Surface Pro 3 Has 12" Screen, Intel Inside

crookedvulture (1866146) writes "Microsoft unveiled its Surface Pro 3 tablet at a press event in New York this morning. The device has a larger 12" screen with a 2160x1440 display resolution and a novel 3:2 aspect ratio. Intel Core processors provide the horsepower, starting with the Core i3 in the base model and extending all the way up to Core i7 in pricier variants. The tablet is just 9.1 mm thick, which Microsoft claims is the thinnest ever for a Core-based device. Microsoft developed a new radial fan that's suppose to distribute airflow evenly inside the chassis without generating audible noise. The tablet weights 800 g, shaving 100 g off the Surface Pro 2, and it's supposed to have longer battery life, as well. Microsoft has also rolled out new keyboard accessories, a pressure-sensitive stylus, and a docking station that supports 4K video output. The Surface Pro 3 is scheduled to be available tomorrow with prices starting at $799." Update: 05/20 17:12 GMT by T : Mary Jo Foley points out at ZDNet that one thing not announced today is an ARM-powered Mini version.

Or...

[MightyMartian]

Or I can go buy a notebook for $300, keep my Nexus 7, and not shell out huge amounts of money for one big fucking tablet.

Re:Or...

[CastrTroy]

Yeah, but then you couldn't carry your entire desktop with you wherever you want. The Surface 2 already had enough power to be a desktop replacement to all but the most demanding users. You can connect 4 monitors to the Surface Pro. Plug in a USB keyboard and mouse and most people wouldn't need another computer. If I had the cash I would definitely just buy Surface Pro and forget all about having separate desktop/laptop/tablet. I got the Surface 2 (not pro), and even that has allowed me to completely forget about my laptop and desktop unless I need to do some actual work. Surfing the web, watching videos, listening to music. I use my Surface for all of that. As far as home use goes, if I wasn't a developer, I probably wouldn't even need a "proper" computer.

Re:$299 and I'm in...

[smash]

You do realize you're getting a full blown intel core CPU here. This isn't in the same league as some cheap low power ARM cpu, it's much more powerful. You could realistically use one as a desktop replacement.

Re:Or...

[CastrTroy]

The Surface 2 (not pro) is the ARM version they sell for $500. The Surface 2 PRO or Surface 3 PRO are the Intel x86-64 versions which will run any standard Windows software. I have the ARM version, and even that's enough provided you are just browsing the web and doing a few other small tasks. If you get the Surface PRO which comes with an Intel x86-64 processor, you can run full Windows, and all the applications you'd normally run on Windows. You could use it as your regular computer.

This is x86, not ARM

[tepples]

Don't forget this thing is all locked down at the BIOS (UEFI) level

How so? As I understand it, the rule with Windows 8 is that on ARM, the manufacturer MUST NOT allow the end user to modify Secure Boot, but on x86, it MUST. This product is x86 according to the summary

Re:Drat! Still only 8GB RAM max.

[Anonymous Coward]

Copypasta:

Technical specs
Operating system
  - Windows 8.1 Pro
Exterior: Dimensions
  - 7.93 in x 11.5 in x 0.36 in
- Weight: 1.76 lbs
- Casing: Magnesium
- Color: Silver
- Physical buttons: Volume, Power, Home
Storage
  - 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
Display
  - Screen: 12-inch ClearType Full HD display
- Resolution: 2160 x 1440
- Aspect Ratio: 3:2
- Touch: Multitouch input
Pen input
- Pen input and pen (included with purchase)
- Pen features 256 levels of pressure sensitivity
CPU
- 4th-generation Intel® Core i5-4300U (1.6 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost up to 2.90 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 4400
- 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM — dual-channel LPDDR3
- TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module — for BitLocker encryption)
-
- 4th-generation Intel® Core i3/i5/i7 Processor
- System memory: 4GB or 8GB memory options
- TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
Wireless
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11ac/802.11 a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology
Battery
- Up to nine hours of Web-browsing battery life
Cameras and A/V
- 5MP and 1080p HD front- and rear-facing cameras
- Built-in front- and rear-facing microphones
- Stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio-enhanced sound
Ports
- Full-size USB 3.0
- microSD card reader
- Headset jack
- Mini DisplayPort
- Cover port
- Charging port
Sensors
- Ambient light sensor
- Accelerometer
- Gyroscope
- Magnetometer
Power supply
- 36W power supply (including 5W USB for accessory charging)
Warranty
- One-year limited hardware warranty

Pricing
Intel® Core i3, 64 GB and 4 GB of RAM $799
Intel® Core i5, 128 GB and 4 GB of RAM $999
Intel® Core i5, 256 GB and 8 GB of RAM $1,299
Intel® Core i7, 256 GB and 8 GB of RAM $1,549
Intel® Core i7, 512 GB and 8 GB of RAM $1,949
Surface Pro Type Cover $129.99
Additional Surface Pen $49.99
Additional 36W Power Supply $79.99
Additional Pen Loop $4.99
Docking Station for Surface Pro 3 $199.99
Surface Ethernet Adapter $39.99

VPN and RDP/SSH will run up a data bill

[tepples]

With VPN and RDP/SSH, I can carry around entire effing servers wherever I want when I'm traveling, and access them from my smartphone if I wanted to - so even that one argument of yours is rather moot.

Can you get service on that smartphone for $84? That's how much I pay per year (not month) for my current phone because it doesn't have a data plan attached to it. A separate laptop lets me do work while riding transit without having to pay a huge data bill for VPN and RDP/SSH. For the price of a two-year data plan in this country, I could almost buy a Surface Pro 3.

Re:Or...

[Missing.Matter]

He said he does all that with the Surface not Pro, starting at $299.

Re:interesting....

[smash]

Yup. those were the problems i noticed too - erratic touch keyboard behavior, unusable win32 application widgets at 1920x1080 on a 10" screen, etc. The 3:2 aspect is a plus though for a table tin my opinion - 16x9 form factor tablet just feel awkward and unwieldy - it isn't tall enough when used in landscape mode and isn't wide enough and feels too tall when used in portrait. 3:2 or 4:3 is a much better compromise for something that feels good to hold and has decent screen area.

The surface I used was an extended evaluation unit for work. I could have kept it for work use for "free" (work paid), but gave it back and went back to the ipad (primary work uses being VMware View, ssh, mail, etc.).

Re:"and a docking station that supports 4K video"

[Anonymous Coward]

Same experience here.
Can't speak about the mobile/ultramobile parts, but the HD4400 in a low-end desktop i3 is plenty fast enough for basic desktop compositing/video playback/... at 4k.
Now, if you don't want a slideshow in 3D games, easiest option is to just run them at 1920x1080 or 1280x720 fullscreen.
Those resolutions also happen to be HD and FullHD, and can be cleanly pixel-doubled/tripled to 3840x2160.
There's plenty benchmarks on the net for various games and haswell IGPs at HD and FullHD res.

Re: Can we install linux on it ?

[Myria]

The Surface Pro, like any other x86 PC that comes preinstalled with an OEM version of Windows 8/8.1, is locked down with Secure Boot UEFI. However, Microsoft follows its own rules--the Surface Pro also meets their own requirement that the BIOS allows you to disable Secure Boot given physical access.

Also, I believe that the Surface Pro's preconfigured UEFI Secure Boot NVRAM contains the Microsoft "Third Party Marketplace" UEFI certificate, which if true would mean that the Surface Pro would out-of-the-box recognize, as an example, the Secure Boot-compatible GRUB2 on the 14.x x86-64 Ubuntu disks as legitimate. I don't have a Surface Pro to check this, however.