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Microsoft Surface Pro - Gaming Thread!
- Thread starter Damon Bennet
- Start date
I bought one of these last week and I have to say I like it a lot so far.
Initially navigation was a pain but then I looked up some videos on tips and learned all kinds of finger gestures that made zipping around the interface, switching programs and closing stuff down a breeze.
The Windows 8 start menu stuff finally makes sense using this device. It is almost like the OS was made specifically for it. Basically, the start menu is "iPad" mode and the desktop is traditional PC mode. Both have their uses in a device that functions well as both a tablet and a PC.
One thing I did discover was that the hardcover keyboard is absolutly essential. This thing is awesome. It is a very light protective cover, a stand, and a fully functioning keyboard and touchpad all in one. Before I got the keyboard, I found it kind of irritating navigating in desktop mode and mainly stuck to the start screen.
I do have a few questions for others who have the device:
1) Can someone please recommend a GOOD program for podcasts? The two I found on the app store seem pretty shitty. Both are based around streaming (which doesn't help me when I want to use it in my car and as I walk/jog) and won't automatically download.
2) Is there anyway to leave the speakers on when you turn the screen off? It's really annoying that these podcast programs shut off as soon as the screen is off. I want to save battery life and just listen to my podcasts. Isn't there an easy way to do this?
Other than this, I have to say I'm really really liking this device. It even made me give IE a second chance because the touch interface on the IE app is really really good for internet browsing. I would dare say it is actually better than Ipad's Safari once you learn the gestures since it gives you really intuitive quick select bars and makes multitasking a snap.
Initially navigation was a pain but then I looked up some videos on tips and learned all kinds of finger gestures that made zipping around the interface, switching programs and closing stuff down a breeze.
The Windows 8 start menu stuff finally makes sense using this device. It is almost like the OS was made specifically for it. Basically, the start menu is "iPad" mode and the desktop is traditional PC mode. Both have their uses in a device that functions well as both a tablet and a PC.
One thing I did discover was that the hardcover keyboard is absolutly essential. This thing is awesome. It is a very light protective cover, a stand, and a fully functioning keyboard and touchpad all in one. Before I got the keyboard, I found it kind of irritating navigating in desktop mode and mainly stuck to the start screen.
I do have a few questions for others who have the device:
1) Can someone please recommend a GOOD program for podcasts? The two I found on the app store seem pretty shitty. Both are based around streaming (which doesn't help me when I want to use it in my car and as I walk/jog) and won't automatically download.
2) Is there anyway to leave the speakers on when you turn the screen off? It's really annoying that these podcast programs shut off as soon as the screen is off. I want to save battery life and just listen to my podcasts. Isn't there an easy way to do this?
Other than this, I have to say I'm really really liking this device. It even made me give IE a second chance because the touch interface on the IE app is really really good for internet browsing. I would dare say it is actually better than Ipad's Safari once you learn the gestures since it gives you really intuitive quick select bars and makes multitasking a snap.
I think you really have to get used to using the start screen and apps when you are in tablet mode. There is a series of videos with 20 Surface Tips on Youtube I watched that really opened my eyes to how streamlined the navigation is once you learn it. I kind of wish MS had included some sort of tutorial, though, that explains it.
For me this will primarily be a "Steam indie game library" machine. And as that it works great. I think I will easily take Steam's selection of older titles and indie games over the IOS App store's selection any day. It's not great a as a sole gaming, device, sure. But neither is any other portable device, really.
I have to say, the hardcover keyboard is the thing that really, really sold me on it. that thing is amazing. I would say it isn't even worth buying a Surface without it. It seamlessly folds back behind the Surface when in tablet mode and the keys automatically deactivate when it's in that position. When folded forward, it provides a very nice, super thin, protective cover, that adds almost no weight or bulk. And when it is laid flat like a regular laptop, it really does turn it into a fully functional laptop thanks to the great feel of the keys and the very nice touch pad.
I've got myself a Surface Pro now. Not had chance to test it out in terms of streaming gameplay using XSplit Broadcaster and Twitch yet, but I have a game-related problem.
Sonic Generations launches, and then freezes at the HAVOK engine splash screen.
Running the sonicgenerations.exe as an admin and in compatibility mode for vista sp2 does not work.
Can anyone help?
Sonic Generations launches, and then freezes at the HAVOK engine splash screen.
Running the sonicgenerations.exe as an admin and in compatibility mode for vista sp2 does not work.
Can anyone help?
After using one of these first hand I really want one I never thought how incredibly intuitive and natural it is to use a keyboard and touchscreen in conjuction on a PC that size.
Not to mention how easy it is to carry it makes it absolutely perfect for my IT job it's nigh impossible to carry out a full blown laptop walking around a University all day.
Not to mention how easy it is to carry it makes it absolutely perfect for my IT job it's nigh impossible to carry out a full blown laptop walking around a University all day.
Roll back the graphics drivers I know someone who plays games on one and the latest driver makes a lot of games unstable.
Go to the start screen type device manager. Click device manager. Then click the drop down menu for display adapters and right click the display adapter (should be Intel HD 4000 series). click properties and then click the tab that says driver. You should then have an option to roll back.
If you don't have the option to roll back try forcing an update.
It'll definetly be worth waiting for if it's released a haswell refresh will make the battery actually worthwhile and slightly increase overall performance.
How's the battery life on it with regular use? I have an ASUS gaming laptop that I love but battery only lasts around 3 hours which isn't very good as a college student having to use it for most of my classes.
not too good. 3-5 hours depending on what im playing. always keep the charger handy. but other than that it's a pretty capable machine. most of my very few problems have been quicky fixed, and the remaining ones are related to firefox visuals which i should be able to fix with userscripts or addon.
Though thats while playing a game right? I'm talking about general use like using the internet, if its 3-5 hours playing a game thats pretty good.
ah, sorry, that's mostly watching YT vids non-stop, or video files on the hardrive, interspersed with some light gaming or web browsing.
May been overzelous last night. Might have been because I was using a keyboard and not a 360 controller, or perhaps I briefly had the power settings on high performance last night as I got used to the Surface Pro...
After further testing both Sonic Generations and Splinter Cell Conviction can get choppy when the action gets hot and heavy. This is playing with a 360 controller, default settings (so nothing has been set exceptionally low or high, just default), and with the power setting of balanced. It's not so bad that it prevents you from playing the games or anything, but it might annoy some. I would imagine that the problem is fixed simply by changing the power setting to high performance, even.
Having my Xbox360 display settings and XSplit Broadcaster resolution set to 480p, and using hdpvr_1.5.7.0 drivers (to stop my HD PVR Gaming Edition from creating messed-up 199fps vids), I was able to stream my xbox360 gameplay pretty damn perfectly, even under 'balanced' power options.
Monado Blade
Member
You're quoting a post of mine from weeks ago. Believe me, I've since learned how to use the Windows 8 touch controls quite well.
Am loving this little machine. Finished writing a script on this, and afterwards, an extended session of Civ V.
Recently installed Skullgirls, and paired with a Saturn USB controller, my Surface Pro is now an awesome little fighting game machine.
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
This thing is changing my gaming habits. I love these short 10-15 gaming sessions of Jetpack or Spartan Assault.
Iced_Eagle
Member
It will improve performance, but not in a drastic sense. Haswell's first priority is to improve battery life, and wasn't a huge performance increase. Anandtech has a short article here comparing the HD 5000, HD 4400 (Surface Pro 2), HD 4000 (Surface Pro 1), and HD 3000 here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7072/intel-hd-5000-vs-hd-4000-vs-hd-4400
With that said, Microsoft was showing off games running at the Surface announcement event (specifically Dota 2). I'm going to be playing lots of Dota when I get my surface. My laptop has a HD 3000, so the Surface Pro 2 will be a big step up.
One thing that I think would be interesting would be if they could support an external GPU. Imagine if they made a Gaming Dock that has all of the ports like the current Dock, but with an external high-powered AMD/Nvidia GPU. That way when you're out and about, you get great battery life but won't have great gaming performance, but when you go home you can dock into the GPU dock and get vastly improved performance, and can also hook it up to an external monitor instead of playing on a 10.6" screen. Though if they can find a way to keep great battery life and have a discrete GPU in the tablet, that would be amazing. We can dream for Surface Pro 3.
That would require a really fast connection to work, but I think having the option of buying a more expensive model that supports something like this would be great.It will improve performance, but not in a drastic sense. Haswell's first priority is to improve battery life, and wasn't a huge performance increase. Anandtech has a short article here comparing the HD 5000, HD 4400 (Surface Pro 2), HD 4000 (Surface Pro 1), and HD 3000 here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7072/intel-hd-5000-vs-hd-4000-vs-hd-4400
With that said, Microsoft was showing off games running at the Surface announcement event (specifically Dota 2). I'm going to be playing lots of Dota when I get my surface. My laptop has a HD 3000, so the Surface Pro 2 will be a big step up.
One thing that I think would be interesting would be if they could support an external GPU. Imagine if they made a Gaming Dock that has all of the ports like the current Dock, but with an external high-powered AMD/Nvidia GPU. That way when you're out and about, you get great battery life but won't have great gaming performance, but when you go home you can dock into the GPU dock and get vastly improved performance, and can also hook it up to an external monitor instead of playing on a 10.6" screen. Though if they can find a way to keep great battery life and have a discrete GPU in the tablet, that would be amazing. We can dream for Surface Pro 3.
-COOLIO-
The Everyman
anyone know if shadowrun returns is playable with touch controls on the pro?
edit:
page 3 had the answer.
edit:
page 3 had the answer.
Astral/H3X
Member
If Surface Pro 3 has a Thunderbolt connection and a dock that supports it, I'll definitely be hooking up a eGpu setup and using it as my primary PC. It just doesn't have the GPU to be everything for me though.
EDit:
The precision needs calibration, of course, but isn't as good as a cintiq/Intuous. Its as good as Bamboo, but in reality those aren't super accurate either. Its certainly accurate enough though, and anything needing pixel perfect accuracy needs you to look at the cursor on a Cintiq anyway. Really, the difference is that a few times you'd have to look at the cursor more than a Cintiq. And a Cintiq is more accepting of non-standard grip angles, but its not perfect there either.
EDit:
The precision needs calibration, of course, but isn't as good as a cintiq/Intuous. Its as good as Bamboo, but in reality those aren't super accurate either. Its certainly accurate enough though, and anything needing pixel perfect accuracy needs you to look at the cursor on a Cintiq anyway. Really, the difference is that a few times you'd have to look at the cursor more than a Cintiq. And a Cintiq is more accepting of non-standard grip angles, but its not perfect there either.
-COOLIO-
The Everyman
i didnt even know external gpus were a thing. im intrigued.
Astral/H3X
Member
Rare and uncommon to be sure, but one of the great things about Thunderbolt is that they don't bottleneck them too much. It'd be great for building it into a desk out of view, but they are too cumbersome to carry around with you or anything.
Astral/H3X
Member
Quoting you in case you didn't see my edit earlier. I bought the Surface specifically for this, so hopefully I know what I'm talking about.
Just got a surface pro today. It's great but the dpi is way too high (never thought i'd say that). Scaling past 150% messes up some visual elements but without it, everything is way too small to press. Don't even get me started on chrome, you'd think a company like google would be able to add some touch and high dpi support.
Astral/H3X
Member
I've been long waiting the day that Chrome doesn't go bonkers when you use mouse and touch in tandem. Windows 8 mode has a lot of work to be done.
IE10/11 really are the best Tablet browsers. They're fantastic, but there is still the issue that crops up when you try to open a link in a new tab. That and no extensions...
It's ridiculous how fucked up chrome is on the Surface. It's not even just lack of touch support. If you try scaling it up, the window becomes blurry so you're stuck with using those tiny buttons.
Also, why is everything so small on the surface anyway? Does it have smaller pixels than most other monitors? 1080 on my monitor isn't nearly as tiny as on the surface.
Awesome. First time anyone answers this
thank you!1080p refers to the number of pixels, not the density. So there are literally 1080 pixels on the vertical axis regardless of the screen size.
The pixels are smaller on the Surface display (10.6") vs. your typical monitor (say, 23"), because you're packing the same amount of pixels into a smaller area.
Ah, that's what I suspected. I just thought it was weird that manufacturers of larger screens don't use the max possible dpi. Although that would make the screen smaller so I guess it makes sense.
Monitors also have a higher typical usage distance than tablets or phones, so you run into diminishing returns to some degree.
Also, be aware that you can adjust DPI settings in Windows if you find that UI elements are too small.
Astral/H3X
Member
You're welcome! It was personally first first screen with an integrated digitizer, and the slight innacuracy of it made me think using a Cintiq would blow me away. And yeah, they are better, but not mind blowingly better.Awesome. First time anyone answers this
I wish MS would put in Vector based icon support. Would go a long way in making some things nicer looking.
-COOLIO-
The Everyman
papers please