Your Opinion: Should I buy a Surface Pro 3?


  

13 members have voted

  1. 1. Which One??? (please read the specs & needs)

    • Surface Pro 3
      9
    • HP Envy
      4


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I would appreciate Neowin's opinion. Those who have HPs,Surface Pros,or just like computers.

OK, so I am in an engineering academy at school and one of their requirements is obviously a laptop. Up until now I have been chugging along fine with my Surface (RT, first gen), yet they do require me to upgrade.  Please note I am leaning towards SP3, yet my dad (who has found the HP and loves HP + cheap prices and is always involved in purchasing computers) is insistent on purchasing the 15t from techbargins. NOTE: I already have a touch cover 2 from my Surface. 

 

If I get the SP3, I would purchase the 128/Core i5 Version

 

SP3: $999

HP Envy 15t: $699

 

Needs:

  • Run Autodesk Inventor
  • AutoCAD
  • Revit
  • Office 2013 (I have it on my Surface first gen)
  • Windows 7 or Windows 8

This is the hardware suggestion: However from your experience, does the above software require this? I thought it was overkill but...

  • 500+GB of Hard Drive (I have a ton of 32 GB flash drives)
  • 8GB RAM
  • Intel Xeon i5 or i7 (does this exist?!?, I think they meant core)
  • WiFi
  • OpenGL + DirectX Graphics Card 512MB recommended
  • 1080p output for screen (the Surface Pro should handle this right?)

 

So I want to know from your experience, does Autodesk (the main software needed) require all this, if not what are the proper specs?

 

--------------------------------------

Site:

Envy HP

Envy Tech Bargains deal

Surface Pro 3

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I'm currently finishing the setup of my Surface Pro 3 (8/256) and I'm loving it.

 

Got MS Office 2013, Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 and Lightroom, Steam, VmWare.

 

Working great so far!!! :D  If all goes well, I'm gonna sell my laptop.

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I'm worried that Inventor may require a dedicated GPU?

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I would, as long as it serves your needs (I'm honestly not sure about Inventor... it might not quite have the graphics processing power you want). I think the SP3 is so awesome.

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I'm worried that Inventor may require a dedicated GPU?

 

Autodesk's system requirements for Inventor 2015 says minimum DirectX 10 capability and recommended DirectX 11. It should be fine.

 

I see a post on their discussion forum with someone saying they run it on a Surface Pro 1.

 

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor-products/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Inventor-2015-products.html

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Has anyone ran Inventor on any Surface?

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I'm sorry to say this but You are going nowhere with Inventor and Intel's integrated GPU. If You were doing 2D drafting in AutoCAD Surface could do the job OK, with a larger display attached. For serious 3D work You need a strong 3D workhorse which Surface 3 is not.

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I'm sorry to say this but You are going nowhere with Inventor and Intel's integrated GPU. If You were doing 2D drafting in AutoCAD Surface could do the job OK, with a larger display attached. For serious 3D work You need a strong 3D workhorse which Surface 3 is not.

Now, do you own a Surface Pro 3? I need someone who has tried it. Otherwise someone who has some knowledge of inventor, I haven't used the new version.

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I swear, never in my life have I seen more people that cant make a really simple decision without asking someone to make the decision for them. I wonder if they have the same dificulty choosing their toilet paper....  

 

Ps... Get the SP3 ...

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Now, do you own a Surface Pro 3? I need someone who has tried it. Otherwise someone who has some knowledge of inventor, I haven't used the new version.

I do not own a Surface but we bough several i7 boxes for our company and out of curiosity I disabled(pulled out) R9 Radeon in one of the boxes to see how is the OpenGL working on Intel built in GPU, and it was awful. These were desktop grade CPUs, I can only imagine how bad will the performance be under mobile CPU.

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the pro 3 is a business laptop replacement, it is not a laptop workstation replacement.  You are looking at a laptop workstation.  Something that has not only a good processor (the surface pro 3 does have an i7 in their best model which would be good for your needs), but also has a dedicated graphics card (which not one current surface has).  You are looking at a tank of a laptop, not something that is light and thin.  I have the surface pro and while it does business apps pretty good with it's i5 processor I wouldn't ever think of taxing it with any sort of CAD program.  Even ultrabooks wouldn't be good enough for your needs.

 

I would be looking at the dell precision mobile workstations, hp zbook 17, or hp zbook 15.  the dedicated graphics card is going to be huge with getting your work done...it is comparing dialup to broadband when using CAD programs.

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From the Autodesk site:

 

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert/card?siteID=123112&catID=18254205&id=18844534&product=88&os=32768&hw=290

 

Intel® HD Graphics P4600/P4700 is both recommended and certified for use with Autodesk Inventor 2015 on Windows 8 64-bit.

 

The Core i7 versions have the 5000 series Intel HD Graphics while the i5 versions use the 4400 series.  The 4400 series is actually the same as the 4600 but designed for ultra low power systems:

 

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1793&gid2=1438&compare=intel-hd-graphics-3000-desktop-vs-intel-hd-graphics-4600-desktop

 

Autodesk doesn't specify the 5000 series -- probably because of how new it is.

 

While I don't have direct experience, I'd suspect that a SP3 i5 would do a fine job with Inventor -- and that this might be one of those cases where you might want to spring for the i7.

 

Of course, actual performance will depend on exactly how complex your drawings are -- and only you can speak to that. But considering the raw specs of these systems, I think an SP3 with a large monitor would compare VERY well to a typical mid to upper end desktop system.

 

-Forjo

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I swear, never in my life have I seen more people that cant make a really simple decision without asking someone to make the decision for them. I wonder if they have the same dificulty choosing their toilet paper....  

 

Ps... Get the SP3 ...

Is there something wrong with asking people who have experience?

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