Surface Pro or Surface Go?

Ben4wolves · October 1, 2018

Hey guys,

After a long time carrying round my chunky t430s thinkpad its finally died on me and i need to get myself a new laptop. I mostly use it just for coding and general web browsing whilst at college or on the move. I've looked at Chromebooks but i don't feel they will cut it at the coding part and i don't need a another 15" chunky laptop to carry around so i've been looking at the surface range.

One of my options is the surface Go with a pentium processor (:/ my thoughts exactly) and 8gb (which surprised me very much). It also includes it on graphics chip which look reasonably good and a 128gb SSD which is plenty of space as all of my documents are just coding based.

The 2nd option would be a surface pro which presents another dilemma, the surface pro with an M3 or with an i5. The M3 only has 4gb of ram and the I5 has eight. the challenge is really trying to work out will the M3 be enough to handle coding or should i just fork out the extra £100 and get the i5 to (future proof ect.)

Any help and suggestions is appreciated and I thank you in advance.

Ben

GoodBytes · October 1, 2018

Just a side note: Remember that students get 10% off on the price when you order from MS Store (online or physical) on your order (so this include keyboard cover and pen). You can any order later, students gets 10% off on many products from the company store.

The device model will depends on what you plan to do with the device.

Keep in mind that, only the Surface Pro with the i7 has a cooling solution inside. The other models uses passive cooling solution.

What programming language do you use? What are the size of your projects?

Ben4wolves · October 1, 2018

1 hour ago, GoodBytes said:

Just a side note: Remember that students get 10% off on the price when you order from MS Store (online or physical) on your order (so this include keyboard cover and pen). You can any order later, students gets 10% off on many products from the company store.

The device model will depends on what you plan to do with the device.

Keep in mind that, only the Surface Pro with the i7 has a cooling solution inside. The other models uses passive cooling solution.

What programming language do you use? What are the size of your projects?

I've looked at student deals but they really don't give any benefit as Microsoft have a deal for surface and keyboard for £650 but they sell the device on its own without keyboard for like £700 it's pretty stupid.

I'd only be looking at the m3 or i5 as that's bascially my price point. My coding is overly intense just c# programming using visual studio or xamarin

MandoPanda · October 2, 2018

Go with the i5 Pro. It may seem like a lot right now, but you will be kicking yourself later on if you skimp on power now. Save up a little if you need to.

GoodBytes · October 2, 2018

I would go with the i5 8GB model. It should be plenty enough for even after your studies and as you go in your field of work, as well for note taking in meetings, planning stuff, and so on.

The i3 is more if you casual do simple programs, but mostly want a device that give a fast and responsive experience in Note taking, web surfing, and multi-tasking

The Surface Go is, in my opinion of course, good if you seek just a note taking device, and casually surf the web (a few tabs open, don't mind using Edge as Chrome might be too intensive for it, etc.), and you don't mind being a bit patient at the cost of, well reduce device cost and portability.

However DO NOT BUY ANYTHING NOW. Microsoft has its Surface event later today.

Tarun10 · October 2, 2018

I think you should wait because I think the new Surface devices launch soon which means prices will drop on current ones. I would suggest looking for an i5 at least or you will feel serious slowdowns later down the line. If possible pick up a refurb i7.