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Futureman

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,409
I'm going to Japan/Thailand in December and don't really want to travel with my Surface Book 2.

So I'm actually considering picking up the Surface Go. I've been researching and it doesn't seem like there's any good competitors in the same price range.

I want pen/touch support, 13" or smaller screen with good PPI, good battery, good build quality, good track pad.

Best Buy has a $50 gift card with pre-order right now so could get either model for $600 (8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD) or $450 (4 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC) with keyboard.

$600 is the absolute max I want to spend and honestly I'm leaning towards the cheaper version as this would really just be a web browser/consumption device. I also need the ability to transfer photos from SD to computer.

I could also wait until December and see if the current Surface Pro m3 goes on sale for around $450.
 

Brot

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,090
the edge
There's a deal on Amazon.de for the 13" SB2 with the basic configuration (i5/8GB/128GB) for 1149€ (down from 1349€). I'm almost tempted to switch from the Pro 4 to the SB2 just for the RAM (made the huge mistake to get the 4GB model). It's a shame that it's still the 7th gen dual-core i5, though. Microsoft is supposed to refresh the Surface lineup this Fall and the next generation Surface Pro, which is supposed to be a complete redesign, isn't coming until mid-2019 according to MJ Foley. I'd feel stupid to get a current model when there's a chance of a refresh with the 8th gen CPU in a couple of months.

As much as I despise Windows 10, its inconsistencies and its ugly and janky apps like Edge and myTube, I don't think I would want to live with the current generation of MacBook Pro hardware either.

I'm going to Japan/Thailand in December and don't really want to travel with my Surface Book 2.

So I'm actually considering picking up the Surface Go. I've been researching and it doesn't seem like there's any good competitors in the same price range.

I want pen/touch support, 13" or smaller screen with good PPI, good battery, good build quality, good track pad.

Best Buy has a $50 gift card with pre-order right now so could get either model for $600 (8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD) or $450 (4 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC) with keyboard.

$600 is the absolute max I want to spend and honestly I'm leaning towards the cheaper version as this would really just be a web browser/consumption device. I also need the ability to transfer photos from SD to computer.

I could also wait until December and see if the current Surface Pro m3 goes on sale for around $450.

Why wouldn't you wait until late November or December? Devices are getting cheaper over time, there will be actual reviews and user reports of the Go and there's always Black Friday for good deals on any model.
 

Voidance

Member
Oct 27, 2017
675
Just bought a SB2 13.5" (i7/16 GB) after the sale of my MacBook Pro 15".

I really like it so far, although I do wonder what to do with my Surface Pro 2017 now that this machine fills the same niche (and more, especially in gaming).

I have a 2 week trip in about 2 months that I believe the Pro would be better suited for, but after that, I'll probably end up selling it, too.

Does anyone else own a Pro and Book and find a compelling use case for keeping both around?
 
OP
OP
Vanillalite

Vanillalite

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,709
Size would be the only factor, but you obviously want something bigger hence why you had a MacBook then a Surface Book.

PS: All of the surface hardware have had major firmware updates this last week or two so make sure you're up to date.
 

THEVOID

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,885
Yeah, size and portability. The only thing that stops me from getting a Book 2 is I love carrying around the Pro.

If I had a Book i'd probably sell the pro and just get a surface go to travel with.
 

Obi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
604
I just got back from Best Buy. Even though they didn't have the Surface Go on display yet, the guy working there went and grabbed one out of the back for me to fool around with. It's way smaller and lighter than I expected! It seems more like an iPad Air than a Surface. That makes it exactly what I was looking for. With my wrist problems, even something like my Miix 700 is too heavy for me to use very long. But I had no issue holding the Surface Go one handed. It is just as thick as a regular Surface, which is unfortunate, so the iPad still has it beat there.

One issue is the keyboard is pretty cramped to type on. I wouldn't wanna write a paper on it. But it's a smaller keyboard, so eh what can you do? Performance wise it seemed fine to me. Office loaded quickly and web pages worked fine. Everything was snappy. I couldn't really test anything else with my quick demo. For my personal use, It'll probably be good enough. This was the 8GB RAM / 128GB storage model BTW. The build quality was great on the one I fooled around with. For some reason you don't get the giftcard if you order in store, so I went and preordered one as soon as I got home. Looks like it'll be here around the 6th. I'm looking forward to getting it in and seeing how it does with a little more demanding stuff. (Into the Breach, Slay the Spire, Etc.)
 

VeePs

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,386
I just got back from Best Buy. Even though they didn't have the Surface Go on display yet, the guy working there went and grabbed one out of the back for me to fool around with. It's way smaller and lighter than I expected! It seems more like an iPad Air than a Surface. That makes it exactly what I was looking for. With my wrist problems, even something like my Miix 700 is too heavy for me to use very long. But I had no issue holding the Surface Go one handed. It is just as thick as a regular Surface, which is unfortunate, so the iPad still has it beat there.

One issue is the keyboard is pretty cramped to type on. I wouldn't wanna write a paper on it. But it's a smaller keyboard, so eh what can you do? Performance wise it seemed fine to me. Office loaded quickly and web pages worked fine. Everything was snappy. I couldn't really test anything else with my quick demo. For my personal use, It'll probably be good enough. This was the 8GB RAM / 128GB storage model BTW. The build quality was great on the one I fooled around with. For some reason you don't get the giftcard if you order in store, so I went and preordered one as soon as I got home. Looks like it'll be here around the 6th. I'm looking forward to getting it in and seeing how it does with a little more demanding stuff. (Into the Breach, Slay the Spire, Etc.)

Seems really interesting. I already have an iPad Pro but I love that Microsoft has entered the market with what seems to be an appealing device! Maybe a few years from now I'll pick up the revised version.

For the keyboard thats understandable, I suppose if your using it at home/office you could always switch to a bluetooth keyboard if needed.
 

THEVOID

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,885
I just got back from Best Buy. Even though they didn't have the Surface Go on display yet, the guy working there went and grabbed one out of the back for me to fool around with. It's way smaller and lighter than I expected! It seems more like an iPad Air than a Surface. That makes it exactly what I was looking for. With my wrist problems, even something like my Miix 700 is too heavy for me to use very long. But I had no issue holding the Surface Go one handed. It is just as thick as a regular Surface, which is unfortunate, so the iPad still has it beat there.

One issue is the keyboard is pretty cramped to type on. I wouldn't wanna write a paper on it. But it's a smaller keyboard, so eh what can you do? Performance wise it seemed fine to me. Office loaded quickly and web pages worked fine. Everything was snappy. I couldn't really test anything else with my quick demo. For my personal use, It'll probably be good enough. This was the 8GB RAM / 128GB storage model BTW. The build quality was great on the one I fooled around with. For some reason you don't get the giftcard if you order in store, so I went and preordered one as soon as I got home. Looks like it'll be here around the 6th. I'm looking forward to getting it in and seeing how it does with a little more demanding stuff. (Into the Breach, Slay the Spire, Etc.)

Did you get the 8GB\128GB?
 

Obi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
604
Yup, I got the 8GB\128GB. I was worried that the eMMC drive in the 64GB version might be too slow.
 

Mgs2master2

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,862
anyone try the Surface connect USB-C charging dongle For The surface pro (2017 model). It is kind of a hassle to carry the charger with large box wherever I go. Something smaller for charging would be better. If there is a 3rd party one that works I would love to hear about it too.
 

Brot

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,090
the edge
Sounds really good in this non-specific rushed review. Hopefully, other outlets can do better with the time they're taking.
 
OP
OP
Vanillalite

Vanillalite

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,709


Overall positive impressions across the board.

The only knock is the pricing cause 4 gigs of RAM doesn't cut it. So the upgraded model + keyboard puts it in a weird middle kid state price wise.

Especially since you can get that Surface Pro bundle right now the $650 price is sorta close to just save another $100 for the pro.
 

Obi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
604
Welp, My Surface Go I ordered from Fry's still hadn't shipped, even though I was told it would be mailed out on July 31st. When I called today they said "Due to overwhelming demand we aren't able to fulfill your order". Pretty BS! They could have, ya know, maybe emailed me about that. I guess the Surface Go is popular at least.

Good news though, abt.com has them in stock. And they have a $25 off of $250 coupon you get for signing up for their newsletter. So that worked out. Looks like it already shipped. I thought people here thinking about getting one might be interested in the coupon. Here's the link:


https://www.abt.com/resources/pages/subscribe.php?email=&utm_campaign=2210202
 

Devil

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,679
What is the main difference between the book and pro? Both look like convertibles? How do they compare in terms of performance to each other and the Surface Laptop with the same specs?
 

Voidance

Member
Oct 27, 2017
675
What is the main difference between the book and pro? Both look like convertibles? How do they compare in terms of performance to each other and the Surface Laptop with the same specs?
Simply compared:

The Book can have a quad-core, 8th generation Intel processor in it as well as a powerful discrete GPU in the keyboard section. Battery life is generally excellent with one charge lasting all day unless you have a GPU-intensive workload, then expect less.

At best, the Pro has a dual core, 7th generation Intel processor in it with Intel Iris integrated graphics (for the top end i7). My i5 2017 model lasts me around 6-8 hours on a charge depending on what I'm doing.

Owning both the Book and Pro as a mostly MS Office user (and extremely light gamer), the difference for me comes down to form factor. The Book is a powerhouse, but the Pro is so much more portable due to the lightweight type cover and smaller screen. I find myself using the Pro more than the Book because of this. With the screen on the Book detached, they're more comparable though.

As far as comparisons to the Laptop, I'd say it most closely resembles the Pro in terms of power but with a more traditional form factor. I have no inclination to use one, personally.

Hope this helps.
 

THEVOID

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,885
Welp, My Surface Go I ordered from Fry's still hadn't shipped, even though I was told it would be mailed out on July 31st. When I called today they said "Due to overwhelming demand we aren't able to fulfill your order". Pretty BS! They could have, ya know, maybe emailed me about that. I guess the Surface Go is popular at least.

Good news though, abt.com has them in stock. And they have a $25 off of $250 coupon you get for signing up for their newsletter. So that worked out. Looks like it already shipped. I thought people here thinking about getting one might be interested in the coupon. Here's the link:


https://www.abt.com/resources/pages/subscribe.php?email=&utm_campaign=2210202


ABT is the bomb! I buy all my TVs there and I could spend all day in there.
 

Selbran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,570
Anyone have thoughts on their Surface Go/Surface in general? I got a Surface Go a few days ago and I am not really enjoying it. The experience of using it as a tablet is awful, and as somebody who owned the original Surface RT I am baffled how Windows on tablets is still so bad. It feels like the OS isn't optimized to be used as a tablet and was kind of half-assed and barely put together. I'm was not planning on using it 100% as a tablet, because the reason I bought it when I have iPad Pro 10.5 is because I feel like the iPad is a great tablet, but not a super great PC replacement and wanted to see how the Surface would turn out. That being said it feels like a horrible tablet and an good PC, but the tablet experience just feels dysfunctional.
 

crossslide

Member
Oct 27, 2017
153
The experience of using it as a tablet is awful, and as somebody who owned the original Surface RT I am baffled how Windows on tablets is still so bad. It feels like the OS isn't optimized to be used as a tablet and was kind of half-assed and barely put together..

I don't really understand the use of the word "still" here, which sort of suggests it wasn't good in the past but has been progressing or improving somewhat but not enough. The reality is that Windows on tablets was great in the Windows 8.1 days but has gotten much worse since then. Zac Bowden at Windows Central posted a video that shows how much things have degraded:

 
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MrKlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,104
Yup. Windows generally is not good as a tablet. If you want to temporarily use it without a keyboard to watch Netflix that's ok, but about as far as it goes
 

Selbran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,570
Just a few examples of the issues I have had one day into using this device:

-I was trying to copy/paste and the touch configuration for doing so is a mess, it took way too long for it to recognize I was trying to copy text so I had to keep tapping and holding. Additionally, when it finally did "work" I could not copy/paste it would copy but when I went to Edge and tried to paste nothing would appear, I tried a few times before giving up.
-The Windows store flat out would not download anything no matter how many times I tapped the "install" button, restarting my device fixed this but wow is that not something that should be happening.
-I have had several occasions where the on-screen keyboard is either not launching when it should be, or being called up when I had no use for it. One instance is me trying to install/sign-in to Steam and the keyboard flat out not appearing. Again, a device reset fixed this issue.
-Edge feels like it wasn't made for touch and as a result of this a few websites have given me issues like not being able to properly tap stuff.

I will hand it to them that the hardware experience is amazing. The overall fit/finish of the device feels incredibly solid, the built-in kickstand is a godsend, and Windows Hello is an incredibly useful feature. I'm considering buying the type cover and seeing how I like the experience of using it more akin to a laptop before I weigh selling it.

To be honest the hardware/software situation feels vaguely familiar. It reminds of the Windows Phone platform that spawned some gorgeous devices hardware wise, muddled by software that was never 100% up to snuff.
 

Obi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
604
Just a few examples of the issues I have had one day into using this device:
-I have had several occasions where the on-screen keyboard is either not launching when it should be, or being called up when I had no use for it. One instance is me trying to install/sign-in to Steam and the keyboard flat out not appearing. Again, a device reset fixed this issue.

Steam in general is terrible for touch. I've never gotten the on-screen keyboard to automatically work with it on any of my tablets. I always have to manually launch it from a button in the task tray. I'm hoping the eventual Steam redesign will fix this and scrolling.
 
Oct 26, 2017
12,125
so, whats going to be announced at the upcoming surface event?

just software and maybe a new pen?

im hearing rumblings about a dial 2.0

I enjoy my dial well enough, its fun in the limited use I've use it for so far
 
Oct 25, 2017
2,311
Texas


Overall positive impressions across the board.

The only knock is the pricing cause 4 gigs of RAM doesn't cut it. So the upgraded model + keyboard puts it in a weird middle kid state price wise.

Especially since you can get that Surface Pro bundle right now the $650 price is sorta close to just save another $100 for the pro.


I'd recommend getting a pro. I got my 8GB 128GB pro for 660 on sale at Microcenter. Worth it.
 

Obi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
604
There's been talk of a Microsoft smart speaker with display. I could see that being branded as a Surface product.
 

jar155

Member
Dec 5, 2017
218
I'm still rocking my Surface Pro 3 as my daily work computer. It's awesome and I love it. But like every red-blooded American...I have the upgrade itch. I do use the pen quite a bit, so I think I want to stick with the Surface Pro line. Would it be a bad idea to buy in now, or should I see if Microsoft gets aggressive with Black Friday sales?
 
OP
OP
Vanillalite

Vanillalite

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,709
I'm still rocking my Surface Pro 3 as my daily work computer. It's awesome and I love it. But like every red-blooded American...I have the upgrade itch. I do use the pen quite a bit, so I think I want to stick with the Surface Pro line. Would it be a bad idea to buy in now, or should I see if Microsoft gets aggressive with Black Friday sales?

New models are gonna be shown off in like 2 weeks at the next Surface event.
 

Irminsul

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,041
I have a bit of a weird issue with my Surface Pro (4, though I doubt that has anything to do with it). It's not really something bad, but I'd rather have it changed.

Every Windows "login screen message" (i.e., after boot, when restarting, when installing updates etc.) shows up as "One moment please..." to me. That means, there's no "Welcome, <Name>", no "Restarting", and no "Windows updates are being installed", there's not even the percentage normally accompanying that latter message. There's just "One moment please". That's not the case on my desktop PC, so I thought it's maybe Surface-specific.

Googling this issue is really hard, because everything I found was about a Surface getting stuck on "One moment please". But my Surface isn't getting stuck, everything works just as normal, it just doesn't display the normal messages. That's okay for "Welcome" or "Restarting", but not so much for Windows Updates when it's just guesswork if it's actually stuck.

Does anyone have any hints what I could do?
 

Selbran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,570
My Surface Go experience has been going a little bit better. I did a full device reset and that seemed to help with performance for some reason. The tablet experience is still trash tier, but general performance isn't too bad and I ordered a type cover to better put it through its paces. I think I'm going to end up selling the iPad Pro and keeping this because I like the general idea of it as a laptop more than using the iPad as a tablet.


I have a bit of a weird issue with my Surface Pro (4, though I doubt that has anything to do with it). It's not really something bad, but I'd rather have it changed.

Every Windows "login screen message" (i.e., after boot, when restarting, when installing updates etc.) shows up as "One moment please..." to me. That means, there's no "Welcome, <Name>", no "Restarting", and no "Windows updates are being installed", there's not even the percentage normally accompanying that latter message. There's just "One moment please". That's not the case on my desktop PC, so I thought it's maybe Surface-specific.

Googling this issue is really hard, because everything I found was about a Surface getting stuck on "One moment please". But my Surface isn't getting stuck, everything works just as normal, it just doesn't display the normal messages. That's okay for "Welcome" or "Restarting", but not so much for Windows Updates when it's just guesswork if it's actually stuck.

Does anyone have any hints what I could do?
Kind of spit-balling here but is it possibly something wrong with Windows Hello? I know that's the message Windows Hello brings up when it takes awhile to recognize your face so maybe there's some kind of bug at work there.
 

captainzombie

Member
Nov 29, 2017
2,146
I'm still rocking my Surface Pro 3 as my daily work computer. It's awesome and I love it. But like every red-blooded American...I have the upgrade itch. I do use the pen quite a bit, so I think I want to stick with the Surface Pro line. Would it be a bad idea to buy in now, or should I see if Microsoft gets aggressive with Black Friday sales?

I still have my SP3, but I made the mistake at the time of only getting 4GB of RAM which I feel with time my machine has slowed down a bit.
 

Irminsul

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,041
Kind of spit-balling here but is it possibly something wrong with Windows Hello? I know that's the message Windows Hello brings up when it takes awhile to recognize your face so maybe there's some kind of bug at work there.
I'm using Windows Hello, so that could easily be it. Windows Hello has been all kinds of wonky when it wants to be anyway, from not recognising me (but doing so in < .5 seconds in the next try) to actually just activating either the camera or the IR light/sensor for good laughs. I'll try deactivating and reactivating that.

Thanks for the hint!