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[Lone_Prodigy]

A nearby retailer is clearing out SP2's (i5, 64GB) for $600. Not bad. That's about $300 off?

EDIT: Just saw the Groupon deal. Wish I had a US address.

 

[Drifters]

I'm in heaven.

Got the Blue Type Cover, Docking station and DP to HDMI dongle. Thing screams!

 

[RayStorm]

So why the hell are the fans on my surface turning into overdrive/the cpu starting to get worked when I'm not doing anything with it for several minutes? Is it some miscofigured windows defender or update service that thinks "device idle - can do something now any fucking annoy my owner"?

Has anyone recently had a problem with system interrupts taking up 20-25% of CPU? I know it was an older issue, but I hadn't experienced it until this past week.

You can amend this by permanently having either the audio recorder or the recording devices open.

 

[SerTapTap]

Almost to my dismay, Firefox seems to solve almost all my Chrome related issues (randomly stuck at 25% CPU forcing the fans on at all times, shitty touch, gifs killing perf). Anyone got tips for getting used to firefox after half a decade of Chrome? I dunno why, but aside from gifs (a universal problem) Chrome is pretty shitty on the SP3. Touch is bad, perf is bad, randomly uses too much CPU, I can't handle it anymore.

 

[Husker86]

Almost to my dismay, Firefox seems to solve almost all my Chrome related issues (randomly stuck at 25% CPU forcing the fans on at all times, shitty touch, gifs killing perf). Anyone got tips for getting used to firefox after half a decade of Chrome? I dunno why, but aside from gifs (a universal problem) Chrome is pretty shitty on the SP3. Touch is bad, perf is bad, randomly uses too much CPU, I can't handle it anymore.

I thought so too...until I checked the performance monitor when my fans were randomly on when they shouldn't be and found Firefox had my CPU at full clock and using 30% for no reason. I switched back to Chrome because if I'm going to get random CPU spiking, I might as well do it on the browser I'm integrated into.
I try to use IE more, it's the only smooth browser on my SP3. Still, it probably makes up only 10% of my browser usage.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Almost to my dismay, Firefox seems to solve almost all my Chrome related issues (randomly stuck at 25% CPU forcing the fans on at all times, shitty touch, gifs killing perf). Anyone got tips for getting used to firefox after half a decade of Chrome? I dunno why, but aside from gifs (a universal problem) Chrome is pretty shitty on the SP3. Touch is bad, perf is bad, randomly uses too much CPU, I can't handle it anymore.

dunno, i just always used Firefox.

 

[Nintendad]

I'm torn about if I should get a pro 3 or wait and get a Pro 4

 

[wilflare]

you guys really make me wanna get one...

 

[Drifters]

Start screen with live tiles on the Surface + secondary monitor as primary ANDDDDD Split apps!? HOLY SHIT I AM IN HEAVEN!!! *hugs windows 8.1*

 

[Alpha_eX]

I bought a Surface Pro 3 i5 128GB and have noticed severe colour banding and terrible quality video through netflix, to the point it looks like I'm watching a full screen gif.

Is this a known issue, I have no issues with my connection, I can stream in full HD but it looks worse than 360p

 

[Corgi]

weirdly enough new macbook announcement makes me appreciate my surface pro 3 more lol.


similar shitty keyboard, thin design, but not as thin as the surface, $70 port to even use usb?

 

[Schlep]

It's frustrating that the MacBook will sell like crazy, while being an inferior product. I'd take a Surface Pro 3 over it every single day of the week. I'd probably even take a SP3 over the 13" MBP simply because of the portability and touchscreen/stylus.

All today's MacBook announcement did for me was increase my interest in what MS will do with the SP4.

 

[dLMN8R]

It's frustrating that the MacBook will sell like crazy, while being an inferior product. I'd take a Surface Pro 3 over it every single day of the week. I'd probably even take a SP3 over the 13" MBP simply because of the portability and touchscreen/stylus.

All today's MacBook announcement did for me was increase my interest in what MS will do with the SP4.

MacBooks do sell well, but not exhorbitantly so. For example, last quarter's record results put them at 5.5 million macs - that includes Mac Pros and iMacs, not just laptops.

Gartner estimates that Lenovo sold around 16 million PCs in the same quarter. HP close to that. Dell above 10 million.


MacBooks put up great numbers, at a much higher average selling price, and with growth outpacing the PC industry, but it's not like iPhone or iPad numbers at all.

 

[RoyalLaFlame]

The Surface Pro 3 is a better product (I really wish I had one). It baffles me how that new MacBook will sell well... 1200$ for that? Really? Apple always gets a free pass I guess.

 

[SerTapTap]

My SP3 doesn't seem to be sleeping properly--I THINK it's chrome's fault, as closing chrome before usually seems to work. But is there any way to confirm what's making it stay awake? Android lets you see wake lock stats but I don't know how to do that for Windows.

 

[n64coder]

My SP3 doesn't seem to be sleeping properly--I THINK it's chrome's fault, as closing chrome before usually seems to work. But is there any way to confirm what's making it stay awake? Android lets you see wake lock stats but I don't know how to do that for Windows.

Have you tried using powercfg?

I think opening a command prompt and running

"powercfg -a"
and
"powercfg -requests"

will show what is preventing the sleep.

I have seen that in the past that Chrome would prevent my desktop from sleeping. I didn't look into the cause because it was easier to shut it down.

 

[Corgi]

I really do hope they release a new keyboard with 4 that works with 3. 3's is fine, but there is definitely room for improvement.

 

[SerTapTap]

I really do hope they release a new keyboard with 4 that works with 3. 3's is fine, but there is definitely room for improvement.

I imagine the 12" 3:2 form factor will remain. The 4's form factor is great.

What don't you like about it? I don't like the trackpad (and never have, possibly never will) but the keys are fine aside from being limited by their very size. A single button FN toggle might be my only wishlist item for the keys, not sure how else they could be improved without being too big. Also, if at all possible, a Trackpoint nipple mouse would be great but I dont' think it'd work on a flat device.

Have you tried using powercfg?

I think opening a command prompt and running

"powercfg -a"
and
"powercfg -requests"

will show what is preventing the sleep.

I have seen that in the past that Chrome would prevent my desktop from sleeping. I didn't look into the cause because it was easier to shut it down.

Oh right, I did that before when my desktop would randomly wake up...then when I got my new motherboard it stopped sleeping altogether. Sigh. Thanks, I'll check it out, sounds like it's chrome though. Canary fixed my gif problems with Chrome but it still locks up, uses too much CPU and has other problems. Firefox is looking more tempting. I hope Spartan doesn't suck, too.

 

[Corgi]

I imagine the 12" 3:2 form factor will remain. The 4's form factor is great.

What don't you like about it? I don't like the trackpad (and never have, possibly never will) but the keys are fine aside from being limited by their very size. A single button FN toggle might be my only wishlist item for the keys, not sure how else they could be improved without being too big. Also, if at all possible, a Trackpoint nipple mouse would be great but I dont' think it'd work on a flat device.

Oh right, I did that before when my desktop would randomly wake up...then when I got my new motherboard it stopped sleeping altogether. Sigh. Thanks, I'll check it out, sounds like it's chrome though. Canary fixed my gif problems with Chrome but it still locks up, uses too much CPU and has other problems. Firefox is looking more tempting. I hope Spartan doesn't suck, too.

not sure. maybe more spacing between keys, slightly more cratered keys. While its perfectly useable, something about using the keyboard feels... unpleasant? Hard to quantify.

 

[commish]

It's frustrating that the MacBook will sell like crazy, while being an inferior product. I'd take a Surface Pro 3 over it every single day of the week. I'd probably even take a SP3 over the 13" MBP simply because of the portability and touchscreen/stylus.

All today's MacBook announcement did for me was increase my interest in what MS will do with the SP4.

SP4 is going to be so hot. SO HOT.

 

[TKR92]

SP4 is going to be so hot. SO HOT.

I need a second job for SP4 greatness. XD

 

[Corgi]

SP4 is going to be so hot. SO HOT.

hope not. SP3 already gets pretty hot running stupid chrome :3

 

[Tangeroo]

hope not. SP3 already gets pretty hot running stupid chrome :3

Have you tried installing the h264ify extension?

From Reddit:

The main issue with Chrome at present is video playback, on YouTube 1080p videos CPU demand is close to 48% and kills your battery in just a couple of hours (IE only uses 4%). By default, YouTube streams VP8/VP9 encoded video. However, this can cause problems with less powerful machines because VP8/VP9 is not typically hardware accelerated.

The main issue is Google's use of VP9 codec for video playback instead of h.264. H.264 is integrated in to most hardware and keeps CPU loads to a minimum. VP9 is not and relies on high cpu loads to decode video. By default, YouTube streams VP8/VP9 encoded video. However, this can cause problems with less powerful machines because VP8/VP9 is not typically hardware accelerated. H.264 is commonly hardware accelerated by GPUs, which usually means smoother video playback and reduced CPU usage. This brilliant person has created a Chrome extension that forces Chrome to playback in H.264 instead of VP9 reducing Chrome CPU to 4%, saving you battery.

 

[Drifters]

Yeah I just switched back from Chrome to Firefox and the CPU and memory haven't spiked in days. Chrome is a turd.

 

[hwalker84]

SP4 is going to be so hot. SO HOT.

I love my Surface Pro 3 way more than I thought (I got my company to buy me one for my home setup). The damn thing is amazing. When the 4 comes out I think I may turn this thing in and buy my own depending on the upgrades.

 

[commish]

I love my Surface Pro 3 way more than I thought (I got my company to buy me one for my home setup). The damn thing is amazing. When the 4 comes out I think I may turn this thing in and buy my own depending on the upgrades.

I'll definitely be moving to the SP4 when it comes out.... if gaming performance and battery life are somewhat improved. I always want a better battery for everything, and I'd love to be able to make a bigger dent in my Steam backlog on this. I'm also interested in moving to Win10... We'll see how much it costs and how much the delta is between SP3.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I hope I can save enough in time for the Pro 4.

 

[SerTapTap]

I'll definitely be moving to the SP4 when it comes out.... if gaming performance and battery life are somewhat improved. I always want a better battery for everything, and I'd love to be able to make a bigger dent in my Steam backlog on this. I'm also interested in moving to Win10... We'll see how much it costs and how much the delta is between SP3.

Win 10 will be cool but the SP3 will surely be able to upgrade for free without issues

 

[Drifters]

I don't get all the people waiting for the SP4 when the SP3 is amazing.

 

[SerTapTap]

Yeah, Chrome was keeping the SP3 from sleeping, works fine if I close chrome before turning off the screen. Quelle surprise, Chrome's been nothing but trouble on this.

I don't get all the people waiting for the SP4 when the SP3 is amazing.

The surface's release schedule has been too fast and (at least RTs, not usually pros) price drops too common, MS trained some people to just wait and never buy. They need to stop making RT (I think they have) and go to an annual or less frequent update schedule. And possibly have a more formal schedule.

 

[TKR92]

I don't get all the people waiting for the SP4 when the SP3 is amazing.

I still have issues with heat & fan noise.

 

[Schlep]

I don't get all the people waiting for the SP4 when the SP3 is amazing.

I've got the SP3 and it is the best computer I've ever owned. That said, I'm also a tech whore and always want to see the latest and greatest.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Got my Surface Pro 3 (i7) for work. Only real issues I'm having are with external displays. My two Dell U2713HM monitors are 2560x1440 but for some reason only output that over Display port. So right now I have a Dell "dock" plugged into my surface dock with one display plugged into it (getting full resolution, but the dock makes it a bit laggy) and my other going VGA to mini display port adapter to the Surface dock, which means it won't output the full resolution.

I'm trying to order a display port to mini display port adapter to see if that works for getting both at full resolution, but I'll still have the slight lag in the one going through the Dell dock, unless there is some way to get two display port feeds into the surface dock.

Sigh.

 

[SerTapTap]

Got my Surface Pro 3 (i7) for work. Only real issues I'm having are with external displays. My two Dell U2713HM monitors are 2560x1440 but for some reason only output that over Display port. So right now I have a Dell "dock" plugged into my surface dock with one display plugged into it (getting full resolution, but the dock makes it a bit laggy) and my other going VGA to mini display port adapter to the Surface dock, which means it won't output the full resolution.

I'm trying to order a display port to mini display port adapter to see if that works for getting both at full resolution, but I'll still have the slight lag in the one going through the Dell dock, unless there is some way to get two display port feeds into the surface dock.

Sigh.

Pretty sure your only problem here is the VGA to miniDP. Just use two mini DP to DP cables, one in the SP3's port, one in the Surface Dock's port. You can also daisy chain if they have DP 1.2 out, but I think that's only required for 3 monitors. Not sure why you're using the Dell dock at all. I haven't tried 2 displayport monitors and don't have the dock to try anyway, but everything I've read seems to indicate that should work fine

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Pretty sure your only problem here is the VGA to miniDP. Just use two mini DP to DP cables, one in the SP3's port, one in the Surface Dock's port. You can also daisy chain if they have DP 1.2 out, but I think that's only required for 3 monitors. Not sure why you're using the Dell dock at all. I haven't tried 2 displayport monitors and don't have the dock to try anyway, but everything I've read seems to indicate that should work fine

Ah good point. I am ordering two from the work folks now.

The only other issue I've noticed is the Surface won't drive both of those monitors at that resolution AND another monitor. Whenever I hook up a third 1080p monitor it drops the resolution of both of the other monitors. Not a huge deal. I'll stick to two externals for now.

 

[SerTapTap]

Ah good point. I am ordering two from the work folks now.

The only other issue I've noticed is the Surface won't drive both of those monitors at that resolution AND another monitor. Whenever I hook up a third 1080p monitor it drops the resolution of both of the other monitors. Not a huge deal. I'll stick to two externals for now.

Yeah, I think it's 3 at 1080p, 2 at 1440p, 1 at 4k. IT seems simple for a desktop, but it really is a lot of pixels to push.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I don't get all the people waiting for the SP4 when the SP3 is amazing.

I'm still on my SP2. When I want to write on my SP2, I pull the S-Pen out of my Galaxy Note II and use it on my SP2. I don't have to carry a giant pen around with me which doesn't fit inside my tablet just to write on it. Feels good man.

 

[SerTapTap]

I'm still on my SP2. When I want to write on my SP2, I pull the S-Pen out of my Galaxy Note II and use it on my SP2. I don't have to carry a giant pen around with me which doesn't fit inside my tablet just to write on it. Feels good man.

Fitting inside would be nice, but probably not possible with a properly sized pen (sorry gents but the size of your pen is important), it doesn't add that much size to the SP3 either with the pen loop, not like it fits in your pocket. I do hope the SP4 has a better pen storage solution even if it's just better magnetic holding or a proper, non-stick-on loop for the pen. Of course it'd be amazing if they made it fit inside the SP4, but the SP3 is actually thinner than the pen already so I don't see that ever happening.

I'm actually extremely glad they've kept ergonomics in mind for the pen over making it insertable. A stylus is okay in a pinch but is absolutely not a pen.

 

[Nintendad]

I was looking to do some light gaming and do a podcast. Would the Surface Pro 3 i7 be a good thing for me to get?

 

[Corgi]

I was looking to do some light gaming and do a podcast. Would the Surface Pro 3 i7 be a good thing for me to get?

wait a bit. new surface should be coming out in the next few months.

 

[Rehynn]

So, my i5 SP3 should arrive sometime next week, and I need some advice. At work, I have a monitor and a keyboard + mouse that I can use with the SP3, so I think I'm all set.
At home, however, I don't really have a desk to builda desktop setup on (I have a very small apartment), but I do have a 42" Samsung LED TV. Would it make sense to use it as an external display for the SP3? It would definitely be super comfortable, I'm just wondering if there might be some issues that I'm not aware of.

 

[RayStorm]

Does anyone else have the problem with their Surface 3 occasionally not waking up from sleep/hibernation? It seems to become a fairly regular occurency with mine:
After putting it to hibernate, the screen does not turn on again ,when I try to awake it. The only signs of life is the light emitting from the type cover when touching it. I then have to forcefully shut it down (15sec press of power button) and turn it on again.. which obviously is not what I want to do.

Also it seems to have some kind of insomnia, I have found no logic to it, but when I put it to hibernation, it often times wakes up again immediately. Now you might think, it's me touching a button on the type over, but all accessories (type cover, logitech trackball and pen) are set to not wake the device up. Why does it happen? Does it happen to anyone else at all?

At home, however, I don't really have a desk to builda desktop setup on (I have a very small apartment), but I do have a 42" Samsung LED TV. Would it make sense to use it as an external display for the SP3? It would definitely be super comfortable, I'm just wondering if there might be some issues that I'm not aware of.

Just that the resolution of your TV won't match that of the surface, so if you don't extend your displays and use the TV as secondary display, windows won'T correctly remember the position and size of your programs.

 

[Rehynn]

Just that the resolution of your TV won't match that of the surface, so if you don't extend your displays and use the TV as secondary display, windows won'T correctly remember the position and size of your programs.

Thanks, I'll definitely give it a try then.

 

[dLMN8R]

Does anyone else have the problem with their Surface 3 occasionally not waking up from sleep/hibernation? It seems to become a fairly regular occurency with mine:
After putting it to hibernate, the screen does not turn on again ,when I try to awake it. The only signs of life is the light emitting from the type cover when touching it. I then have to forcefully shut it down (15sec press of power button) and turn it on again.. which obviously is not what I want to do.

Also it seems to have some kind of insomnia, I have found no logic to it, but when I put it to hibernation, it often times wakes up again immediately. Now you might think, it's me touching a button on the type over, but all accessories (type cover, logitech trackball and pen) are set to not wake the device up. Why does it happen? Does it happen to anyone else at all?

Are you using the Windows 10 tech preview?

 

[RayStorm]

Are you using the Windows 10 tech preview?

No, I'm on 8.1.

 

[Blablurn]

I wanted to buy a Surface around summer.

Does the throttling inside the surface pro 3 still exist?

 

[SerTapTap]

I wanted to buy a Surface around summer.

Does the throttling inside the surface pro 3 still exist?

Yes, though depending on who you ask it's pretty greatly exaggerated. Whether it matters depends entirely on what you use it for. Expect perf of a solid business laptop in a much smaller form factor and you'll be about right on the money. It is not and will never be a Razer Blade.

 

[Blablurn]

Yes, though depending on who you ask it's pretty greatly exaggerated. Whether it matters depends entirely on what you use it for. Expect perf of a solid business laptop in a much smaller form factor and you'll be about right on the money. It is not and will never be a Razer Blade.

Yeah, I guess you're right. I should definitely not see it as a gaming device.

I started thinking about buying a Windows 8 tablet some weeks ago because im moving abroad and i dont wanna bring my 17" laptop with me. too much weight.

I started with some humble 200€ devices but somehow ended up with the idea of getting a surface. i still have time till summer. so lets see what ms is going to do until then.

maybe there will be some sweet deals too. unfortunately they are not so frequent here in germany.

 

[RayStorm]

Does anyone else have the problem with their Surface 3 occasionally not waking up from sleep/hibernation?

Also it seems to have some kind of insomnia, I have found no logic to it, but when I put it to hibernation, it often times wakes up again immediately. Now you might think, it's me touching a button on the type over, but all accessories (type cover, logitech trackball and pen) are set to not wake the device up. Why does it happen? Does it happen to anyone else at all?

I think I solved the insomnia-issue! Apparently, even when the touchpad is disabled (in mouse options), if a mouse is connected, it is in fact able to wake the device up. And apparently I forgot to disallow this for the touchpad. Oh well. One down, one to go.

 

[Dash27]

They cut prices on these again.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-chops-price-on-surface-pro-3-tablets-again/

Surface Pro 4 should be coming pretty soon.