Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
Call Me Charlie
Dec 3, 2005

by Smythe
The base model of the Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi has finally launched in America.

$699

- 12.5-inch Full HD touchscreen
- Intel Core M-5Y10c
- 4GB memory/128GB SSD
- Up to 8 hours battery life


http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/ASUS-Transformer-Book-T300-Chi-Signature-Edition-2-in-1-PC/productID.314145300

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008

Protocol7 posted:

A tap-drag will bring up the context menu on keys, and even tiny fast drags count. Kind of a terrible idea.

What does this even mean? It works fine on phones. I just want the Ø to appear on the Window's touch keyboard when you hold down the o. It does on Window's phone!

lite_sleepr
Jun 3, 2003

by Radio Games Forum
I want something to replace this iPad mini as I work to give apple products the boot. Is that Surface 2 and Surface 3 pretty great? It looks neat.

Syrinxx
Mar 28, 2002

Death is whimsical today

Speaking of keyboards is there a way to force the number row to appear atop my keyboard ? Also is there a way to put a decent on screen keyboard since the MS one seems to have basically no customization whatsoever? Surface Pro 3 if it matters

Clark Nova
Jul 18, 2004

Syrinxx posted:

Speaking of keyboards is there a way to force the number row to appear atop my keyboard ? Also is there a way to put a decent on screen keyboard since the MS one seems to have basically no customization whatsoever? Surface Pro 3 if it matters

Go to PC Settings -> PC and Devices -> Typing, then turn on "Add the standard keyboard layout..."
This will add another option to your touch keyboard choices which has a num row (and f- keys with the fn modifier), alt, delete and a few other niceties. I'm not aware of any way to actually customize the layout of any of the builtin touch keyboards.

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008

PRESIDENT GOKU posted:

I want something to replace this iPad mini as I work to give apple products the boot. Is that Surface 2 and Surface 3 pretty great? It looks neat.

I love my surface pro 3, although they're much more expensive.

hotsauce
Jan 14, 2007
Dell 10" 5000 arrived today with keyboard. Also my $35 Stream 7 did as well ($25 off daylight savings coupon plus the $25 Stream credit).

Typing on the disposable Stream now because $35...haven't opened the Dell. Will probably send it back as I don't really need it (impulse buy). Still have yet to see a single review of it. Maybe after coffee in the AM I will change my mind.

The Stream 7 is a nice little tablet. Offloaded my V8P a few days ago as it was never used. Somehow I see myself using the Stream more due to the smaller size. The screen is shockingly crisp.

Tony Montana
Aug 6, 2005

by FactsAreUseless
Is this the thread for discussion and recommendation?

What is the general consensus on the Surface Pro 3? It looks great. I want to pull the trigger on one. If you've come from business laptops it having a dock is a 'omg, they get it' moment. So many cool things about it..

Is it really all that? I can't see a downside.

Tom Guycot
Oct 15, 2008

Chief of Governors


only thing at this point id be worried about with the sp3 is that the sp4 and possibly mini will probably be announced soonish going by previous release schedules. that's probably not even much of a downside though since I imagine it will be the 'surface pro 2' type incremental update.

isndl
May 2, 2012
I WON A CONTEST IN TG AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS CUSTOM TITLE

Tony Montana posted:

Is this the thread for discussion and recommendation?

What is the general consensus on the Surface Pro 3? It looks great. I want to pull the trigger on one. If you've come from business laptops it having a dock is a 'omg, they get it' moment. So many cool things about it..

Is it really all that? I can't see a downside.

If you're looking for a tablet that can also handle laptop duties, it's best in class. I'd hesitate to really call it a laptop replacement though, even if Microsoft touts it as such - it doesn't quite grasp the entirety of the laptop experience.

If you do get one, I'd recommend doing so at a Microsoft Store and opening it up on the spot to make sure it works properly. I had to return mine twice before I got one that worked properly out of the box, and it's not a super rare occurrence from what I've heard.

Crayvex
Dec 15, 2005

Morons! I have morons on my payroll!
My Surface Pro 3 has been my primary personal machine for several months. I sort of wish I had a docking station but I find it tons more useful than the MacBook Air it replaced.

I'm pretty worried that Windows 10 is going to "ruin" the tablet experience on the Surface. I like the gestures on Windows 8.1 when I'm using it in Tablet mode. What I've seen of Windows 10 seems like a huge compromise to make the Windows 7 people happy and pretty much remove or neuter all the best touch screen functions. (Fast app switching, snapping two apps, live tiles) I admit that these functions suck with a mouse and keyboard but work awesome on a touchscreen.

the heat goes wrong
Dec 31, 2005
I´m watching you...

Tom Guycot posted:

only thing at this point id be worried about with the sp3 is that the sp4 and possibly mini will probably be announced soonish going by previous release schedules. that's probably not even much of a downside though since I imagine it will be the 'surface pro 2' type incremental update.
Recent price drop and rumours say it will be released around july. Core M in 12" and a 14" version.

Butt Soup Barnes
Nov 25, 2008

The SP3 is fantastic and has 100% replaced my iPad, laptop, and now my desktop too since I got a docking station. I wish battery life was a little better but it really isn't that bad, I can easily get through 7-8 hours of office activity or web browsing. Plus the adapter is small so it's no big deal just throwing it in my bag as a backup.

The pen is great and OneNote organizes my entire life now. It has replaced stacks of binders and note pads at school and at work, it's so nice to always have everything with me.

I wouldn't worry too much about the SP4. The SP3 came out less than a year after the SP2 and it's been such a hit they are in no rush to squeeze out a new model ASAP like they've felt pressured to in the past. Also, it's going to be more of an incremental update since they've already said the chassis is going to remain the same and the changes from the 2 to 3 were enormous. Think of the SP3 and SP4 like the iPhone 5 vs 5s.

Price is up there but you are getting full computer capabilities and when you compare it to ultra books it no longer looks crazy expensive. Also if you are a student Best Buy has a $100 off coupon (for i5 models and above) that stacks with their 10% movers discount and any sale prices. I got the $1,000 128gb model for $720 this way a few weeks ago when they were on sale for $899.

bobfather
Sep 20, 2001

I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

Butt Soup Barnes posted:

The SP3 is fantastic and has 100% replaced my iPad, laptop, and now my desktop too since I got a docking station. I wish battery life was a little better but it really isn't that bad, I can easily get through 7-8 hours of office activity or web browsing. Plus the adapter is small so it's no big deal just throwing it in my bag as a backup.

The pen is great and OneNote organizes my entire life now. It has replaced stacks of binders and note pads at school and at work, it's so nice to always have everything with me.

I wouldn't worry too much about the SP4. The SP3 came out less than a year after the SP2 and it's been such a hit they are in no rush to squeeze out a new model ASAP like they've felt pressured to in the past. Also, it's going to be more of an incremental update since they've already said the chassis is going to remain the same and the changes from the 2 to 3 were enormous. Think of the SP3 and SP4 like the iPhone 5 vs 5s.

Price is up there but you are getting full computer capabilities and when you compare it to ultra books it no longer looks crazy expensive. Also if you are a student Best Buy has a $100 off coupon (for i5 models and above) that stacks with their 10% movers discount and any sale prices. I got the $1,000 128gb model for $720 this way a few weeks ago when they were on sale for $899.

I have a Surface Pro 3 and I quite like it. The SP4 will no doubt use Core M and will probably be fanless. It will also most likely be slower than the i5 SP3, if the performance of current Core M devices is considered.

Syrinxx
Mar 28, 2002

Death is whimsical today

The i5 Surface Pro 3 has replaced both my laptop and tablet for work and it is a god drat amazing device. It's a home run for MS and I can't think of anything bad to say about it other than the (non-work related) fact it feels a bit heavy when used as a tablet in bed at night. That being said, comics on a 12" tablet with a screen this nice look god drat amazing.

Nerdrock
Jan 31, 2006

Syrinxx posted:

The i5 Surface Pro 3 has replaced both my laptop and tablet for work and it is a god drat amazing device. It's a home run for MS and I can't think of anything bad to say about it other than the (non-work related) fact it feels a bit heavy when used as a tablet in bed at night. That being said, comics on a 12" tablet with a screen this nice look god drat amazing.

I feel close to the same, but my single complaint is the fact that the drat fan kicks on even at idle.

wookieepelt
Jul 23, 2009

Nerdrock posted:

I feel close to the same, but my single complaint is the fact that the drat fan kicks on even at idle.

Supposedly, if you underclock it, the fan settles down. It also is supposed to improve performance.

I have an i5 SP3 and it is amazing. I'm a student and I use the pen and OneNote all the time. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you can get it on sale. Oh, and you can play skyrim on it at medium settings.

Queen_Combat
Jan 15, 2011

wookieepelt posted:

Supposedly, if you underclock it, the fan settles down. It also is supposed to improve performance.


You mean battery performance, I'm sure.

bobfather
Sep 20, 2001

I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

Geirskogul posted:

You mean battery performance, I'm sure.

I've heard that better CPU performance is achieved. The basic idea is that when the fan kicks on, the CPU undergoes automatic thermal throttling and slows itself down anyways. If you undervolt yourself the processor throttles itself back less often, resulting in higher average performance. Basically undervolting reduces heat and power consumption at the potential cost of system stability. I thought I heard that one of the negatives of undervolting was that the system could fail to wake from sleep sometimes.

bobfather fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Mar 12, 2015

jfrancis
Nov 7, 2005

I look smarter than I am.
Has anyone tried the latest ThinkPad Yoga 12? It's a bit heavy at 3.5 pounds, but I'm wondering how well it works in tablet mode.

Nerdrock
Jan 31, 2006

wookieepelt posted:

Supposedly, if you underclock it, the fan settles down. It also is supposed to improve performance.

I've done that too. as low as it can go and remain stable, it still kicks on. heat is the one real issue with the sp3. (short of all the wifi issues / defects /etc )

Queen_Combat
Jan 15, 2011
My sp3 loses the sd card (disappears, have to restart) during heavy disk usage. For example, I have steam games installed on the sd card, and if I don't limit downloads to less than 512kbps, the card disappears from everything, device manager included. I've tried putting tape on the back to increase pressure on the contracts, no dice.

Call Me Charlie
Dec 3, 2005

by Smythe

Geirskogul posted:

My sp3 loses the sd card (disappears, have to restart) during heavy disk usage. For example, I have steam games installed on the sd card, and if I don't limit downloads to less than 512kbps, the card disappears from everything, device manager included. I've tried putting tape on the back to increase pressure on the contracts, no dice.

Sandisk? I'm having the same issues with my Acer Switch 10 and a Sandisk microsd card.

Queen_Combat
Jan 15, 2011
Yeah, first gen 64gb SDXC

Daric
Dec 23, 2007

Shawn:
Do you really want to know my process?

Lassiter:
Absolutely.

Shawn:
Well it starts with a holla! and ends with a Creamsicle.
So I'm looking at moving away from my laptop/tablet current setup (Macbook Pro and Samsung Note or whatever the 10.1 thing is) and combining them into a Surface Pro. I've heard the Surface Pro 4 is going to sacrifice power for efficiency. Do y'all think that's true? If so, I'm going to go ahead and get a Surface Pro 3 soon. What is the difference between the i5 and i7 models provided I'm getting the 256gb version of each? Is it significant? I get by but I'm not technically inclined enough to know the difference between all that.

Nerdrock
Jan 31, 2006

Daric posted:

So I'm looking at moving away from my laptop/tablet current setup (Macbook Pro and Samsung Note or whatever the 10.1 thing is) and combining them into a Surface Pro. I've heard the Surface Pro 4 is going to sacrifice power for efficiency. Do y'all think that's true? If so, I'm going to go ahead and get a Surface Pro 3 soon. What is the difference between the i5 and i7 models provided I'm getting the 256gb version of each? Is it significant? I get by but I'm not technically inclined enough to know the difference between all that.

It's all speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if the SP4 does exactly that. Think of the "New Macbook". it's thinner and slower.

If you don't absolutely need to squeeze every drop of performance out of it, just get the i5. The only difference most users will ever notice is that it gets hotter faster.

loquacius
Oct 21, 2008

I literally have an i5 in my desktop computer and it runs modern games quite well; I can't imagine anyone would really need an i7 for a tablet/laptop.

isndl
May 2, 2012
I WON A CONTEST IN TG AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS CUSTOM TITLE

loquacius posted:

I literally have an i5 in my desktop computer and it runs modern games quite well; I can't imagine anyone would really need an i7 for a tablet/laptop.

Mobile chips might have the same i3/5/7 naming scheme but they aren't really equivalent. They run at lower clockspeeds to save on power consumption, and I don't believe the i5s are quad-core like on the desktop.

Cybernetic Vermin
Apr 18, 2005

I think it is a sure bet that Microsoft wont go out of their way to make the SP4 faster, but likely the details will be down to what SoCs are available at the time. It seems equally unlikely that they will be willing to have the performance take a hit significant enough to be noticeable, and shouldn't really have to with Intels roadmap looking pretty good.

Stick100
Mar 18, 2003

Cybernetic Vermin posted:

I think it is a sure bet that Microsoft wont go out of their way to make the SP4 faster, but likely the details will be down to what SoCs are available at the time. It seems equally unlikely that they will be willing to have the performance take a hit significant enough to be noticeable, and shouldn't really have to with Intels roadmap looking pretty good.

I think making it fanless/much lighter would absolutly taking a slight hit and making it a little slower. The SP4 is billed as a tablet and anything they can do (within reason) to make it lighter, thinner, have better battery life and more tablet like is worth considering.

Personally I'd love it if they made it nearly the iPad form factor and sold it with a dock that has a built in fan that would enable it to go much faster with significant cooling from the dock.

Call Me Charlie
Dec 3, 2005

by Smythe
In more weird Asus Chi news, the 32 GB model of the Asus Transformer T100 Chi is up on Amazon. Ships in 2-4 weeks. $399

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...J5EBJUBB6ACUPDV

Kind of strange how the Chi series was the centerpiece of Asus' promo booths and now it's being released to market with no type of promotion.

Daric
Dec 23, 2007

Shawn:
Do you really want to know my process?

Lassiter:
Absolutely.

Shawn:
Well it starts with a holla! and ends with a Creamsicle.

Nerdrock posted:

It's all speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if the SP4 does exactly that. Think of the "New Macbook". it's thinner and slower.

If you don't absolutely need to squeeze every drop of performance out of it, just get the i5. The only difference most users will ever notice is that it gets hotter faster.

So I went ahead and ordered a 256gb i5. It came today and so far, it's amazing. The keyboard isn't bad at all. The trackpad isn't great but overall this is the coolest piece of tech I have ever used. Thank you.

TopherCStone
Feb 27, 2013

I am very important and deserve your attention
I got a Winbook TW700 on Monday even though the OP specifically recommends against devices with such low specs. The screen is pretty nice, but the battery isn't. Works fine for what I bought it for: ebooks and Netflix, and for 60 bucks (and with the free year of Office 365 on top it's all the sweeter) I'm quite satisfied.

Monday_
Feb 18, 2006

Worked-up silent dork without sex ability seeks oblivion and demise.
The Great Twist
I have about $500 to spend on a Windows tablet for digital painting. Does the Toshiba Encore 2 Write have enough oomph for 4K sized canvases in Photoshop CC? And is there a difference between the 8" and 10" models besides size? If it doesn't, would it be a terrible idea to settle for a used Surface Pro 2? I'd rather buy new.

Call Me Charlie
Dec 3, 2005

by Smythe

Monday_ posted:

I have about $500 to spend on a Windows tablet for digital painting. Does the Toshiba Encore 2 Write have enough oomph for 4K sized canvases in Photoshop CC? And is there a difference between the 8" and 10" models besides size? If it doesn't, would it be a terrible idea to settle for a used Surface Pro 2? I'd rather buy new.

From what I read about it, that really depends on how many layers you plan to use.

10" has a microHDMI port.

nnnotime
Sep 30, 2001

Hesitate, and you will be lost.

Daric posted:

So I went ahead and ordered a 256gb i5. It came today and so far, it's amazing. The keyboard isn't bad at all. The trackpad isn't great but overall this is the coolest piece of tech I have ever used. Thank you.
Congrats! The bluetooth wedge mouse is also pretty good for it, in the cases you need a mouse. I got the "Surface" edition mouse, as linked below:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CCE3BIA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also make sure you try the "Metro" version of Internet Explorer, accessible from the Metro menu. It's pretty good, and you can switch easily between it and the desktop.

ltugo
Aug 10, 2004

If there was a grading scale for torture I would give sleep deprivation and waterboarding a C-.

TopherCStone posted:

I got a Winbook TW700 on Monday even though the OP specifically recommends against devices with such low specs. The screen is pretty nice, but the battery isn't. Works fine for what I bought it for: ebooks and Netflix, and for 60 bucks (and with the free year of Office 365 on top it's all the sweeter) I'm quite satisfied.

I wound up buying the TW802 myself. For an additional 40 dollars, the difference in specs is dramatic - enough that I also spent $150 on a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and usb hub to turn it into a desktop machine. It works great.

neonnoodle
Mar 20, 2008

by exmarx

Monday_ posted:

I have about $500 to spend on a Windows tablet for digital painting. Does the Toshiba Encore 2 Write have enough oomph for 4K sized canvases in Photoshop CC? And is there a difference between the 8" and 10" models besides size? If it doesn't, would it be a terrible idea to settle for a used Surface Pro 2? I'd rather buy new.

According to this review, you might find the Write 2 underpowered for what you're doing. As for size, I can tell you that an 8" working area is very cramped. Photoshop SUCKS on a tablet. SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. You are better off working simply in a smaller, more streamlined program like Sketchable and then moving to a real workstation to finish up in PS.

Maneki Neko
Oct 27, 2000

nnnotime posted:

Congrats! The bluetooth wedge mouse is also pretty good for it, in the cases you need a mouse. I got the "Surface" edition mouse, as linked below:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CCE3BIA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also make sure you try the "Metro" version of Internet Explorer, accessible from the Metro menu. It's pretty good, and you can switch easily between it and the desktop.

I thought this was a much better mouse than the wedge version:

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Sculpt-Comfort-Bluetooth-H3S-00003/dp/B00BZC31WQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1426778382&sr=1-1

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Kazy
Oct 23, 2006

0x38: FLOPPY_INTERNAL_ERROR

For Surface mouse chat, I prefer the Arc Mouse (Surface Edition). Folds flat, and it turns off when you flatten it to put in your bag and turns on when you bend it. It's a bit odd ergonomically, but it's a great mouse.

  • Locked thread