Surface Pro, Sick!

[spinedoc77]

Just got home and unboxed my shiny new 128GB surface Pro, this thing is freakin SICK. I know there is a strong undercurrent on here of people who don't like it, I don't care and please don't sully up this thread with how much you hate Microsoft and the surface Pro.

But if anyone else has any questions about it feel free to ask. First impressions, sleek, doesn't feel much heavier than my ipad with it's full cover, nor much thicker. Screen is insanely nice, but had to set DPI to 150%. Type keyboard is extremely useful, the keyboard itself is easy to get used to and I don't feel like I'm compromising from say a MacBook air except the touchpad is a bit inaccurate and small, but that's my only gripe. 89.4gb free hard drive space out of the box, but I plan on getting my 8gb back by moving the partition to a usb drive.

I also got an added bundle, I got the type cover, 1 year Office 365, 2 years accidental damage protection, a nice sleeve, and a screen protector for $200.

 

[laserfox]

I have a surface RT and the main things I miss is pen input. Can you post some writing samples from Both the metro OneNote and desktop OneNote? How is the pressure sensitivity and palm rejection.

Also how much load do you throw at it before the fan kicks in?

 

[sviato]

How much did that whole bundle cost you?

 

[Cod3rror]

Doesn't 150% DPI mess up how Windows looks?

That's what I don't like about 1080p screens, Windows is made for a certain resolution and does not scale well to higher res screens.

 

[spinedoc77]

How much did that whole bundle cost you?

$1200 before tax

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I have a surface RT and the main things I miss is pen input. Can you post some writing samples from Both the metro OneNote and desktop OneNote? How is the pressure sensitivity and palm rejection.

Also how much load do you throw at it before the fan kicks in?

I haven't installed Office yet, the preinstall is 32 bit so I want to reinstall the 64bit version, it won't make much of a difference with 4gb ram but I'm a stickler that way. I know on the Atom powered tablets I've used inking was pretty awesome, smooth with no lag so I'd anticipate just as good on an Ivy bridge CPU. I'll post up more as I install stuff.

Ive been using it for an hour or so, haven't heard the fan kick in yet but I suspect because it's quiet in the first place so it probably has kicked in but I just haven't heard it.

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Doesn't 150% DPI mess up how Windows looks?

That's what I don't like about 1080p screens, Windows is made for a certain resolution and does not scale well to higher res screens.

150%doesn't mess anything up yet, but it's still a tiny bit too small for my old ancient eyes, it's not terrible, but it's definitely one of the things Microsoft needs to optimize, which they said they were working on anyhow. 200% is actually pretty perfect and closer to the ipad IMO, but then it really screws up some stuff like IE10. But certainly this is a valid point and MS hopefully steps up and does something about it.

 

[maflynn]

I'm very much tempted for the surface but the only thing holding me back is the exorbitant price. If the Pro was at the price point of the RT model (and the RT model cheaper) then I'd get the pro model in a heart beat

 

[identity]

Congrats! I played with the 64gb version at BestBuy today and it didn't seem that much heavier than an iPad and it's definitely noticeably lighter than the MBA. The screen is great and the 150% DPI didn't bother me in the 5 minutes that I played around with it.

Which keyboard did you get? The Pro that was displayed at BB had the type cover which I thought was better than the touch cover on the RT at BB.

How hot does it get? Did you delete any unnecessary files/recovery images and how much space is left after you did? Is the Win8 64bit? What's the battery life like so far?

 

[MRU]

Thanks spinedoc77

When you get chance can you let me know how the surface pen performs

 

[pesos]

Loving mine so far. I have a custom Windows 8 Enterprise image with Office 2013 and other apps we use for our clients, so I applied that and was able to do an offline domain join and connect up via DirectAccess. I was not able to get the Surface to boot off my usb stick for some reason, so I did the install from within Windows itself.

Windows 8 unfortunately does not have the Marvell wifi adapter driver built in, but I was able to point it to the Windows.Old folder and load it up. Microsoft needs to get a driver download page up - I couldn't find one off of their Surface support page.

I run at 125% and things are fine sizewise for me, but I have good eyes. Will play around with 150% a bit but I have a feeling it might make certain elements too large. Looking forward to trying out the pen.

 

[spinedoc77]

Playing around with the pen and it's pretty awesome. In OneNote it's smooth, no lag and the handwriting recognition is very quick and accurate. I will install Photoshop elements later on to see how that is, and sketchbook pro also. From early accounts there seems to be an issue with pressure sensitivity in photoshop and it seems the generic Wacom drivers won't work so hopefully that issue gets sorted out.

I used to use an Atom tablet to take notes in seminars all the time and OneNote performed quite nicely even for hours at a time, there would be the slightest lag in handwriting recognition there but on the surface pro that lag doesn't exist.

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Congrats! I played with the 64gb version at BestBuy today and it didn't seem that much heavier than an iPad and it's definitely noticeably lighter than the MBA. The screen is great and the 150% DPI didn't bother me in the 5 minutes that I played around with it.

Which keyboard did you get? The Pro that was displayed at BB had the type cover which I thought was better than the touch cover on the RT at BB.

How hot does it get? Did you delete any unnecessary files/recovery images and how much space is left after you did? Is the Win8 64bit? What's the battery life like so far?

I got the type keyboard, but I think I may grab the touch one as well as I can just throw it in the slip case and decide which one I want to use at will. It doesn't "feel" much heavier than the ipad with a cover, but in all honesty it's not as well balanced IMO, it's wider so it doesn't balance quite as well in one hand, I don't have the sense of confidence holding it one handed like I do with the ipad because of the wide screen and the weight. I think that is certainly one of the trade offs IMO.

As for heat, it is warm pretty much all the time, but nothing uncomfortable in the least. I haven't really pushed it very hard though, but I'm downloading some MMO's right now to see how it performs and I'll let you know just how hot and how loud the fans get.

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I'm very much tempted for the surface but the only thing holding me back is the exorbitant price. If the Pro was at the price point of the RT model (and the RT model cheaper) then I'd get the pro model in a heart beat

Yeah it's a tough call. I sold my MacBook air to get this, and I feel it was a more than worthy replacement, and they are priced almost exactly. A 128 gb ipad isn't that much cheaper, but I still think comparing it to an ipad is wrong.

 

[Rodster]

How about some pics?

 

[RAPTORSKI]

Nice

Post up some pics, I would love to see it!

How does it compare with your Macbook Air?

 

[Sylon]

Would you call this a laptop-replacement option? Also, I heard the Pro allowed for 3rd party installations, so while I know its not a gaming laptop, could you install simple games you buy online (outside of the Windows store)?

 

[spinedoc77]

I'd say it trounces the MacBook air, no contest, but that's just me, I sold my MBA to get this. Games I haven't installed anything, from what I understand the HD4000 video card isn't shabby at all, but it's not a beast either. Other guys on the MS forums have said they are playing things like Diablo 3 and torchlight quite easily. I'll load up something like The Secret World later on, that's pretty graphic intensive, and see how it runs.

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Would you call this a laptop-replacement option? Also, I heard the Pro allowed for 3rd party installations, so while I know its not a gaming laptop, could you install simple games you buy online (outside of the Windows store)?

Absolutely it's a laptop replacement, it's a FULL windows computer. The only caveat is it's not quite as easy to use in your lap due to the setup. Just as with any other desktop or laptop you can install ANY windows program or game on it.

 

[dinggus]

I'm not going to lie, if I wasn't in the Apple bubble that I'm in now, I'd definitely get this. I think Microsoft did a good job, granted you want 128GB and only get what 80GB? Best part is that it's like an actual computer (right?) and you can plug in USB's. I also love the keyboard cover, wish a nice one came out for the iPad.

 

[MuffCabbage]

Do you ever sit back on your couch and type? That along with it being a 3rd gen i5 was what made me worry about whether I would get the Surface Pro when I thought my computer might be busted when I spilled beer on it last night.
I know there is most likely a rigid keyboard base coming or something. I almost think I know which company is producing it too; I may have interviewed with them. They said they were working on a pretty big project with a Fortune 500 software company that hasnt done much hardware before and they have Microsoft listed as a client too. Doesnt mean its a rigid keyboard, but Im 75% sure they are doing something with Microsoft related to Surface.

(And yes, I got my laptop all cleaned up and its working fine now )

 

[scott craft]

I'm very much tempted for the surface but the only thing holding me back is the exorbitant price. If the Pro was at the price point of the RT model (and the RT model cheaper) then I'd get the pro model in a heart beat

There are a couple of Asus Windows 8 tablets on Amazon that are cheaper than the Surface Pro. I don't know how they compare hardware wise, but they are an option. I'm going to try and get the Surface down the road.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

What's the point? Surface Pro has few to none of the advantages of either device category it's competing in. It's very expensive for a laptop yet the cheaper laptops are better in many areas (battery life, performance, peripheral I/O, keyboard/mouse, etc.). It's also extremely expensive for a tablet yet tablets are also better in many areas (battery life, size, screen, pen input, apps, etc.).

This is cool no doubt. But not very practical. It's trying to be everything when it's good at nothing. If I had ~$1000 extra cash lying around, I might try this. But from the reviews I've read, some praising it and others not, it doesn't seem to stack up well at all compared to any competing device on either PC or tablet side.

Nevertheless, I might be wrong (I really looked forward to Surface Pro actually), so if the OP could continue posting about his experiences, I'm very interested in reading about it and I might change my mind.

 

[spinedoc77]

I'm not going to lie, if I wasn't in the Apple bubble that I'm in now, I'd definitely get this. I think Microsoft did a good job, granted you want 128GB and only get what 80GB? Best part is that it's like an actual computer (right?) and you can plug in USB's. I also love the keyboard cover, wish a nice one came out for the iPad.

You get 89.4 gb out of the box, keep in mind you can regain like 8gb if you move the recovery partition to a usb drive bringing you to around 97gb. The Office trial also takes 2-3 gb of space, and you have to count backwards from 119gb (binary).

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Do you ever sit back on your couch and type? That along with it being a 3rd gen i5 was what made me worry about whether I would get the Surface Pro when I thought my computer might be busted when I spilled beer on it last night.
I know there is most likely a rigid keyboard base coming or something. I almost think I know which company is producing it too; I may have interviewed with them. They said they were working on a pretty big project with a Fortune 500 software company that hasnt done much hardware before and they have Microsoft listed as a client too. Doesnt mean its a rigid keyboard, but Im 75% sure they are doing something with Microsoft related to Surface.

(And yes, I got my laptop all cleaned up and its working fine now )

This is definitely a shortcoming if that's how you use your laptop, and I use mine like that occasionally so it's some food for thought. As for the rigid keyboard if you read the Microsoft surface team AMA on Reddit they are hinting very very hard at future peripherals for the magnetic spine, they stated the extra ports there were for more charging which opens up the possibility of a keyboard with an extra battery. I'll bet anything a rigid keyboard with a battery is coming.

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There are a couple of Asus Windows 8 tablets on Amazon that are cheaper than the Surface Pro. I don't know how they compare hardware wise, but they are an option. I'm going to try and get the Surface down the road.

The Atom powered ones are a bit cheaper, but all the Ivy bridge units are about the same or even more expensive.

 

[identity]

Are you planning to hook this up to an external monitor? Also thanks for answering my questions.

 

[maflynn]

The Atom powered ones are a bit cheaper, but all the Ivy bridge units are about the same or even more expensive.

From what I've read, you really want an i5 for performance reasons.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Congrats! I played with the 64gb version at BestBuy today and it didn't seem that much heavier than an iPad and it's definitely noticeably lighter than the MBA.

With the keyboard it is both thicker and heavier than the Macbook Air.

 

[spinedoc77]

What's the point? Surface Pro has few to none of the advantages of either device category it's competing in. It's very expensive for a laptop yet the cheaper laptops are better in many areas (battery life, performance, peripheral I/O, keyboard/mouse, etc.). It's also extremely expensive for a tablet yet tablets are also better in many areas (battery life, size, screen, pen input, apps, etc.).

This is cool no doubt. But not very practical. It's trying to be everything when it's good at nothing. If I had ~$1000 extra cash lying around, I might try this. But from the reviews I've read, some praising it and others not, it doesn't seem to stack up well at all compared to any competing device on either PC or tablet side.

Nevertheless, I might be wrong (I really looked forward to Surface Pro actually), so if the OP could continue posting about his experiences, I'm very interested in reading about it and I might change my mind.

Dunno, it works for me. It's not expensive for an ultrabook, sure you can get a $300 hunk of junk laptop at best buy that weights 5 lbs, but that's not the category I'm in. Logically enough the surface pro costs almost exactly what the 11" MacBook air costs, there is a reason for that.

For me the main reason I got one was I now don't have to carry around a laptop and my ipad anymore. It's true, it has compromises on both ends, it could be thinner and have more battery as a tablet, and it could have a laptop type keyboard, larger screen from the laptop end. But it's all a compromise in the end, and I wanted a FULL windows tablet/laptop which had as much power as really any laptop on the market now. It is a niche product to some degree though, definitely for the power user.

 

[spinedoc77]

Some crappy pics off my IP5, I think you will get better pics off the internet reviews. Some pics next to my ipad with cover. It's really not substantially thicker, especially because you don't need a case to protect the back IMO.

 

[MuffCabbage]

Teachers at my school need to get this instead of trying to write on their iPads for lectures. I need to get this instead of writing out my HW, scanning it, putting it in Word, and making a PDF to turn in. It would replace taking notes on slides that teachers print out or make us print out. I could just annotate on the PDFs.

Shoot.