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Surface pro for light gaming?
- Thread starter bomblord1
- Start date
Dawnbuster
Member
I have an i7 Surface Pro 3 through work, and just tried Diablo 3 on it this morning.
Ran it at 720 (an even division of the native screen res), and after turning off trilinear filtering and setting the hardware profile to 1 in the D3Prefs file (which turns the game down to the lowest settings), I was able to run a rift with the frame rate hovering between 30 and 40 fps ... it was totally playable.
As others have said, all the simpler Steam games and side scrollers are flawless. Towerfall, Rogue Legacy, Shovel Knight, Jamestown, Super Time Force, Broforce, Velocity Ultra, Guacamelee, etc ... perfect. It doesn't run Saint's Row 4 very well, but that's just the limit of Intel graphics. Astebreed runs but makes the little fan scream bloody murder.
I've found emulating everything from the N64 and below works flawlessly, but it has some trouble with Dolphin. Just can't quite get to 60fps and drops frames and sound regularly.
Ran it at 720 (an even division of the native screen res), and after turning off trilinear filtering and setting the hardware profile to 1 in the D3Prefs file (which turns the game down to the lowest settings), I was able to run a rift with the frame rate hovering between 30 and 40 fps ... it was totally playable.
As others have said, all the simpler Steam games and side scrollers are flawless. Towerfall, Rogue Legacy, Shovel Knight, Jamestown, Super Time Force, Broforce, Velocity Ultra, Guacamelee, etc ... perfect. It doesn't run Saint's Row 4 very well, but that's just the limit of Intel graphics. Astebreed runs but makes the little fan scream bloody murder.
I've found emulating everything from the N64 and below works flawlessly, but it has some trouble with Dolphin. Just can't quite get to 60fps and drops frames and sound regularly.
I've never had a heat problem. It does get hot but then the fan ramps up. It gets loud but it doesn't shut down or slow down.
I hear the Surf Pro 3 throttles itself to avoid heat and fan noise, which is why the comparable models perform poorly.
Nice. I'd say get the Surface Pro 3. I bought a Surface Pro 1 last year while my boyfriend bought a Surface Pro 2 and he has upgraded to a Surface Pro 3 last month. The difference between the SP1/SP2 and the SP3 is huge and so much of an improvement. I'm now looking to sell my SP1 and a Macbook I've had lying around just so I can get the SP3 too, that's how jealous I am, lol.
Not just the larger screen, the weight, kickstand, pen, even the type cover is so much better than the SP2. If you invest in a SP3 now, you probably don't have to upgrade for at least a couple of years because the device has gotten pretty much perfect now. Whilst if you buy a SP2 now, you'll want to upgrade soon because it has a lot of flaws.
Alright, so no pro 2. I would love to get the i5 but it's just way out of my price range.
What flaws does the Surface Pro 2 have in comparison to the Surface Pro 3?
A quick google says the weight difference between the two is less than 0.2 pounds. The pen looks about the same. The built in kickstand is nice, but there are plenty of covers to purchase for the SP2 that do the same thing. Battery power is barely improved.
Which leaves performance and functionality, in which the two are pretty comparable, minus the throttling issue on the Surface Pro 3.
ClayKavalier
Banned
Did the SP2 not have the kickstand? I thought that was in every model, including the original.
Not everyone will care, but I use mine to read a lot of PDFs, so the screen ratio of the 3 makes it a lot better to me than the 2.
If you're going for the i3 surface pro 3 vs the 2, I'd go for the 2. I have a first generation surface pro and play guild wars 2 on it from time to time. Get like 20 fps on it with lowest settings in a non populated area. Think the second one can get that with average settings.
The pen uses Bluetooth now and is supposed to be more precise especially at the edges. Not something I'd pay the extra money for though.
An i5 would be niice but like you said, you want to do some light gaming and the i3 will still run a lot of "simple"/indie games fine. I'm assuming that the main reason why you're considering the Surface Pro is for school, and the SP3 is just much more comfortable and convenient for that kind of stuff.
- Screen size is a bit small (this is subjective)
- Typecover track pad gets super dirty and is hard to clean because of the felt material
- Kickstand is not ideal
- Weight
These are my main complaints about the Surface Pro 2, and they have all been either fixed or improved upon with the Surface Pro 3.
You're right, it does. You can buy other covers that set in other positions.
I feel like these are such minor issues that the power-price question is more important. What performance are you getting for what cost. Unless price is no question, then just get the most expensive SP3 and then upgrade to SP4, which will likely be a large jump in processing capability.
I guess it depends on what kind of gaming OP wants to do on the system. More power is nice, but even with a i5 you won't be able to play games like Sleeping Dogs on decent settings, just to name something. You'd still be confined to older games or indie games that don't require too much power, and you can still do that with an i3. Doing schoolwork, reading PDFs or taking notes can be done on either and I'd say that the larger screen, screen ratio, and OneNote pen are much better suited to that kind of thing.
Iced_Eagle
Member
That will be great. It already works today for steam streaming and it's fantastic.
NormandyVII
Member
I've been using my SP3 i5 for about 4 months now. Quite frankly one of the better purchases I made last year. It is absolute convenient and it functions both as a laptop and a tablet superbly. I use it mainly for some lightroom picture editing and light web browsing. Tried some games on it like hearthstone and CIV 5. Lags abit on hearthstone when all the particle effects are dancing around the screen. CIV 5 however runs decently well.
You can't play at say 720p with black bars?
ClayKavalier
Banned
I wonder how that got out the door. The type cover is really impressive with how thin it is and it's comfortable to type on, but that felt material was a horrible choice.
The weird thing is that it feels like the same material that on Apple's Smart Covers, except there the felt is on the part touching the screen, which makes sense. It's like MicroSoft wanted to use the same materials but didn't understand why certain materials were used on certain parts of the product.
That's all you can do. The integrated graphics can't force a 3:2 ratio on stuff that doesn't natively offer that option.
KnockOneOff
Banned
That day will forever be the day my surface use is complete
Especially if I can get it streaming over the Internet using VPN or something
Shaqiri1987
Banned
Surface 2 blows for gaming. Can't even play diablo 3 at minimum settings and junk resolution.
Great laptop for doing work, internet and videos, but not for gaming.
Owned one since day one.
Great laptop for doing work, internet and videos, but not for gaming.
Owned one since day one.
Just get a small gaming laptop like the Clevo W230SS/Sager NP7338...(or its successor that should be announced soon)
I had the SP and it ran hot when I tried to game on it, I had to disable turbo on it because I thought the fans were going to stop working since they were running so loud.
I used to try gaming on laptops without discrete cards, I changed that habit quick.
I had the SP and it ran hot when I tried to game on it, I had to disable turbo on it because I thought the fans were going to stop working since they were running so loud.
I used to try gaming on laptops without discrete cards, I changed that habit quick.
Seems to run lighter games (which is what I intend to play) fine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-N6PC9drEw
Of course, all Win7/8 systems will.
Thank god. I was worried for a bit there.
Performance and the writing experience. If you can find something with a similar or just as usable pen though I would be happy to consider it.
It's beyond 1080p the resolution is 2160 x 1440
GreyOcelot
Member
for gaming? no, those have atom processors i believe
As someone who has owned a surface pro, ipad, and NVidia shield tablet, this is the ugly truth about tablets:
They are great for consuming content. They suck ass for creating it and also suck for gaming with a controller.
They are clumsy and frustrating for anything outside of web browsing and passive media consumption. A light laptop with a touchscreen is the best of worlds. Get the best light a Windows base laptop you can afford OP and don't look back. With all these gadgets I have, a traditional laptop is what I wish I had instead. It is way more flexible. Clamshells rule. Ad hoc tablets kinda suck.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
SP2 outperforms SP3 in some respects on account of throttling and such that you can't override in settings on the SP3. I also prefer the 1080p screen of the SP2 to the weird aspect ratio / resolution on the SP3. At any rate, it plays Heroes of Might & Magic III HD without any issues, it plays EU4 (at low speeds), it plays Game Dev Tycoon well enough.
Basically light gaming is fine on it. I use the keyboard and arc mouse altho if a game requires middle mouse button heavily, that may be problematic.
Which is neither 4:3 nor 16:9 nor 16:10. Thus problematic for some games.
Basically light gaming is fine on it. I use the keyboard and arc mouse altho if a game requires middle mouse button heavily, that may be problematic.
Which is neither 4:3 nor 16:9 nor 16:10. Thus problematic for some games.
i figured. Even for light gaming?
What would you suggest then as a light windows based laptop?
Depends on what you consider light gaming. It'll run Skyrim and Crysis at 20-30fps on low @ 720p. Basically any 2d game will run with a few notable exceptions.
Why? Doesn't it just add black bars?
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
Depends on the game. Some scale the game area fine but UI elements look awful for instance.
From what I've read the Pro 3 will not attempt to scale or stretch it just adds black bars which should keep games at their native aspect ratio and not introduce that.
It really depends on your budget. But really anything with a clamshell design and a decent integrated graphics card will do better than most tablets in terms of power and far better in terms if form factor for controller gaming.
joeygreco1985
Member
I have a Pro 1 and it runs a surprisingly good amount of games. I'd recommend it. I ran a LAN at my house not too long ago and it ran TF2, Smite, CS:GO, and many others with no issue.
My problems with my Surface Pro had nothing to do with what it would run, it had to do with the limitations of the form factor. Even using a keyboard and the kickstand you can only really use it well at a traditional desk for gaming or typing. It sucks to try to use while sitting on your lap or in bed.
Meanwhile traditional clamshell laptops pretty much work great everywhere.
Owned the original Pro. Was a great machine and pretty capable for gaming. Was able to play things like DMC and Enslaved with solid performance as long as I toned down the effects. Emulators ran great and I also loved the Wacom screen and pen. That said, as much as I loved the device, the screen can feel cramped at times and you need the type/touch cover. Thought about moving up to the 3 but didnt like the changes they did to the screen and because of the size and the need for the type cover it basically becomes the size of a small laptop. Because of that, I just went with a similar sized (but still larger) touchscreen convertible laptop. Best part is it has a dedicated graphics chip. Nothing mind blowing but more capable than the Pro 3.
I have a laptop I'm wanting to move away from that I was looking at a few convertibles that were about $200 cheaper but they didn't have the better aspect ratio (for taking notes and using as a notepad) or the robust pen integration.
That is fair I dont use my new machine to write notes and honestly couldnt comment on its abilities even with a suitable pen. That said, the Pro 3 is pretty pricey hardware for note taking and honestly the i3 just inst worth it. If I was set to do it again, I would probably source a used Pro 2 or even a 1.
That is true with the SP1 kickstand as it only has one angle.
I'm using the FreedomCase now (kickstarted project with leather case) and it makes it easy to use the Pro in almost any configuration.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
I'll have the i7 soon of the Pro 3. How does it do for a bit of gaming? I have some steam games I need to get to...
Well I also intend to use it for Illustrator and possibly photoshop. The i3 really isn't that bad from what I've read although the i5 would be better.
Anyone have thoughts on the lenovo miix 2 tablet? It's an i5 + keyboard dock for $569
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/lenovo/miix-series/miix-2-11-inch/
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/lenovo/miix-series/miix-2-11-inch/