I considered this, but I wasn't confident I could remap a bluetooth device nicely.
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 announced: "better in nearly every way" (The Verge)
- Thread starter Anton Sugar
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What about a Bluetooth presenter remote? The kind you use for PowerPoint presentations. Some of those might have a few extra buttons on. Or a wiimote has 9 buttons and connects via Bluetooth
Have any of you had any problems with performance while running on an external monitor? Usually I can run Blender and Unity just fine but the frame rate seems to drop through the floor if I use an external HDMI 1080p display (via adapter). It's even slow if I set it as the only display, which makes no sense to me.
Looks like pen tapering has been improved for the Surface Pro 4 with the July update.
http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/20...-pen-tapering-issue-in-surface-pro-4-and-book
http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/20...-pen-tapering-issue-in-surface-pro-4-and-book
ZackieChan
Member
Anyone know of a good PDF Editor that functions as well as Preview on Mac? The lack of that is driving me nuts on my new Surface Pro.
Any updates to pen performance are welcome. Wish they could fix the squiggly lines when drawing slowly but I think that's inherent to N-Trig. iPad Pro does better but it might just be using software smoothing.
I'm curious about the squiggles you mention. It sounds like every pen, and this is normally covered by a little software smoothing. I doubt any iOS apps let you draw with entirely unfiltered input.
Drawboard?
ZackieChan
Member
Can I, for example, grab one page from one PDF and merge it into the middle of another? I do that all the time for contracts.
Can I add a signature? Can I fill in forms, which aren't set up as PDF "forms"?
EDIT: Eh, it pretty has it all BUT being able to merge PDFs etc. That sucks, looks like you'd have to use another program for that specifically.
Like, you can easily add a new page, but you can't paste a .PDF page into it.
I'm considering buying one for my girlfriend who loves to draw and is honestly quite talented. I bought her the manga creations software that another GAF thread said was on sale and want to get her a tablet/laptop w/ pen to compliment it.
Is the SP4 good? I keep reading that it has a TON of issues. Bricking... Blue screens... Battery fails... Etcetera. Have these been fixed with the recent firmware updates, or should I look elsewhere for my girlfriend?
Planning on getting the 128/4 RAM/i5 model.
Read through your post history... Do you work for Lenovo or something?
Is the SP4 good? I keep reading that it has a TON of issues. Bricking... Blue screens... Battery fails... Etcetera. Have these been fixed with the recent firmware updates, or should I look elsewhere for my girlfriend?
Planning on getting the 128/4 RAM/i5 model.
Read through your post history... Do you work for Lenovo or something?
AuthenticM
Member
I swear, every time this thread appears on the first page, I think it's the announcement of the 2016 Surface Pro. Please change its title.
-COOLIO-
The Everyman
not until november most likely.
Hahaha yeah I also assume it's an announcement for the next Surface conference.
Earthanoid
Member
I've been using a Logitech gamepad. It works okay, certain keybindings don't work (I haven't figured out how to bind the Alt button to something) but for most other stuff it works. I've been considering getting a Steam controller since supposedly you can bind any keyboard key to the buttons.
SP4 is amazing.
I've had a few issues with my pen but Microsoft's customer service is probably the best I've ever dealt with (they've sent me two free replacement pens just from starting a chat on their support site). I think they realize Surface is very important for the company going forward and they are making sure their customers are happy.
As far as I can tell, most of the software issues people were having are gone at this point.
Thank you for the response!
Seems out of the negative reviews, the thing that stands out most is that it has a rather poor battery life. I think my girlfriend can manage with that compared to breaking issues that thankfully seem to be all cleared up now.
Although now I'm going back and forth. Should I be getting this, or the cheapest model of the Surface Book instead? They both really seem to accomplish the same thing to me... Although Surface Book is more powerful, but not quite as portable? Perhaps that's the difference?
What's the better device for art-focused programs and uses?
Thank you for the response!
Seems out of the negative reviews, the thing that stands out most is that it has a rather poor battery life. I think my girlfriend can manage with that compared to breaking issues that thankfully seem to be all cleared up now.
Although now I'm going back and forth. Should I be getting this, or the cheapest model of the Surface Book instead? They both really seem to accomplish the same thing to me... Although Surface Book is more powerful, but not quite as portable? Perhaps that's the difference?
What's the better device for art-focused programs and uses?
Honestly, if battery life is your worry, go for the Surface Pro 4. When you put the Book in Tablet mode (detaching it) it doesn't last very long. You can still charge it in such mode though.
Pretty much, the dGPU and the integrated GPU in the i7 are very close, so unless you REALLY want to perform well with last generation's games, then below is the only reason why you should consider the Book (and why I have one):
Dat Keyboard
ZackieChan
Member
Battery life of around 3 hours is pretty awful. I was hoping for much more. It's really the only disappointment about my SP4, but it's a big one.
Got the Shakes
Member
Battery life isn't as good as I wanted it to be, but I can get 5-6 hours out of it daily. Only time it's as low as 3 hours for me is if I using Steam streaming.
ZackieChan
Member
Really? I wish. I need to do some more exact checking and I'll see. 5 hours would be great. I just have chrome, outlook and word going.
Dont set brightness to 100% when u run on battery
BeforeU
Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
Dont use chrome man. Its awful on W10. Firefox or Edge when extensions are supported later this month.
Got the Shakes
Member
He's right. Chrome is terrible on battery. If you're doing a good amount of web surfing that's likely what is killing your battery.
Bought the SP4 for my girlfriend just now. She's SO happy! 
Also go the Xbox One that they said I can return in 30 days and get the full refund value for $279. That's...really cool.
Got the warranty, Office 365, the keyboard, and 128 extra microSD storage. Total cost, with tax, $1400. After returning the Xbox that will be closer to $1100. Score, I say!
And she's so excited.
Also go the Xbox One that they said I can return in 30 days and get the full refund value for $279. That's...really cool.
Got the warranty, Office 365, the keyboard, and 128 extra microSD storage. Total cost, with tax, $1400. After returning the Xbox that will be closer to $1100. Score, I say!
And she's so excited.
Bought the SP4 for my girlfriend just now. She's SO happy!
Also go the Xbox One that they said I can return in 30 days and get the full refund value for $279. That's...really cool.
Got the warranty, Office 365, the keyboard, and 128 extra microSD storage. Total cost, with tax, $1400. After returning the Xbox that will be closer to $1100. Score, I say!
And she's so excited.
Cool... Someone asked about gaming on it and there are a few posts I made in this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1244185
Either way, enjoy.
Yeah, the battery isn't great. A few things have helped me a lot.
- Changing the power button to Hibernate instead of sleep. (apparently not as necessary now, but I'm pretty used to it now)
- Delete Chrome. This was gobbling battery and RAM, both of which are a premium on my 4GB SP4.
- Watch out for background processes. Some of these file syncing apps like Dropbox can be pretty greedy on battery.
Some interesting tips/hacks for the SP4. I'm really tempted to try this out to get that 1378x912 resolution option.
Patrick Young
Member
Sampled one as a candidate to roll out to employees in the field. It's a fast machine and looks beautiful, but it's ultimately a bad idea to deploy tablets that cannot be easily opened. Our demo unit did a bad Windows update and didn't like being recovered so I had to wipe it. It had another issue with USB devices dropping out, even via the dock.
Currently we're testing the HP Elite X2 1012, which deployed via MDT flawlessly. Not as pretty as the Surface Pro 4, but the screws on the back of the tablet were a sight for IT eyes.
Currently we're testing the HP Elite X2 1012, which deployed via MDT flawlessly. Not as pretty as the Surface Pro 4, but the screws on the back of the tablet were a sight for IT eyes.
Shogmaster
Member
12 months ago, this love I have for Lenovo tablets would have surprised me as well. Out of the all Windows tablets I have owned, last two Lenovos have been the most impressive and trouble free.
My Windows mobile tablet list since 2003:
- Toshiba Portege R10 (long gone)
- Toshiba Portege R15 (handed down to sister)
- Toshiba Portege M850 (busted charger port)
- HP Elitebook 2730p (sold)
- HP Elitebook 2740p (limping but still working)
- Fujitsu Lifebook T730 (garbage TN screen. sold)
- Fujitsu Lifebook T902 (still a champ after 4 years of service. Serving now as back up unit)
- Lenovo Thinkpad Helix 2 (used it for a bit before giving it to sister as present)
- Microsoft Surface 3 (Atom too slow. Having trouble selling it)
- Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (Got the i3 one at sale. Returned it)
- VAIO Z Canvas (fast as fuck. Keeping it around as desktop replacement)
- Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 14 20FY0002US (one of my favs but sold it to get a bigger screen unit)
- Lenovo Ideapad Miix 700 (Love this thing. Got it for $550 from Costco. Bargain of the decade for me)
- Dell Inspiron 15 7568 (Love drawing on the 15.6" screen, but miss the quality of the Thinkpad Yoga 14. I'm such a size whore...)
All of the above have active pens and I have used them for work (design, Illustration). I would put Miix 700 and Thinkpad Yoga 14 in the top 3 easily. The third would be T902.
Nuance Power PDF Advanced can do all these things.
I've switched all my game development work to the SP4 i5 4GB. It's pretty fantastic.
Before that I was using an old 8GB i7 vaio z with 1080p screen, which still works fine but the SP4 is so much nicer to work on. I'm doing work in Clip Studio Pro, Unity, Blender, Monodevelop and Photoshop. Nothing very high spec but it's a joyous experience once I got the keyboard cover and bluetooth mouse.
ZackieChan
Member
Awesome, I'll check it out.
I was sketching in the shade outdoors today, which works pretty well. It's really difficult to use when it's too bright out, however.
The 'Action Centre' swipe menu (from the right hand side of the screen) drives me insane, so I picked up an Anti Smudge glove for when I'm doing a lot of colouring and that menu keeps popping out. I love drawing on this thing though.
Thinking about picking up the surface pro 4 for drawing and for my wife to use for when she is traveling for work. She does a lot of travel. Is it great for illustrations and comic book creation? How about 2d animation? I've been doing some intensive research and have read good things about it. My wife currently uses a laptop given to her by her company for spreadsheets, typing up reports, and some video streaming/conference streaming. Will the surface pro 4 be good for all this? If so, what is the best model? Im looking at the i5 8gb version but the wife wants a i7 model.
Shogmaster
Member
i7 is not at all necessary. Save the money and put them towards the keyboard cover.
As for art, if the programs she uses doesn't need Wintab driver for pressure support (e.g. Photoshpp CC, Clip Studio Paint, Sketchbook Pro), SP4 should be fine. Otherwise, she needs a Wacom equipped tablet with proper Wintab driver.
Earthanoid
Member
I had the same issue initially. I ended up enabling Hibernate as well as tuning the CPU power so Turboboost never turns on. That ended up boosting my battery life to 5-6 hours on average, longer depending on what I'm doing. I recently had a long flight and watched about 5 hours worth of movies on it in flight mode and still had about 30% battery left after that.
I tried deleting Chrome as well initially but it made no difference in battery life, so I don't think it makes that much of a difference. YMMV of course but I was on the verge of returning my SP4, but the above steps turned it from terrible battery life to acceptable for me.
Edit: Also to echo Shogmaster, I use the SP4 mainly for art and I have the i5 model. I use Clip Art Studio and Sketchbook Pro and both run fine. With the type cover it'll be fine for doing spreadsheets as well as long as she's at a table or desk. I find extended typing with it on my lap to be tiring.
googleplex
Member
Shogmaster
What windows tablet would you recommend for under a thousand dollars? I really want a good tablet to replace my aging Note 10.1 but I can't justify dropping tons of money on one.
What windows tablet would you recommend for under a thousand dollars? I really want a good tablet to replace my aging Note 10.1 but I can't justify dropping tons of money on one.
Shogmaster
Member
My top Windows penabled tablet bargains atm are:
1. Lenovo Ideapad Miix 700: Core M7/ 8GB of RAM/ 256GB SSD for $800 at Amazon.com or Core M5/ 4GB of RAM/ 128GB SSD for $500 and Core M3/4GB of RAM/ 64GB SSD for $400 at Microcenter.com. 12" 2160x1440 IPS w Wacom AES.
2. Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 14: 14" 1920x1080 IPS w Wacom AES/ Core i5 6200U/ 8GB of RAM/ 256GB SSD/ 2GB nVidia 940M for $900 at Bestbuy.com.
3. Dell Inspiron 15 7568: 15.6" 1920x1080 IPS w Wacom AES/ Core i5 6200U/ 8GB of RAM/ 500GB HDD for $665 at Bestbuy.com. Very easy to upgrade the RAM and HDD to SSD.
googleplex
Member
Shogmaster
Member
These are all Wacom AES. Buy this pen for these models:
https://us-store.wacom.com/Catalog/Stylus/Bamboo/Bamboo-Smart-for-select-tablets-and-2in1-S01
googleplex
Member
Cool. I think i could swing that Dell Inspiron 15 7568 and with those specs I shouldn't have any problems running sketch book pro or manga studio.
Shogmaster
Member
It's plenty powerful for sure. The only caveat with Dell is the huge screen and poor shielding on the power brick makes it a bit more susceptible to palm rejection errors if you plug it into noisy power strip or wall socket. But I've found a simple trick around that.
I've heard a lot of issues with heat and fan noise from the i7, so it sounds like the i5 is the better compromise. I use it all the time for 2D art, should be fine for animation too.
Regarding your wife and travel, the battery isn't amazing on the SP4 compared to ipad etc, but you can easily work around that and the power plug isn't too bulky.
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