systems.
Knock on wood but haven't run into the issue on my two SP3s but perhaps I'm not running the combination of legacy software that prevents Intel from sleeping. Still the pros of SP3 far outweigh the quirks.
For those looking to buy check your local Craigslist if available. Just picked up a recent 38th week of 2014 manufactured and newly sealed i5/8GB/256GB for $900 and the seller provided a copy of Amazon receipt for warranty. Also see newly sealed i7/8GB/256GB for $1100 but i5 is plenty.
Intel is probably more to blame considering it seems to be a common issue across different operating systems. Too many transistors, legacy baggage and high TDP and not being designed from the ground up for mobile as ARM. Perhaps we'll see improvements with 14nm Broadwell and Skylake.
It's not Intel. It's the way Windows is designed. There are way too many places where a driver, piece of hardware, or program can interfere with the sleep process. This is the advantage Apple has by maintaining much tighter control over OSX. My wife virtually never reboots her MBA and leaves every program she ever opens for months open and she never ever has sleep issues.
Although in the most technical of senses you are correct (OSX is not immune), the 2 examples you listed aren't quite applicable. They are referencing sleep issues with the Mac Mini rather than tablet or notebook.OSX isn't immune and has slee/wake issues too. Just do a search. Here are some examples:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6754210
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6605926
Congrats on getting the SP3! Can't wait to read more about your experiences with it.Well, I picked up an SP3 yesterday. I've not had time to fully put it through its paces but so far I'm very happy with it. I want to give it time to make sure its a purchase I can live with.
So far, working with it on my lap is fine, I had it on there for hours so problem at all, in fact I'd say it performed better on my lap then my rMBP which would cause my legs to get hot, i.e., the bottom of the laptop gets quite toasty.
The keyboard is indeed inferior to that of the MBP's, I knew that going in. Still, I was hoping for a bit better experience. Its not bad, but the MBP's keyboard is better.
The much maligned trackpad isn't that bad at all, I was fine with it. One oddity is that it had reverse scrolling on it, and no easy way to alter the setting. Very un-microsoft in that sense. A quick google and I found there's an app to adjust it, and I was back off to the races.
Performance seems good but to be honest I've not really done too much other then loading my software.
Battery performance its great so far
Portability, this is the major reason why I bought it and its fantastic.
Well, I picked up an SP3 yesterday. I've not had time to fully put it through its paces but so far I'm very happy with it. I want to give it time to make sure its a purchase I can live with.
So far, working with it on my lap is fine, I had it on there for hours so problem at all, in fact I'd say it performed better on my lap then my rMBP which would cause my legs to get hot, i.e., the bottom of the laptop gets quite toasty.
The keyboard is indeed inferior to that of the MBP's, I knew that going in. Still, I was hoping for a bit better experience. Its not bad, but the MBP's keyboard is better.
The much maligned trackpad isn't that bad at all, I was fine with it. One oddity is that it had reverse scrolling on it, and no easy way to alter the setting. Very un-microsoft in that sense. A quick google and I found there's an app to adjust it, and I was back off to the races.
Performance seems good but to be honest I've not really done too much other then loading my software.
Battery performance its great so far
Portability, this is the major reason why I bought it and its fantastic.
Congrats! I know that it has been a long journey to get to this point. Enjoy!Well, I picked up an SP3 yesterday. I've not had time to fully put it through its paces but so far I'm very happy with it. I want to give it time to make sure its a purchase I can live with.
So far, working with it on my lap is fine, I had it on there for hours so problem at all, in fact I'd say it performed better on my lap then my rMBP which would cause my legs to get hot, i.e., the bottom of the laptop gets quite toasty.
The keyboard is indeed inferior to that of the MBP's, I knew that going in. Still, I was hoping for a bit better experience. Its not bad, but the MBP's keyboard is better.
The much maligned trackpad isn't that bad at all, I was fine with it. One oddity is that it had reverse scrolling on it, and no easy way to alter the setting. Very un-microsoft in that sense. A quick google and I found there's an app to adjust it, and I was back off to the races.
Performance seems good but to be honest I've not really done too much other then loading my software.
Battery performance its great so far
Portability, this is the major reason why I bought it and its fantastic.
Congrats! I know that it has been a long journey to get to this point. Enjoy!
Well, I picked up an SP3 yesterday. I've not had time to fully put it through its paces but so far I'm very happy with it. I want to give it time to make sure its a purchase I can live with.
So far, working with it on my lap is fine, I had it on there for hours so problem at all, in fact I'd say it performed better on my lap then my rMBP which would cause my legs to get hot, i.e., the bottom of the laptop gets quite toasty.
The keyboard is indeed inferior to that of the MBP's, I knew that going in. Still, I was hoping for a bit better experience. Its not bad, but the MBP's keyboard is better.
The much maligned trackpad isn't that bad at all, I was fine with it. One oddity is that it had reverse scrolling on it, and no easy way to alter the setting. Very un-microsoft in that sense. A quick google and I found there's an app to adjust it, and I was back off to the races.
Performance seems good but to be honest I've not really done too much other then loading my software.
Battery performance its great so far
Portability, this is the major reason why I bought it and its fantastic.
Well, I picked up an SP3 yesterday. I've not had time to fully put it through its paces but so far I'm very happy with it. I want to give it time to make sure its a purchase I can live with.
So far, working with it on my lap is fine, I had it on there for hours so problem at all, in fact I'd say it performed better on my lap then my rMBP which would cause my legs to get hot, i.e., the bottom of the laptop gets quite toasty.
The keyboard is indeed inferior to that of the MBP's, I knew that going in. Still, I was hoping for a bit better experience. Its not bad, but the MBP's keyboard is better.
The much maligned trackpad isn't that bad at all, I was fine with it. One oddity is that it had reverse scrolling on it, and no easy way to alter the setting. Very un-microsoft in that sense. A quick google and I found there's an app to adjust it, and I was back off to the races.
Performance seems good but to be honest I've not really done too much other then loading my software.
Battery performance its great so far
Portability, this is the major reason why I bought it and its fantastic.
I'd personally go with the i5, since the SP3's rather iffy heat management means the faster processor is more likely to be throttled while being taxed, mooting any computational advantages it has.
Yeah, you might be able to eek out a little more performance with the i7, especially if you hammer the CPU in quick bursts, rather than long sustained periods, but it's not enough to justify the $250 added cost in my opinion.
Battery life seems to have taken a hit lately over one of the last updates or so. I used to get about 8-8.5hrs, now I get about 6.
Still acceptable for me since I really don't need battery power much. There are complaints about this on the surfacenet forums.