![Surface%20Pro%204-16-970-80[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/HPEEUXE.jpg "Surface%20Pro%204-16-970-80[1].jpg")
It's taunting me. It's teasing me.
I'm contemplating going back to university, and I'm going to need a laptop for that purpose (and some light gaming on the side). Now I could get a cheapo Thinkpad (x220), or I could get a SP4 as the perfect OneNote bitch. Vastly more expensive, but I think it'd be worth it.
As long as it's actually capable of lasting for 3 years +.
Comments?
What about a used x240?
>>51573350
It's less about the performance and power, more about its usefulness in this situation. I love OneNote and plan on basically keeping all of the information, notes and so on in it. A Thinkpad would definitely suck at that, as it'd either limit me to Windows or switching to Evernote. Plus I'd lose the pen input.
what about a shitty used thinkpad?
>>51573390
If you're not completely sure you want something, don't buy it. You will thank yourself later. On the other hand if you're completely sure you want the SP4 and it's worth your money, go for it.
Seems like some weak rational to buy a new toy.
Sure my inner consumer whore was tempted by the Surface Book/Pro4 but then I realised it was a massive waste of money for mediocre performance.
Instead I slapped a $200 960GB SSD in my laptop. Done.
>>51573575
Obviously, yeah. I'm mostly looking for the opinions and experiences of people that have done this before.
As I see it I could either get a Thinkpad, slap a unix distro on that and save a lot of money, or I could get a really good laptop (XPS 13), or I could get a Surface that's fantastic for OneNote but might struggle in other areas. Comfy computing in bed with tablet mode is a plus.
If you don't want to do any gaming on it, aside from old emulators, x201t or the newer versions is more than perfect for one note. I do all my homework on mine so I can look at it on my phone and desktop.
>>51573632
That honestly sounds like an even worse investment.
>>51573315
i have a SP4.
im also a university student and a gamer (nothing fancy, just CS, starcraft, dota, etc.)
i have used:
surface pro 2 i5 128gb, win 8 upgraded to
surface pro 3 i5 128gb 4gb , win 8 upgraded to
surface pro 4, i5 skylake 15w, 4gb ram. came bundled with win10 pro
theres not really a noticable jump between surface pro 3 and 4 in the mid range category.
the display is marginally bigger, and overall it feels like the same tablet.
the keyboard is backwards compatible, so you can use the new type covers on surface pro 3s. (the dimensions are the same, so it dosent matter anyway)
>>51573837
>Gamer
Spot the casual shitter.
>>51573837
How do you like it? Is it as useful in university as it seems or is it a hassle with the keyboard/tablet switching?
Is taking notes with the pen an option or do you generally type everything?
Yeah, the price difference between SP3 and SP4 isn't that big to matter all that much to me. I could get used, true, but I want this device to last 3 years if possible, so I'm willing to buy a new SP4.
>>51573315
I never found pen input anywhere near as useful as a keyboard. Maybe it'll be differet for you.
>>51573837
cont.
also windows 10 is the biggest shitfest ive ever had the misfortune of using. even worse than the transition from 7 to 8.
the only saving grace was that it was running windows 10 professional edition, meaning i can disable all the mandatory datamining/force update and restart/background resource hogging via adjusting group policies.
original startup, running just firefox with one browser window open at pastebin, gave a ram usage of 75% with a cpu load of 20.
the tablet has random CPU load spikes due to the background indexing process, and it eats up your bandwidth due to windows updates downloading.
granted windows 8 had the same. but i disabled it before i had issues with it.
luckily the indexing can be disabled in processes page (permenantly), it means search wont be as fast, but the fan wont get loud randomly. (usually runs silent)
the windows updates, if you have professional edition (which to the best of my knowledge surface pro 4s ship with), can be disabled via group policy, as well as a whole load of other background processes which slow your comp down.
>>51573895
>windows 10 professional edition, meaning i can disable all the mandatory...
You mean Enterprise, right anon?
>>51573895
That random Win10 CPU and RAM hogging is from Windows Defender constantly running scans on your files. Usually it's only a moderate drain on your system, but large files and particularly large zipped files make it a resource hog.
Order one, then return it if you don't like it.
That was my intention but I ended up keeping mine because writing notes again is the shit. Especially for Chem.
>>51573864
its really useful for uni, although the 9 hour battery life wont last that long if you play games on it.
my uni days are 8 till 5. and the battery just manages to last on a single charge if i play games for an hour.
uni days 90% of the time it will be used with a type cover as a laptop for note taking.
only when i get home and am too lazy to get up that i use it as a tablet for reading textbooks and other material.
you can take notes with a pen. but i type faster than i write and the keyboard is VERY comfortable for typing. on par with my cherry mx brown i use at home.
plus my writing is messy as fuck. one note dosent really do a good enough job of logging my writing, and sometimes it feels sluggish as it has to sync before you can use it (every time you open it)
i prefer to use ms word for my stuff, in a dropbox folder and have everything go to and from there
the sp4 does have one thing thats good though, the display is better, and you cant see pixels anymore.
>>51573927
actually no. professional edition is fine for that. i was surprised. you dont have any global admin controls (to my knowledge) for multiple devices, but you can edit local group policy settings just fine. its the only thing thats stopping me from returning that device and asking for my surface pro 3 back. (dont bother now though, all the last ones ship with win 10 by default)
>>51573949
that too. im actually in the middle of compiling a list of things to do to make windows 10 useable (for me). will release here sometime in the future.
it took approx 5 hours fiddling to make it better. things i disabled included:
- everything in privacy settings
- cortana
- microsoft "peer to peer"
- the wifi share thing
- search indexing
- windows defender
- windows updates
- a lot of the background app settings
- in app advertising
- microsoft datamining (3 different fucking places all need to be disabled before it stops. holy shit)
- edge privacy settings
and a lot more.
>>51573837
>>51573895
>>51573995
Thank you very much, seriously! I'm going to ask a buddy at work if I can borrow his SP3 to dick around for a few hours to gain that hands-on experience just to be sure, but a review from someone at university is worth a lot, so thanks.
>>51573315
>OneNote bitch
P E N
E
N
A N D
N
D
P A P E R
A
P
E
R
anything else is just bullshit.
>>51574048
no worries.
although if i was in your place. ideally id spring for a sp3 128gb model with a 8gb ram running windows 8. i would give anything to get a working touchscreen OS again.
the performance upgrade is only meant to be approx 20%.
the keyboard and pen are backwards compatible with the 3.
but its your funeral. if you are willing to spend time locking down the settings in group policy and services then it actually works quite well.
one thing i forgot to mention, given the limited memory, you can buy a large micro sd card since it has a micro sdcard slot.
also for the single USB port, i have a 128gb micro usb stick semi-permenantly in there (its one of the sandisk models. literally looks like nothing)
also it wouldnt hurt to get a bluetooth mouse. as much as the trackpad works, i prefer using a real mouse. not feasible during lectures, but when studying it beats both touch controls, pen and touchpad by a large margin.
>>51574087
yeah but pen and paper dont let you browse internet
>>51574087
Good luck Ctrl+F'ing. Seriously, searching in OneNote and having every bit of relevant information at the tip of your fingers is incredible. Try it, it's really revolutionary if you store a lot of information in it.
For my work in IT it's nearly invaluable.
>>51574130
i personally dont like one note.
takes too long to load.
i store all my notes in dated microsoft word documents in bullet point form
>>51574143
Honestly, OneNote 2013/2016 on an SSD loads within like 2 seconds at most for me. Then it's just Alt+Tab away, plus those Windows shortcuts are useful as well. Find some interesting/useful information on the internet? Win+Shift+S and it's in OneNote. You can sort it later or not at all, OneNote search is going to find it.
I know I'm starting to sound like a shill, but it's been blowing my mind for the last few months how useful it can be.
>>51574180
does any of your usage info get uploaded to microsoft?
any cloud capabilities?
>>51574194
Notebooks are stored in OneDrive with offline backups. Usage no idea desu, I've turned off what I can but who knows with Windows 10. Windows 8.1 was straight out superior, I want to cry every time I use the Windows search and it fails to find files on the desktop...
I really don't understand why people have not taken to Surface. On Black Friday the display table for Microsoft was deserted. No one was even touching the demo machines and even started using the table as a dumping ground for other products.
Meanwhile the apple display was crowded and there was a line for people picking up macbooks and tablets. worst of all people were buying MacBooks like it was a clearance sale.
A superior product using a superior os is just not marketed enough?
>>51574221
actually win search is by default not supposed to find desktop.
all your third party apps are stored there. win search preferentially selects ones you downloaded from windows marketplace.
as such in terms of indexing, desktop and all related desktop apps come last and hence take the longest.
>>51574235
different populations targeted.
macs = everyday computer iliterate use
surface was more aimed towards a commercial use audience.
even the student discounts were geared towards tertiary students in hopes they'll use it once they start their careers.
imo with the latest changes to the windows 10 operating system, i hardly see a difference between the 2 OS anymore.
im just glad that due to the corporate oriented nature of the device, there will always be a golden key for techies to get in and access/control all features of the device, no matter how much additional shit microsoft piles on
>>51573315
SP4 is a good adjunct to another computer, but as a stand-alone, it's more of a toy.
Also, you're an imbecile. These devices are relatively fragile. They are impossible to self-repair. They cannot be upgraded. The probability of screen crack in day to day use is significant.
Your ideal choice is something like an X220, X240, T420, T520. With most of the money associated to the warranty.
Stop fucking around and get a real notebook computer.
Anyone have the core M3 version of the surface 4? Is it good enough for basic tablet nonsense?
>>51573390
Get an x230t then, and buy a stylus. Rig up an autohotkey script to launch one note when you press the right button on the stylus.
>>51574448
>Also, you're an imbecile.
Okay?
>The probability of screen crack in day to day use is significant.
Well, if you're a fat fuck like you and sit down on it, sure, but otherwise... not really. I haven't cracked a single phone's screen in my life, this is not too different. With type cover and in a bag it's maybe just slightly less sturdy than a traditional laptop.
>X220, X240, T420, T520
>most of the money associated to the warranty.
Sure, warranty on 300 bucks throwaway devices. Thanks for your great contribution, anon.
>>51574471
a friend of mine was stupid enough to buy it.
slow as fuck
but more battery life. given the lower CPU voltage.
imo >>51574448
kinda right.
just make sure you buy it on an extended warranty.
i personally got a case for the sp4, as well as a sleeve and a screen protector (plastic so it dosent interfere with pen)
just out of paranoia.
but my surface pro 3 lasted a full year without any protection and without any issues.
same with the pro 2.
i swapped it out due to hardware issues which were relatively minor, and probably been fixed with firmware updates whch i refuse to install.
also, if you get a new surface pro 4, and it breaks relatively quickly, microsoft does replacements instead of repairs.
>>51573315
>comments
Sure, but ">thoughts?" would have been a better end to that post.
Regardless,
>gaming
>in university
You should rethink your outlook on this.
Any thoughts on the surface book?
I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on one of these.
>>51573315
>Surface General
>general
Are you retarded
>>51574625
Shut up, retarded tripfag.
>>51574130
I usually know what I wrote down in my note book, its revolutionary.
>>51574627
looks like overpriced garbage.
if you want a full laptop hybrid, id rather go for one from a third party.
>>51574724
That's great, once you grow up, enter the workforce and get tons and tons of barely useful information on a daily basis that you may need 5 months down the line, good luck with that.
>>51574130
>handwriting notes in onenote
>ctrl + F
anon, I...
>>51574113
>wont let you browse the internet
Good, Id rather use the time when Im sitting in the class for something useful instead of slacking off.
>>51574747
Reading comprehension, you need to work on that.
>>51574751
>implying looking up additional supplementary material is slacking off
some of us know how to utilize the web to cement ideas and note avenues of further pursuit.
>>51574735
Any recommendations? My main criteria are good resolution and good pen support.
>>51574768
if not for the digitizer, then why pick a surface over a laptop?
>>51574768
>i bought a surface so i could type all my notes in onenote!
>>51574744
Tell people to write you a mail or make a ticket. Its important to document the things you do transparently for others.
If anyone just comes up to you, asks you to do random shit every day without any official process your are obviously doing something very wrong, its just a matter of time until it causes problems.
>>51574663
Filtered
Don't do it op, I thought I wanted an sp3 back in July. I bought an actual laptop instead, much more functional than having a meme.
>>51574807
>>51574796
>not typing in a few keywords while drawing most everything
What sort of po-dunk majors are you retards any ways?
>>51574781
nope.
i use my surface pro for my laptop/tab hybrid for everything except gaming.
for that i have a clunky hp probook 4530s, still running i7 sandy bridge on 8gb ram and entry level radeon graphics (entry level back in 2011. lol)
>>51574796
because its lighter is the main thing. its very portable in comparison
>>51573849
Cs, sc and dodo are far from casual
>>51575075
>Cs, sc and dodo are far from casual
Unless he plays in the Coal League.
Anyone else got a Surface (Pro/Book) and want to comment?
I'd love to get more input, even if it's in the form of shitposts or lel microsoft.
I've been thinking of getting the SP4 for university as well. Everything I've heard about it is positive, but I'm worried there are better dedicated laptops I can get and just stick with pencil & paper for notes
![gcU5BFy[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/belZEn7.png "gcU5BFy[1].png")
I'm imagining something like this. Truth or fiction?
>>51573995
>on par with my cherry mx brown i use at home.
rofl
>>51573315
>as the perfect OneNote bitch.
I've tried to use OneNote a few times. I hated it. It claims to be kind of free form, but it's not free form at all. I found it frustrating and limiting. Have you actually used it?
Honestly, I don't see the value compared to just writing fucking notes properly in a notebook. I think most people would benefit more by learning how to write *useful* notes (as opposed to just blindly copying down everything they can) rather than fucking around with technology to give themselves a little dopamine rush, pretending that they're improving their learning when actually they're just intellectually masturbating.
>>51578189
As I already said above, it's proven to be invaluable for work in the case of me and a few others in my IT department. You get a new ticket, it's from a user that you don't remember but references an older ticket number. You could either use your slow-ass ticket system to look that up, or you could enter the name / number in OneNote and instantly find all tickets made by that user, notes you added, and so on. It's really useful.
I mean, what you said is true, in some aspects it isn't free form at all. Adding new text boxes is finnicky and annoying, I hate how I can't use TAB as a 4x space insert. Still, apart from a few issues and the learning curve it's a good tool.
Again, my opinion.
I don't really get this device. It's gimped as a laptop and shit as a tablet.
>>51577154
I have one and it is simply wonderful for traveling. I fly a lot, sometimes more than twice a week, and it is simply fantastic to have a full fledged laptop in the form factor of a tablet.
>>51578323
That's great to hear!
How's the lying in bed and chilling with a tablet aspect of it?
>>51578395
Pretty good actually. You flip the keyboard under and it will sit stable as a rock with the infinitely adjustable kick stand.
>>51578507
Sounds comfy, I want one.
I think that's actually a great field of application for the SP, traveling a lot and going from hotel to hotel needs a capable laptop that can adapt to your needs in various situations.
>>51578282
>gimped as a laptop
In what way?
> shit as a tablet.
Other than being a little on the heavy side how is it shit as a tablet?
It runs Candy Crush and streams the latest Brazzers release just fine.
>>51578675
>streams the latest Brazzers release just fine.
Porn has got to be glorious on that display.
![surface-pro-4-teardown4[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/8AkelS3.jpg "surface-pro-4-teardown4[1].jpg")
Doesn't look as if you can manually add more RAM, sadly.
>>51578042
Basically what it's like.
>>51573390
Xournal
>>51581017
>Xournal
Cute.
Do you guys think it's worth getting a new Surface 2 (RT)? I never use win32 programs much and only need a browser. They're $249.99 at a store I know
>>51582973
No. Might as well get some chink tablet with digitizer at that price point.
>>51582973
I agree with >>51583134, the fact that they are fully function x86 computers is what makes them special and useful. Without it you're limited to what the Microsoft store offers in regards to apps, and that's a very small selection.
Anyone here buy the i7 SP4? What compelled you over the i5 model?
>>51583218
I've heard it's got up to 20% more computational performance but suffers due to thermal throttling, so I'd like to know this as well. I kind of doubt it'd be noticeable in daily operations, rather if you're using your Surface for video rendering or so.
As in, if you need an i7 in your Surface you'd more than likely be better served by a proper desktop.
>>51578272
Your reasoning around the advantages of OneNote seem to hinge entirely on your corporate ticketing system being shitty.
That's not an advantage of OneNote, that's a problem with your ticketing system.
>>51582973
Buy an iPad. It's the same computational class as an RT device, except not a piece of shit, with solid hardware and a decent purpose-built OS instead of a shittily, hastily adapted port.
Plus, you can turn around and sell it for something. The RT device will get you like $10 on eBay as soon as you've opened it.
>>51583481
It was one major use case and example, but that doesn't even matter: Good luck with finding a ticketing system that isn't shitty. And allows for private comments. And has functional search that collects all of its results in a useful overview.
>>51583549
>Good luck with finding a ticketing system that isn't shitty.
Fuck you, you're in IT. Don't just sit there with your thumb up your ass moaning about your ticketing system. Fix the fucking thing, you IT monkey shithead.
>>51583589
>Fuck you, you're in IT. Don't just sit there with your thumb up your ass moaning about your ticketing system. Fix the fucking thing, you IT monkey shithead.
>>51583606
>typical IT monkey attitude
>wonders why people call him IT monkey
You schmucks are a net drain on businesses and the economy. We were all better off filing paperwork through hundreds of secretaries.
>>51573315
>the perfect OneNote bitch
any convertible/tablet with a digitizer could be your onenote bitch, even a cheapo thinkpad.
what else makes you consider the surface?
>>51583218
I just picked up an i7 SP4 today. I run database queries and develop programs at work. I could have gotten the i5, but having the extra power was worth the $300 tradeoff to me.
