Overall performance of Intel Core i5
Surface Pro goes beyond our expectations. A cold boot is completed in 8 seconds
or less, which is quite impressive, and apps launched quickly and reacted well.
Performance here is definitely good to have some serious work done, impressions
are backed by our tests. Surface Pro reaches a 4,673-average score in PCMark 7
and 3,811 in 3DMark06, which is able to compare to the similarly technical-specs
Acer Iconia W700.
However, it
should be noted that while running these tests the back of the tablet became
very warm when touching and the little fan in here let us know its presence
with a noisy, high-pitched noise. We rarely heard it during normal use, but
video playback on full screen was enough to make it wake up.
While performance was quite fine, battery
life wasn't. On our standard Windows battery test, in which we fix the display
brightness and repeat a video endlessly to the rundown point, Surface Pro reached
just 3 hours and 46 minutes, despite having a 42.5Wh battery - a 1/3 larger
than the 31.5Wh in Surface RT. That's just 1/3 of the 9 hours and 36 minutes
the Surface RT gained, much lower than the similarly technical-specs W700 (scored
7 hours) and lose every touch-friendly Windows 8 device we've tested till now.
Windows 8 systems - Battery life
·
Microsoft Surface Pro - 3:46
·
Acer Iconia W700 - 7:13
·
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 - 5:32
·
Dell XPS 12 - 5:30
·
Toshiba Satellite U925t - 5:10
·
Sony VAIO Duo 11 - 4:47
·
Acer Aspire S7 - 4:18
·
Lenovo ThinkPad Twist - 4:09
Camera
Like Surface, Surface Pro has 2 720p
cameras, one pointed toward 1 direction. And like Surface RT, they're both
pretty poor. Photos are unbelievably full of noise and the sensor seems completely
unable to manage contrast, resulting in images that are totally diluted or too
dark. It's look like anti-HDR. Video quality is similarly limited and we can't
help but notice a buzzing noise in the background of all the footage we
captured. Is this the CPU fan spinning inside? You be will the judge.
Like
Surface, Surface Pro has 2 720p cameras, one pointed toward 1 direction.
Configuration options and competitors
There's only 1 CPU offered, 1.7GHz Intel
Core i5-3317U, and only a single RAM configuration which is 4GB. Therefore, the
only choice is how much integrated flash storage you want - but this, is also
an easy decision. For 899 USD you can get the 64GB model, but there's only 23GB
available due to the recovery partition and of course the OS itself. If you
want to buy, we'll recommend increasing up to the 128GB model, which has 83GB
free. (Note that you can delete the 8GB recovery partition, which helps you to
have a bit more capacity).
When mentioned the devices you might compare
with, the most direct competition is the 1.000 USD Acer Iconia W700, which has
the same microprocessor combined with the same amount of RAM and storage (4GB
and 128GB). Performance was slightly better here than W700 in most aspects, but
both did well a well job in other’s space. The integrated stand in Surface is
infinitely better than the external clunky, cranky stand Acer packs in, but
Acer's accompanied keyboard is more comfortable than Type Cover – despite being
less mobile. However, it scored 7 hours on the battery test.
There's
only 1 CPU offered, 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U, and only a single RAM
configuration which is 4GB.
We're also blown away with Samsung ATIV
Smart PC Pro (which costs 1,200 USD for a 128GB model with S Pen) and 11.6-inch
convertible Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Ultrabook (starting with 1,500 USD), but as
we've had no chance to review them, we'll delay judgment for a little while.
And of course, you have the most direct
competition for this tablet: Surface with Windows RT. It's 300 USD cheaper and
offers comparable performance with nearly 3 times of battery life, more useful
storage capacity and all in a thinner, lighter package. But, because it's
running RT version of Windows 8, compatibility with legacy apps is well, there
is nothing. You're completely limited to what you can do on the web and to the
very limited selection of RT-compatible apps that have been released. If your intended
using purpose leans more toward casual content consumption, or if you do most
of your work through a browser, these concerns may not bother you.
Conclusion
We're still completely enchanted by the
idea of a full-featured device that can properly stand among the different
respects of increasing productivity and idleness. Sadly, we're still looking
for the perfect combination between the device and OS that not only meet both
tasks, but be good at them. Surface Pro reaches that target as close as we've already
experienced, but it's still compromises at both sides. When trying to increase productivity,
we wish we had a proper laptop and, and when relaxing on the couch, we wish we
had a more finger-friendly desktop interface - though more Windows 8 apps may
solve the problem.
We're
still completely enchanted by the idea of a full-featured device that can
properly stand among the different respects of increasing productivity and
idleness.
That it offers compatibility with the giant
catalog of Windows apps gives this tablet more advantages over the prior
Surface RT, but the thickness, weight and battery life are big minuses. We
believe Microsoft will keep refining Windows 8 to make the OS more
tablet-friendly, and we look for ways to test the dozens of touch-friendly
hybrid and convertible devices released this year, but sadly Microsoft's second
tablet doesn't make us take out our wallets. Not quite yet.
|
Info
·
Product name: Microsoft Surface Pro
·
Price: 899-999 USD
Technical specs
·
Software compatibility: Metro-style apps, all
desktop applications
·
Size: 10.81x6.81x0.53 inches
·
Storage: 64 GB or 128 GB of eMMC/SSD storage
(this isn’t clear yet, sorry)
·
Display: 10.6 inch ClearType display running
at 1920x1080 with 10 point multi-touch
·
Pen support: Includes pen (likely active
digitizer-based but not specified)
·
CPU: Intel Core i5 (third-generation, “Ivy
Bridge”) with Intel HD graphics 4000
·
RAM: 4 GB
·
Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
4.0
·
Cameras: Two 720p HD cameras, front-and
rear-facing
·
Ports: USB 3.0, microSDXC card slot, headset
jack, mini DisplayPort (proprietary), cover port
·
Sensors: Ambient light sensor, accelerometer,
gyroscope, and compass
·
Battery: 42 Wh
Power supply: 48 W (with USB 3.0 port doubling as a powered 5 W
port for accessories)
Advantages
·
Design feels solid
·
Great 1080p screen
·
Good performance
Disadvantages
·
Poor battery life
·
Noisy, troublesome fan
·
Non-optimal experience
Verdict
·
Surface with Windows 8 Pro of Microsoft is the
best tablet running Windows 8 we’ve ever seen, but it still feels like a
compromise when using as a tablet or laptop.
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