Surface Pro 2 Tablet Gets a Quiet Speed Bump

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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If you were thinking of purchasing Microsoft’s Surface Pro 2, but delayed buying until after Christmas, pat yourself on the back and enjoy the added speed provided by its new Intel processor.

The Pro 2 contains the U variant of the fourth generation Intel Core CPU, which offers better performance than the more power-efficient Y-series of Intel Core processors.
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Theres a reason that apple, samsung and others don't do incremental updates to their phones and still call them the same name. People would keep on waiting if every 2 months it received an upgrade. I guess microsoft doesn't know that.

I thought the article would say something about a new firmware that makes something get a speed boost to the current, original surface pro 2.
 
DF-1 said:
Theres a reason that apple, samsung and others don't do incremental updates to their phones and still call them the same name. People would keep on waiting if every 2 months it received an upgrade. I guess microsoft doesn't know that.

I thought the article would say something about a new firmware that makes something get a speed boost to the current, original surface pro 2.
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Yes they have. It's just that usually the difference doesn't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things because it's like 100mhz difference, or a slight graphics card bump. Usually it's just because the newer chip is the same price and more available.
 
DF-1 said:
Theres a reason that apple, samsung and others don't do incremental updates to their phones and still call them the same name.
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The entire world does this on laptops, and this is a laptop in tablet form factor.

Besides, I don't think the intended Pro market is as obtuse as your average Walmart or Mall-America schmuck looking for an iPad Mini on the shelf.
 
I just started some new work that requires me to use Solidworks yet be portable, I was looking at the Surface Pro 2 but decided on the Samsung ATIV SmartPC Pro.
 
I can almost guarantee they did this without reducing battery life. It's a newer chip and only a couple hundred megahertz faster so it's probably the same voltage or a tiny bit more than the older model.
 
Looks like a neat toy.... a $999 toy. I don't need to play Civ V on a tablet this badly.... OR DO I?
 
DF-1 said:
Theres a reason that apple, samsung and others don't do incremental updates to their phones and still call them the same name. People would keep on waiting if every 2 months it received an upgrade. I guess microsoft doesn't know that.
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A lot of companies do this when they use industry standard parts (Intel/AMD parts, not custom CPU's). A better deal comes out, so they take it. They are continuously changing things to improve the bottom line. If the new parts are cheaper and faster - bonus for the consumer. It's a pretty common thing. Linksys does it with their routers, too (change the internals, but with just a simple version change). WRT54G yet with so many different versions, sometimes you can only tell by looking up the serial number....

Of course, now some Surface 2 Pro users are wanting to send theirs back for the upgraded version. :D
 
Burticus said:
Looks like a neat toy.... a $999 toy. I don't need to play Civ V on a tablet this badly.... OR DO I?
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It does everything. Putting games on it is an added value. And can be a huge distraction if you are supposed to use it for work! ;) It's a laptop/tablet. Very easy to do work on, and still very easy to play games on.
 
heatlesssun said:
Civ V is actually a pretty popular game for Windows tablets as it's touch enabled.
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Its still much more relaxing though to kick your feet up and play it with a mouse, since it really requires no keyboard interaction whatsoever. I tried touch, was not impressed.
 
Burticus said:
Looks like a neat toy.... a $999 toy. I don't need to play Civ V on a tablet this badly.... OR DO I?
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No you don't, that's why you should never buy it. I got it since I actually take notes, do word processing and whatnot on the go, need to doodle every now and then and do some on-the-spot troubleshooting.

If you don't need to do stuff like that, then you should never bother.
 
Ur_Mom said:
It does everything. Putting games on it is an added value. And can be a huge distraction if you are supposed to use it for work! ;) It's a laptop/tablet. Very easy to do work on, and still very easy to play games on.
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It does make me wonder if MS actually did the right thing by NOT mentioning that the Surface can do light gaming and play legacy titles better than any tablet on any platform. Only Razer Edge can trump it in that department, come to think of it.
 
leeleatherwood said:
I just started some new work that requires me to use Solidworks yet be portable, I was looking at the Surface Pro 2 but decided on the Samsung ATIV SmartPC Pro.
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Honestly... i can't think of a more painful way to use SW then on a small tiny screen with a pathetic k/b! Perhaps i've just been using SW for way to long ;)
 
I'd like to see one equipped with an AMD Kaveri...

I'm still waiting for my Civ 5 Tablet :p Need MOAR GPU.
 
Reimu said:
It does make me wonder if MS actually did the right thing by NOT mentioning that the Surface can do light gaming and play legacy titles better than any tablet on any platform. Only Razer Edge can trump it in that department, come to think of it.
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Yeah, but it's still not good enough :p
 
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