-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Announced (12", 3:2 aspect ratio, new stand)
- Thread starter enzo_gt
- Start date
Slayer-33
Liverpool-2
Hell yeah son
Thinking of going i7/256
Shit's going to take a big wet bite out of my ass lol...
The lack of the "high performance" mode isn' t noticeable ?
I' m asking because I' m really interested but I need computational power and I' m often on a desk with a second monitor, so battery isn' t (not always) an issue.
It is awful for gaming, but otherwise I have had no issue. When playing a game with stable 30 FPS, it will suddenly dip to low 20s and not go back up.
I don' t care for gaming, I need it for programming.
I don't think enough has been said about how amazing the kickstand is.
That along with the mag strip on the keyboard allow me to use the device In pretty much every seating position possible. Whether I'm sitting normally, or lounging around like a lazy slob, I can find a position to use it in comfortably. Amazing engineering on this thing.
That along with the mag strip on the keyboard allow me to use the device In pretty much every seating position possible. Whether I'm sitting normally, or lounging around like a lazy slob, I can find a position to use it in comfortably. Amazing engineering on this thing.
Haloid1177
Banned
Gottta say, after using mine all day it really is a vast improvement over the SP1. Keyboard isn't spongy, having no issues with typing this time around, screen size is really nice, much easier to use as a laptop. Hate the lack of pen storage and the cheap idea they came up with for it, but I'm not sure what else there was to do with it, so that's a minor complaint. And even though I understand from a functional standpoint the Windows soft button had to be moved to the right, I'm not sold on the positioning right now. Battery life is a lot better, got about three more hours of general use out of it. Oh, and the charger is so much fucking better. I'm worried the actual charging connector might break, but it's much easier to use than the SP1/SP2 charger.
Well I guess that about sums up a bunch of random first impressions.
Well I guess that about sums up a bunch of random first impressions.
You are not going to notice anything programming. I use Zbrush/Photoshop/Modo on it all day and don't notice a performance dip.
ncsuDuncan
Member
Any word on a car charger for the SP3?
flaxknuckles
Member
Did you update drivers or calibrate it though? Like everyone so far who has used it says there's barely any difference in the writing quality between Wacom and N-Trig.
I've ran all of the system updates if that's what you mean. And I don't think it's a calibration issue: my writing is coming out very shaky and looks almost like those digital credit card signature devices, while on the Surface Pro 1 it looks great. Would calibrating fix that?
It honestly felt like a chore to use. I am taking an international finance class, and having to write the currency symbols while taking notes made me want to pull my hair out.
Zantetsuken
Member
Thanks for the reply!
Robobandit
Member
It requires more pressure to activate than the wacom pen on the surface pro 1 and 2, maybe that's what's making your writing look shaky.
Probably just a matter of what you're used to using. There was some talk of them working on a tool that would let people adjust the pressure curve for the pen (when they were working with Gabe from penny arcade on his issues with the device), so if it's the amount of pressure you need to apply that is making it shaky that might help if they release that.
I actually tried writing harder, and while it was not as bad, it was still sloppy.
Hopefully that pressure customization comes to fruition, but in the mean time I will be returning the SP3 and be content waiting for the SP4 (assuming it becomes usable for me again). It's very disappointing too, because the device really is beautiful and a huge improvement over the old Surface Pros. The larger screen size and non-garbage track pad will be missed.
flaxknuckles
Member
Naw, I meant drivers straight from N-Trig's site.
Ah, I see. Just went on their site and am downloading now. Hopefully it works out.
EDIT: Nope, still just as awful. And pressing harder only helps a little because the stroke is thicker and thus hides the shaking a little better.
Thank you anyway for trying to help.
flaxknuckles
Member
No prob. I hope mine doesn't have these issues when it arrives.
Probably a bad pen?
Robobandit
Member
any chance you could take a screen capture of what your writing looks like on the pro 3?
I don't think mine is behaving that way, but my handwriting itself is kind of bad right now because I'm so used to using a keyboard all the time.
It is pretty awesome. My only fear is that it becomes loose after an extended period of considerable use.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Well you have to decide whether it's worth it for you but in general I think it's a fair price considering how much Photoshop used to cost. This ends up being cheaper in the long run. Plus Lightroom is really great for working with your photos.
Having said that if you just wanted to doodle you could get Sketchbook Express for free but it's obviously not Photoshop.
DataStream
Member
If you want the latest version of Photoshop then the sub is the only way. All the touch enhancements are only going to be available in the latest version. There will be much more done in terms of touch as well, its a big focus area for the team and they are seriously swooning over the SP3.
Something is wrong with your pen imo. Try a replacement pen before you give up. I took notes all day in meetings at work with one note and it worked flawlessly. Looked exactly like my handwriting.
What was the price in the past to get a copy of one or the other? My Google-fu returned conflicting results.
I did try Sketchbook Express but it didn't really fit my needs, unless there's some hidden layer function that I missed (which is totally possible I didn't dig that deep into it).
I wish that GIMP had support for n-Trig because that's about as advanced a program as I need. I do a lot of photography but I'm an amateur so I don't really need complicated tools.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Regular price of CS6 was $699, or $999 for the extended edition. Upgrades were $200.
Lightroom was $150 I think.
That seems very possible. I will swing by the Microsoft Store today after class and try out one of the floor models.
Sure. In a couple hours when I am on break I'll take some examples from yesterday's notes and compare them with my notes from a week ago (written with the SP1).
EDIT: okay, here are some examples of what I am talking about. I tried to pull random segments of my notes so there wasn't any bias in picking the best vs the worst as a sort of confirmation bias:
SP3
SP1
I sold my 13" Mid-2012 MacBook Pro for the Surface Pro 1. The Surface Pro 3 works even better as a laptop replacement.
And yes, very possible. However it is not as good as a standard laptop in that situation.
At ~$120/year that doesn't sound like a bad deal. I just wish I could have 6 month deal. Apparently you have to sign up for 12 months at a time.
Luckily, I can try Ps and Lr for a month each before I decide. See if I get a ton of use out of them.
If all you want to do is sketch, Autodesk Sketchbook pro is like $45 and works great. There is also Manga Studio, etc that go on sale all the time.
flaxknuckles
Member
Right after I unwrap this damn thing I get a OnePlus One invite. wow
Sketchbook Pro works with the new pen on the SP3? I know it's compatible with Manga Studio, I remember seeing that.
Sounds like Sketchbook Pro will probably be a better deal if it works. I guess I have to see how much use I get out of Lightroom.
Yea sketchbook works out of the box with the ntrig. There is a 15 day trial for it you can download and try out.
flaxknuckles
Member
Yeah, I love this device. The N-Trig works great except for the mild screen distortion that occurs when you press the pen too hard. Chrome has great touch support but its dpi scaling sucks and the feature to fix it is disabled in chrome://flags for some reason. All I can really think of that would improve this device is Swiftkey and better touch support on the desktop (I only use Metro for OneNote and Freshpaint).
Oh, and why the hell couldn't they include MS Office on this like they do with the RT devices? Shit is expensive man
Oh, and why the hell couldn't they include MS Office on this like they do with the RT devices? Shit is expensive man
It's a registry setting now in Chrome.
How does it handle Sketchbook Pro and Manga Studio? I know that you went for the 256/8. Do you still think that the 128/4 is more than enough, and that the nTrig is ideal for artwork?
Go to the start screen, search for regedit, go to CURRENT_USERS (something like that) -> Software -> Google -> Chrome -> New Key (makes a new folder) -> Name it "Profile" -> New DWORD (32bit) -> Name it high-dpi-support -> Double click it -> Change 0 to 1 -> Done!
Haven't tried Manga studio but the 4gb version will handle all programs no problem. I used all of those software on the SP2 4gb version and never had a problem.
Kibbles
Member
Help GAF, I can't find the perfect mouse. I need a bluetooth mouse without a dongle that has a physical forward/back button and a mouse wheel. I couldn't stand the arc surface. Amazon searching is coming up with nothing real good. Most I can find that fit my description are low-rated.
This one looked fitting but people say it idles too fast and takes long to restablish connection
This one looked fitting but people say it idles too fast and takes long to restablish connection
Cool, cool. So does it draw as well as the SP2? I've been itching to try out Manga Studio on a Surface, given its new UI being so good for such a layout.
Cool, cool. So does it draw as well as the SP2? I've been itching to try out Manga Studio on a Surface, given its new UI being so good for such a layout.
I like the ntrig more than the wacom on the sp2 due to the ntrig being way more accurate. 256 levels of pressure sensitivity is not an issue in anything I use, I adjusted right away. It will be even better when MS releases the ability to adjust the pressure curve to your liking.
Use native resolution lol.
GIMP 2.8.10 does work with the new WinTab drivers. You just have to activate and adjust the pressure curve in the program. It certainly isn't as nice as Sketchbook Pro or Photoshop, so I'm probably going to end up getting the $10/month CC or the $65 Sketchbook Pro depending on whether or not I like Lightroom all that much for my photography needs.
If anyone knows of any good tweaks to GIMP to make drawing easier I'm all ears. I'd love to save myself a bucket of money.
If anyone knows of any good tweaks to GIMP to make drawing easier I'm all ears. I'd love to save myself a bucket of money.