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[PhillipCostigan]

Hey folks! Looking for some opinions on a Surface Pro 4 from anyone who has one. I’m not an artist, but wondering if it’s still worth. I haven’t owned a personal laptop for over a year since mine was stolen, and don’t particularly need a full laptop, but something a bit more capable than my iPad would also be nice. Coupled with my decreasing interest in Apple products and the deals on Surfaces over the holidays it seems like a good bet. Any thoughts?

Some potentially key details:

- Looking at the i5 8GB RAM 256 GB version
- I'm a writer (also is the Type cover good/essential?)
- I play a lot of League of Legends
- Won't be used for heavy gaming, but more to play some old Final Fantasy games, League, small indie titles etc.
- I can't draw for the life of me
- I'm an impulse buyer but I do have some self control (I asked about picking up a Smart Watch here before and managed to stop myself lol)
- I'm in Ireland, so this is more expensive than in the US.

Feel free to direct me to another more relevant thread or ask any other questions.

 

[PdotMichael]

Why not buying a nice notebook instead? Why do you need a Windows tablet with a badly integrated tablet mode?

 

[PhillipCostigan]

Why not buying a nice notebook instead? Why do you need a Windows tablet with a badly integrated tablet mode?

I guess it's the more powerful tablet with the compatibility of a Windows machine that's the main attraction?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Notebook sounds more practical, especially since you already have a tablet.

 

[Izuna]

If you're a writer, I would think that a good keyboard is important. I personally don't think the Type Cover cuts it. Is the Surface Book out of budget?

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

Get it then, I don't know if it can run something like League, but it's a great idea for something not a laptop, but better than a tablet.

Don't listen to the first post, Windows 10's tablet mode is great. I have a W10 Tablet and it works very well. Something like a notebook can work well too -- look into Chromebooks.

 

[Shogmaster]

SP4 can do lot of things very well but working on your lap is not one of them. If you want something more portable than regular laptops but don't need a pen, I recommend Lenovo Yoga 710.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlCXoiNCAyo

 

[PhillipCostigan]

If you're a writer, I would think that a good keyboard is important. I personally don't think the Type Cover cuts it. Is the Surface Book out of budget?

Surface Book is probably a little bit much (unless an awesome deal comes up soon), but I have a Pok3r coming next year as a very good, portable keyboard for work/when I travel so the built-in keyboard is less of an issue.

 

[Enco]

I'm on my surface 4 now.

Being able to remove the keyboard or flip it onto the back is really cool. That and the touchscreen + pen are the highlights. Even if you're not an artist (I'm not), it's nice.

The keyboard is a must I would say. On screen keyboard is garbage for any real work.

It's not perfect though. It's really expensive, buggy and has a pretty weak battery life.

That being said, I generally hate laptops and use a desktop 99% of the time. The surface is plenty good for the remaining time. I wouldn't bother with a shitty cheap notebook. I haven't tried gaming on it but maybe for simple stuff it'll be ok.

 

[PdotMichael]

I guess it's the more powerful tablet with the compatibility of a Windows machine that's the main attraction?

The question would be if you don't need the touch screen feature you get superior notebooks for less money.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

If you're a writer you need best in class keyboard. It's that simple.

How about a XPS 13 or a Leonovo Yoga X1? not sure how LoL runs on those. probably not well.

 

[PhillipCostigan]

Potentially key piece of info I guess - I don't own a PERSONAL laptop, but I have a 15" retina Macbook Pro with an i7/16GB RAM from work.

When I'm all really deep writing sessions I can use that, I just need this to be decent for spur of the moment stuff.

 

[Hesemonni]

SP4 = The ultimate study tool or has it been dethroned yet?

 

[Defect]

I'm currently on my Surface Book which I got recently and I would recommend that over a pro. But a pro is still pretty good.

 

[spelen]

yes the sp4 can do all those things you mentioned very well, and yes the type cover is a must. but since you don't really need a touch screen it seems why not buy buy a traditional cheaper laptop because it'll come with better specs and meet you needs just as well.

 

[Meffer]

I draw on mine and while it's light and great to hold the fact you can't customize the side button on the pen in any way can be a deal breaker for artists and for me as well if I knew that before I bought it. I would've went with the Cintiq Companion 2 instead. Despite that it's a great tablet PC. My mother has one for work and for general use and she loves it.

 

[PhillipCostigan]

yes the sp4 can do all those things you mentioned very well, and yes the type cover is a must. but since you don't really need a touch screen it seems why not buy buy a traditional cheaper laptop because it'll come with better specs and meet you needs just as well.

I mean that's basically the "why have an iPad/any tablet when you could get a laptop with better specs for the same price/cheaper?"

Touchscreens are super easy to use and the way I'd likely use it for Anything outside of writing/gaming. Portability is a boon. Convenience.

I already have a work laptop as well for anything I really need a laptop for. This is just about getting a power and compatibility bump on my tablet and weening myself off Apple as well.

 

[Meffer]

I mean that's basically the "why have an iPad/any tablet when you could get a laptop with better specs for the same price/cheaper?"

Touchscreens are super easy to use and the way I'd likely use it for Anything outside of writing/gaming. Portability is a boon. Convenience.

I already have a work laptop as well for anything I really need a laptop for. This is just about getting a power and compatibility bump on my tablet and weening myself off Apple as well.

Then I think you'll like the Pro 4. Give it a shot and you can always return it if you change your mind.

 

[Dee Dah Dave]

Wait a few months and see what the Ipad Pro 2 and Surface Pro 5 have to offer. If you aren't desperate for something right now.

 

[spelen]

I mean that's basically the "why have an iPad/any tablet when you could get a laptop with better specs for the same price/cheaper?"

Touchscreens are super easy to use and the way I'd likely use it for Anything outside of writing/gaming. Portability is a boon. Convenience.

I already have a work laptop as well for anything I really need a laptop for. This is just about getting a power and compatibility bump on my tablet and weening myself off Apple as well.

if you got the cash and it's what you want then I can recommend 100% just make sure you get the 8 GB version

 

[rrs]

As someone who owns an early 2 in 1 (ThinkPad Twist) all I can say is please try a 12" iPad Pro (with maybe some foam pads to emulate the space taken from a flipover keyboard) before buying a surface pro or other hybrid device, for a quick pickup and go device 10" is about my limit before it just gets too big. However, under 12" all you get seems to be Atom SoCs that are on par with iOS/Android high end tablets which is a shame, really.

 

[Vault Dweller 111]

SP4 owner here (exact model you're looking at) also not an artist.

Im a college student and I love mine, especially for taking notes and how portable/light it is. I've played a little bit of League on it, it's fine but it performs noticeably worse than on my friends desktop (obviously). You may be a bit disappointed even with your limited gaming requirements.

You know your needs better than I, its just about perfect for a student. If you're using it as just a laptop for home use I'm sure there are better (cheaper) options.

 

[muu]

Do you routinely print out your work and mark them up using red/black ink? Aside from meetings, where I work those of us that got a Surface tend to use them to check engineering prints and mark them up using Bluebeam. We're provided 17in workstations so these end up being supplemental systems, which means that we're fine w/ it being able to do 90-95% of what we need it to do.

If you need a single system to fit all your needs, I'd go with a nice laptop instead.