[Closed] Microsoft surface pro - any owners?

I've not used the recent versions, but a previous employer had a fleet of them (Surface Pro 3 & 4s) and I was very underwhelmed. They seemed very slow when compared to lower spec laptops and the docking stations were temperamental at best. I think the speed issues were due to heat build up - they always seemed to run hot, unable to dissipate heat properly.

They were used in an office environment, so nothing too exciting - word processing, office, etc.

In the end we stopped buying them and everyone went back to "proper" laptops

I've got a surface pro 3 with a core i5 processor and a pro 4 with a core i7 processor.

They're a bit underwhelming, if buying again I wouldn't bother with going for one with a really powerful processor, the mid range processor version is probably the sweet spot. The high end processor can't run at 100%load for more than a few minutes before it throttles itself down to mid range processor speeds due to heat build up, so little point in having it.

In terms of how it works, it's fine. Think if I was buying again I'd get a decent small laptop

 I think the speed issues were due to heat build up – they always seemed to run hot, unable to dissipate heat properly.

Yep.  They are fanless so will throttle back when they are hot.  They are fantastic for light use and for Word and watching moves they are great.  I like them for reading docs when travelling as you can mark up using the pen.  As a power machine they don't cut it.  I've used them and the Lenovo Miix series and like them.  I preferred the Lenovo as you could easily open it to upgrade but I'm not sure they exist any more.  They are pricey for the performance but for size they rock

the mid range processor version is probably the sweet spot

I think I would agree.  I would trade that off against memory.  No real need for a huge SSD if you are on OneDrive

I've got a Surface Book which is pretty good. Probably nicer machines out there for the price but the tablet function is good and I like the pen.

I have the Pro 5 and original surface book, much prefer the surface book.

Doesn't the "Surface Pro" branding cover some quite different devices in terms of power?

The one a friend had a few years ago seemed beautifully made - on a par with Apple - but I find Windows really unintuitive these days and I'm not sure touch improves that. I used an iPad with a decent keyboard case instead of a laptop for a good few months and it was OK but I still found myself much more productive on a MacBook Air. Now I've got an iPhone 11 I find it's large enough that I rarely use the iPad. I'm sure there are some use cases for which a tablet is genuinely better - art? image work? - but it's not anything I do with a computer.

Lots of misinformation here.

They have been around a while and have had many changes internally. Some were unreliable in the past.

Basically get one if you want something ultra-portable that can work as a tablet form factor. Otherwise, don't.

They do work as laptops but it's not as good as a laptop whilst on your lap. But you can plug them into a monitor and keyboard and they work fine. But they are underpowered for the money of course.

Some are fanless, some aren't. Mine has a fan.

For me they are great travelling machines because they really are very light, and if you want to watch TV or say read documentation whilst on a train or plane they are a lot better than a laptop. And they can still do other stuff - I can run eclipse on mine and the full office suite etc. If I had a more powerful one I'd be using Docker etc.

I'd have another, if I could afford a better model than I have now (i5 pro 4 128Gb). That said, the newer models are all more powerful I think.

I’d have another, if I could afford a better model than I have now (i5 pro 4 128Gb). That said, the newer models are all more powerful I think.

You'll be disappointed if you expect to be able to make use of the more powerful processor for more than a few minutes, they overheat and throttle back very quickly.

I originally had the pro 3 with core i5 processor and thought I'd go for a more powerful processor when I got a new one, so went for pro 4 with core i7, but in use it's no quicker than the core i5 because of the throttling

We've one of the first gen Pro 4s, fine for browsing, watching Amazon Video etc. plus using with Zwift (in combination with an ANT+ dongle and 3m cable).

I’ve used them for +5yrs for work. Reasonably powerful, reasonably reliable but their main point is high light / small they are for travelling. Although maybe a bit fragile if dropped. If you don’t need something that maximises portability then a more traditional (and probably cheaper) laptop

Cheers for the replies. Looks like o could probably save myself a few quid and get something a bit better performing and more reliable. Ultra-portability isn’t the biggest factor for me

We have had one for about 6 months. Pro7 i5 128GB.

We are both reasonably digitally savvy but in the last 5-7 years had not felt the need for a personal laptop, desktop or tablet, being happy to use mobiles for internet, communicating, shopping, and general admin, with our quite good Windows 10 touchscreen work issued laptops whenever anything a bit more in depth was needed.

However with my wife going on maternity leave for a year or so, and not wanting to touch get work laptop she decided that we needed something. Couldn't decide on whether to get a laptop, or a tablet, or both.

Thought that a tablet wouldn't be able to offer much more than we do on our phones, and would still be too compromised for the occasional personal document that we would want to produce away from our work computers. To get a laptop that didn't feel inferior to our work ones would be at least £3k, and feel a bit 'corporate', we wouldn't use most of the functionality.

Anyway, after probably too much debate, we settled on a surface. It seems good, but TBH we only use it every few weeks when we remember that we have it, and tend to just default to using phones.

Build quality seems very good.

Some are fanless, some aren’t. Mine has a fan.

Ah didn't realise that.  All of the ones I've ever seen were fanless.  I liked it mainly as it was easy to shove into a small rucksack when cycling around

Often if I have to read stuff for work it's PDF or a website so I can't use an e-reader. So I set the Surface Pro to portrait mode and lie in bed or on the sofa reading. It's a bit heavy for that with the keyboard attached but of course it just pops off.

However I am usually on the work (normal) laptop at home (if I'm not at my desk) because it's better to be sat on the sofa with it on my lap. The SP does work on a lap though.

It's worth noting that the keyboard has two positions - a raised and a flat, where the magnet pops onto the bottom of the display part. The raised position is essential when using on your lap to give it stability, but don't forget to use the flat position on a table because then the keyboard is as solid as your table is which is great.

Great for portability and if you don't mind working of a small screen (many USB docking options available for desktop working).
Impossible to fix yourself if anything internal fails.

I have a work one which has an ARM based processor. The battery life is brilliant, but quite a lot of programmes won't install on it which is a pain. Can't install printer drivers for example for the old office printer.
Fine for working in MS office applications or browsing the web.

Had a 4 and now a 7 with i5. I've never found it to be slow. Love mine for what it is

Underwhelmed is also how I feel about my Surface. I can't remember the specs but it was a near the top of the line in 2017. I found the keyboard to tablet mode transition slow and clunky, the pen a bit meh and overall it's pretty heavy for something with a fairly small screen.

I've recently been using an iPad Pro for similar usage (data collection, emails, internet whilst on trips) and, for my purposes, it is so much superior to the Surface.

I've had an i7-6650 for about 3 years.

It develops screen judder when it gets too hot (and by that, I mean a little warm because the ambient temperature is around 20 degrees and it's doing some really resource-intensive stuff like running outlook). Last summer I had to put it in the fridge for half an hour most days, a couple of times a day on occasion, to calm its precious arse into becoming a mildly functioning £1300 laptop.

The keyboard is annoying because of, including but not limited to: how crap gathers where it snaps onto the screen, iron filings or something magically appear where the magnetic bits are, the 'felty' bit of the outside attracting any minute bit of dust or crap in your laptop bag onto it (ironic for something built on its portability being a feature) and keys randomly not working in the first few minutes of booting up. Like the letter C most lately, which is part of my password so that's mildly irritating, and the shift key. God knows why. They keyboard also feels just cheap and nasty.

It's got one USB port. ONE! In fact pretty much all external ports you may ever need (unless running through a docking station) result in hanging an assortment of dangling attachments from the one USB port to give you an ability to say, have another USC port. Naturally, regular use of hanging stuff of that one port will probably knacker it eventually and being as it appears to be as serviceable as a potato will probably write it off.

It is lightweight though, as mentioned, so it's really easy to pick up and throw out the window.

The end.

I have a pro4 - the touchscreen has been completely bricked and needed replacing, keyboard likewise is fked at the connector and I have to use a separate one, power lead melted and started smoking because I was drawing too much off it on a usb hub.

So the fact I'm still using it, and haven't launched it in a skip, tells you that I think they are really good in use. V well designed, aside from the catching fire and completely breaking down part. I'd honestly buy another more recent one, as I assume they've ironed stuff like this out.

It develops screen judder when it gets too hot (and by that, I mean a little warm because the ambient temperature is around 20 degrees and it’s doing some really resource-intensive stuff like running outlook)

Well, mine is an i5 with 4Gb a generation or two before yours, and it does none of that. My main gripe is that when it's doing stuff like scanning for updates (I have a lot of auto-updating Windows apps installed) the battery life drops quite a bit, but no performance issues. But then, it has a (very nice and quiet) fan.

It really sounds like you should have had a laptop. Surface Pros are a great niche device that sit between laptops and tablets, NOT an equal replacement for either.

It’s got one USB port. ONE!

So, fewer than most laptops but more than most tablets. That's about right I think. Current model has 1xUSB-C and 1xUSB-A.

Got them at work and I can't get over how small the screen is. I wouldn't find it usable if I had one myself. It isn't that I need a massive screen but I hate endless scrolling left and right so see something clearly. That is what really puts me off them.

It really sounds like you should have had a laptop. Surface Pros are a great niche device that sit between laptops and tablets, NOT an equal replacement for either.

I have got a laptop. P50-C-128. Brilliant it is, despite being 5 years old or more probably.

OP was looking to replace their laptop with a Surface Pro and asked for experiences of them. I gave mine - it's shit 🙂

I have a surface go at WFH work with a dock and 2 monitors.

I bought a surface pro, i5 for home. Generally fine with it. Browsing, Tesco shop Adobe lightroom. Swayed by being able to plug it into the dockfor lightroom and Zwift.

The surface pro sees more intense use. I think it's also an i5.

Lightroom in tablet mode is a bonus actually. Makes it easy to sit on the sofa sorting photos etc. I like it.

Ive got a Pro4 at home, i5 sopec and use it both as a laptop and with a docking station and external monitor.

It’s quite good and I like it but the keyboard stopped working recently so now I use an aftermarket Bluetooth one and I prefer my work Del “proper” laptop and also the surface is sealed - really hard to make any kind of upgrades or repairs.

I dropped it hence cosmetically damaged the screen (functionally fine though) so I’d get peanuts for it so I’m keeping it until it dies. When it does I’ll be getting a normal laptop...

I had one at work, and really liked using the pen while presenting with it. For work, it was really useful being windows, as it worked like a laptop with the network and stuff. Performance was OK but not great.

I've got a new iPad Air at home now. For me it's a better tablet AND a better laptop than the surface pro. Neither are as good as a laptop for using on your lap though.

I’ve got a new iPad Air at home now. For me it’s a better tablet AND a better laptop than the surface pro

Downside is it's iOS which limits the software you can get, which may or may not be an issue for you. I mean I'm using Cura 3D, FreeCAD etc on my Surface.

I’ve got a new iPad Air at home now. For me it’s a better tablet AND a better laptop than the surface pro

Downside is it’s iOS which limits the software you can get, which may or may not be an issue for you. I mean I’m using Cura 3D, FreeCAD etc on my Surface.

I agree with you here, if you need windows-only software then the iPad is not so good.

You thought about something else ? MrsF recently bought a Asus Zen Book Duo and got £300 off the list (£1,499 at the moment). i7, Nvidia graphics, 16gb and the two touch screens. Includes a pen as well.

Yes looking at some of the 2in1’s available. The Lenovo & HPs look alright, will check out the Asus you’ve mentioned, thanks.