Source
r/Surface•
zeritor

I want to pick up a Surface Pro 4 in a potential black Friday sale. Which one do you think I would need for my wants?

I mainly want it as a portable sketchbook, to draw/paint in on the go but also to use as a notebook as I am a big OneNote fan. My ideal use is just whipping it out when bored/on public transport/at a friends/in meetings, and just get to drawing/note taking. I will also occasionally code on it.

I have a massively beefy PC rig already, so I would not use it for things like games, video editing, any kind of compressing, any kind of large media, etc, as I do all that on my PC. I also do most of my 3D modelling and Unity use on PC, and doubt I'd use the surface for either of those.

Would the m3 be enough for something like this? I don't particularly work on massive art projects, mainly sketches/small digital paintings for video game concepts.

Posted Nov 17, 2016, 12:48 PM UTC · edited

47
n-ko-cSP4 i7 512GB•

m3 would probably be enough, but I'm the sort who likes to shoot for a bit more than what I think I'll need, so I can't help suggesting the i5.

2
jin8913•

If you just use one note or other simple application M3 and i5 are pretty much identical. Some reviews showed that m3 and i5 have big performance gap when using serious painting applications, video editing or compressing.

1
zeritorOP•

I do use Photoshop CS5 with my Wacom at the moment. And even large pictures/large brushes can cause my main gaming rig to slow down.

Do you think the m3 is a little too low for good Photoshop use?

1
dinodares99Probably SP5 (MSFT Pls)•

I would think so based on previous usage of Photoshop on other low end computers.

But i havent tested out m3 v i5 for this so take it with a block of salt

1
jin8913•

Mobiletechreview by Lisa on Youtube compares I5 and M3 performence in photoshop.

I think it is negligible difference as long as u dobt use large brushes

1
Tathas•

MS has a preview of their in-store deals for Black Friday.

https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Black-Friday-Sale/categoryID.67001100?icid=topstripe_BlackFridayPreview_SW

The i5/256 SSD/8GB + keyboard offer looks fairly attractive at $999. Your stated use sounds like the m3 model would be fine.

Do you have an option to go in to a store and try out each model?

1
Spydude84No Surfaces, but knowledgeable and a prospective buyer...•

M3 would probably suit your needs. You could always buy the M3 and use it for a month and return it if you think you need more power (MS have a 30 full money back return guarantee).

1