Surface Pro 3 (Off-Topic)

by squidnh3, Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 19:32 (3618 days ago) @ Anton P. Nym (aka Steve)

I've also had an original Surface Pro (128 GB, i5) for about 2 years. It's been my only personal computer, although I've always had a work computer as well (which in grad school might as well been a personal computer).

I'm been very happy with my purchase. It's an incredible device if you are an engineering student, and it was unfortunate it only came around for the last year of my grad school. The active digitizer w/ pen works great, and feels basically the same as writing on a piece of paper (although apparently the Surface Pro 3 pen is a little different). I bet the wider aspect ratio of the 3 might be even better for that. The pen is super nice; for normal tasks I use it exclusively without bothering with a mouse or the touchpad. I have the original Type-keyboard as well, which I'm using right now to type this on my lap. I've never had an issue with it.

It's also nice to use with some of the Windows Store apps. Reading PDFs works really well on the Reader app, which allows you to take full advantage of the touchscreen.

It's also good for streaming and such, either installing the relevant app, or just using a browser. I tend to use the Netflix app, but watch Amazon prime right from the browser. I've also gamed a little bit on it (I think I played Portal).

The only real issue I've had is related to DPI settings: the high resolution/small screen combo requires a larger default text size, but changing the text size in normal windows is a much more complicated task than you would ever think. The default Windows method is to up the DPI to 150%, but lots of programs/websites seem to be have weird issues with that (especially websites that use their own embedded video players). I've had to go through a number of workarounds. Maybe Windows 10 has resolved this issue? It's been a while since I looked into it.

If you were an engineering student (or math or science I guess) I would say you should absolutely get it. Otherwise, it's worth checking out if you think it would fit your needs.