Seems a pretty good price. Not a Windows user, so won't be getting it, but hopefully it's helpful for someone here.
And for those Velocity FFP members, you can get 4 points for $1 spent at Kogan at the moment when you click through the Velocity E-Store site.
https://estore.velocityfrequentflyer.com/electricals/kogan-c…
Yep , I use the m3 version for work and while the processor is mostly sufficient the 4GB of ram is the bottleneck. I can't see a huge advantage with the i5 unless you go for the 8gb version.
I couldn't justify the additional cost, it's a huge jump in price to get the 8gb version considering it just sits in the car and configures networks / remotely logs into things when I need it to.
Sounds like you need the XiaoMi Air…
When I bought this I didn't know they existed unfortunately.
The 13" model goes for under a grand most of the time with an i5, 8gb of ram and a 256gb SSD. Charges of usb-c also (had to get a separate car charger for the surface)…I"m just waiting for the surface to die or for one to go on sale for a low enough price to justify it.
The nice thing about the surface however is the availability of rugged cases. It's great to be able to just take the laptop itself around with me with no fear of damaging it. I tend to end up balancing it in weird places while I"m setting up various networking equipment lol.
I5 and 4GB ram
Kinda misleading calling it the 2017 model, more like the 2014 model
Nothing wrong with an i5, so much software out there doesn't ramp up to take advantage of additional cores/threads.
4gb RAM though, that's criminal in this era for all but the most basic of users. Having said that, Win10 does deal with it better than previous versions.
My mac gets along fine with 4GB RAM and I edit Video. Windows doesn't utilise ram quite as well. Btw I own both OS and I like them both equally for different things.
Furthermore, "i5" doesn't mean anything anymore. It's not enough information. The full model number is needed to make an informed decision.
e.g. The Intel Core i5-7440HQ @ 2.80GHz utterly outclasses the Intel Core i7-5550U @ 2.00GHz
Intel knows they can manipulate potential buyers with this familiar letter/number combo.
It's a great price for the specific product considering Microsoft are selling it still for $1500.
But paying $1000+ for 128GB + 4GB is madness in 2018.
The Truth. Happy to pay more but need double everything.
might wait for another deal
Wow, can't believe how expensive it still is! 4GB of ram for $1000 is borderline fraudulent.
Caveat emptor.
Please be aware that there is a design defect with the Microsoft Surface Pro 2017 and/or Microsoft Surface 4 which causes to the screen to flicker after about a year of usage.
There are also news going around that MS will soon end the production/sales of the Surface in 2019.
According to Lenovo. No conflict of interest there…
Microsoft exited phone hardware business because they don't have much of an OS for the mobile platform. It makes more sense to have a low margin laptop business given their interest in the software powering these devices. I am not sure how much to trust this report re MS dropping the Surface line completely…
That's the problem people were "fixing" by putting it in the freezer (don't do that).
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/02/please-dont-freeze-you…
good price for a surface pro, i have the SP4 with equivalent specs and it holds up completely fine for daily usage (uni notes, coding, media consumption, occasionally some drawing). obviously there are cheaper computers out there, but keep in mind this is a decent 2 in 1 with a writing / drawing pen.
I have the SP4 i7 and the battery life sucks. I should have just got the i3 or i5 - tests indicate there is barely any real world difference in performance. Is the i5 fanless?
i5 isn't fanless but it doesn't really bother me. i rarely hear the fan but also most of my tasks don't push the processor that hard.
the i5 is a bit better in battery life than the i7 (and according to this person, better than the m3 strangely enough https://www.lovemysurface.net/surface-pro-4-battery/ ) but it's not night and day. if you're really unhappy with the i7 battery life you probably wouldn't be pleased with the i5 either.
Only Atom/Celeron/Pentium and m core processors are fanless. The m7 is the most powerful fanless processor you can get, as seen in the Lenovo Miix 700 going for $470 a couple of days ago.
The m7 is quite capable so am happy with my pick plus it's more battery friendly than an i core.
This is a very good deal for this particular model, although be prepared to pay an extra $250 for the keyboard and pen.
We paid $1180 for this model as part an eBay sale last month and that was the best deal of January.
Just sold my surface pro 3 and keyboard for 500 as don’t really use it… pretty expensive to upgrade to latest model though!
I've still got the original surface pro 1 with an i5 and 4gb ram. Are these much of an improvement, performance wise?
Mainly form factor ( thinner/lighter ), better screen and maybe less noisy/heat and longer battery life with a slight boost in performance due to upgraded CPU and memory speeds.
4G ram so 10 years ago
Microsoft Surface Pro was released Feb. 2013, so actually only five years old.
This is a tablet. Which tablets had 4gb RAM 10 years ago. There are already posts above highlighting the supposed insufficient RAM. What more information are you adding?
Honestly, it is a good deal for what it’s worth.
I agree. To get this quality tablet, with battery life and nice screen, for basic use will be fine for many for a few years to come.
Not everyone is Photo/Video editing or running Chrome with ten tabs open on these Tablets Hybrids Computers.
My i7 8gb SP3 is borderline unusable and on its 3rd keyboard. The screen is cracked and boot time is sometimes in the order of 25 minutes.
Consumer Reports took the entire SP range off their "recommend" list last year.
So I'd submit that these likely won't "be fine for years to come" and are in fact grossly over priced and, over time, increasingly prone to failure - at which point, it's a throw away.
And 4gb is ridiculous.
Thanks for your feedback. I have never owned a SP, let alone any windows tablet or even any tablet over $200 when on a good special deal ( always Android for me ).
To run windows I always settle for a laptop or ultrabook as I like the connected keyboard, larger screen (13-15.4") as well as getting much better bang for your buck. I bought a 15.4" laptop with a touchscreen running windows and find not using touch often as I find keyboard use more for me with windows.
So apart from stylish looks and slightly better portability, I still prefer laptops for my use on my budget.
@kale chips suck: My surface pro 2 is still going strong with its original keyboard and pen. Maybe you abuse your stuff?
@ozhunter68: You can plug the Surface into a monitor pretty easily, and it weighs so little that it is a lot more convenient for carrying around with you all day than a full size laptop. Mine weighs about half of my lightest textbook, and fits in all of my bags. A full size laptop wouldn't fit in most of my bags. And with the detachable keyboard it's a lot more convenient if you also want to use it for reading books, or reading PDFs and marking them up, since you can hold it close to your body and not have to lean over awkwardly and hurt your back in order to write on the screen.
Thanks for your helpful feedback too.
I understand that for many people including students and mobile business people as well as others a lighter/smaller more portable computer or tablet is a much better solution.
I tend to go along with your thoughts that some people are rough with their gear or sometimes just plain unlucky and then base their personal experience on that whole product line unfairly.Best to go with mass reviews and professional reviews from trusted sites/reviewers.
If the price was closer to $500 than $1000 I would be tempted by a quality 12" computer/tablet like this too. Maybe I can look for a used mint condition one if I'm lucky to find :-)
@Quantumcat: No, I don't abuse my stuff. I have several (half a dozen or more) older laptops that are still working fine. Right back to a Win 95 machine that I still use to run car diagnostic software. I have one happily running as a download server and another as a remote VPN endpoint. I also have one in my home rack as part of a synergy-based "KVM". All of those are 3x older and have done far far more work than the surface pro.
The i7 was also a rip off given that Microsoft neglected to mention it would throttle to speeds slower then the I5 when it got hot - and that it would get hot a lot.
Also, again, consumer reports dumped the entire line off the recommended list. That's not my opinion, that's based on the experiences of thousands of real life users.
I'm glad yours is still fine, but for an increasing number of people that is not their experience.
It's using LPDDR rather than laptop RAM to package inside the screen, whereas the 'brains' of a laptop are typically in the keyboard. So a 'convertible' 2-in-1 laptop that has DDR-3L slots on the bottom will allow larger capacities.
Larger modules of this stuff are expensive and typically found in phones.
4gram in 2018 lol. And EVE is way better 2in1
Is it possible to add Microsoft Complete extended warranty to this?
Is the ram upgradable?
If it was do you think there would be so many moaning about it? :)
It's out of stock though…
I got a lenovo IdeaPad with 4gb Ram, and save the money toward a Manufacturer refurbished PC to do any heavy work - This is essentially a tablet and marketed as a tablet, 4gb Ram is plenty imho.
Even my phone have more ram than this…
This product is overpriced almost as bad as apple products
By design.
MS. and Google with their Pixel range, want to showcase the best of their platform and can get away charging a premium through brand recognition while allowing OEMs to compete for the value-for-money space.
sorry for the noob question, whats the difference bw surface pro and surface book?
im thinking of getting the 256g 8g ram version, there is a $300 difference in kohan website.
Surfacebook is a different form factor, more for ppl that want a 2in1 laptop
It’s only worth buying it 2nd hand, as the resale value is really bad compared to MacBook . Quality is also worst than MacBook . I bought brand new when was on sale for SP3 , quickly sold it and lost a bit money , and just last week I bought it again for only $290 with keyboard , way much less and way much happier as the pain of loosing money is much less .
Last year I bought the Surface Pro 4 with similar specs (albeit the processer is from the last series and has a fan, apparently the new one is fanless). It has 4GB RAM; I would have preferred 8GB but in all honesty for the average user working remotely away from their desktop using Office, web and specialty apps (beside 3D rendering type applications and gaming), it's really not bad and fine for me. I probably wouldn't want it for my primary hardware or for anything graphic intensive, but it's certainly functional as a lightweight Windows laptop or tablet on the go and hardware and OS work fairly well together as you would expect.
The reason for my post, I bought the Surface through Kogan's offsider - the "Dick Smith Electronics" eBay store. I was shipped a refurbished one when I paid for new. Long story short after trying to make me go away with store credits, they finally refunded a reasonable amount of money, and as I had already used a 10% off eBay voucher it turned out to be good price in the end.
I haven't needed to claim any sort of support or return to manufacturer, but I suspect if this happened being a grey import it wouldn't be good. If the local model is available for less than +25% in a store it's probably a good investment on something like this, but like most tech the price will drop like a sack of potatos anyway.
Would touch it at half that price
Does hacked Office work smooth on Surface? Can't afford yearly subs :(
I've never paid for Office in my life. Neither the Microsoft software nor the tv series
I never paid so far but my latest laptop performance has been sluggish since the cracked Office installed. Maybe get pirated Office and pay for AVG?
If anyone has ever had any success putting Windows 8 on a new Surface Pro 2017 (including having the keyboard, pen and wireless work well) please let me know how you did it/what guide you followed
People who don't use Windows are almost as bad as vegans when it comes to letting people know :p
same people
Cheaper or ststicice and includes pen? I don't know much about this product so maybe I'm missing a hardware difference somewhere.
Dwidigitalcameras
https://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=surface%20…
The link looks to be pointing to the SP4 as opposed to the SP 2017 version. Also when you click on the link (the top one including the pen) it's actually more in AUD and it's out of stock.
I stand corrected. Thanks.
Another option - the clone Dell Latitude 12 5285. They appear from time to time on the Dell Outlet Store for between $899 and $1,300 (sometimes more for an i7).
I bought the i5/7300U / 8Gb / 256Gb SSD as a "scratch n dent" for $899, couldn't find a scratch or dent. 1 yr warranty and GST refund as I use it for business. It looks like a surface - screen resolution slightly lower, however it is a brighter screen.
And the keyboard is much cheaper - some on ebay for $84, while the active pen (557) sells for around $60 as well.
That 4G ram gets me. That is a pollution to environment to have a 4g ram version to differentiate the pricing points as 4g ram version gets obsolete quicker.