I need to replace my personal laptop. The Surface Pro looks slick and i have spoken to people that claim Carlson runs very well on this unit. Before shelling out $1K+, based on price, portability and capabilities, what recommendations would you have? Some of the other options look like they might do the same thing for less $$$$.
Thanks
If you can deal with Windows 8, then it'll be fine, but I couldn't and got rid of it after a month or so.
Love my Surface Pro 3 i7 8Gb 512Gb. I've set up with a docking station and two 24" monitors (3 including the surface). Not only replaced my laptop, but replaced my desktop as well. No need for shuffling between systems. Haven't found anything I can run and run fast. Multiple sessions of Carlson w/ Intellicad, ArcGIS, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Google Earth Pro and FireFox with 122 tabs in 12 groups. Never a hesitation running them simultaneously. Seems to handle everything I've thrown at it. Pop it out of the docking station and continue on as a stand alone tablet with or without the keyboard. Take it on the road for meetings and presentations and have everything I need to handle the work emergencies. Not bad for streaming movies either. Next investment is a 40" 4K Monitor so I don't have to turn my head so often when at my desk. [sarcasm]It's really inconvenient.[/sarcasm] o.O
Rich Roberge, post: 326754, member: 127 wrote: If you can deal with Windows 8, then it'll be fine, but I couldn't and got rid of it after a month or so.
I use a utility called "Start Menu X Pro." It bypasses all the Windows 8 crap, boots straight to the desktop and adds a "smart" start menu just like the old days only better. Rarely do I use the Win8 "apps" for anything. Maybe to read a Nook book every now and then...
Rich Roberge, post: 326754, member: 127 wrote: If you can deal with Windows 8, then it'll be fine, but I couldn't and got rid of it after a month or so.
Windows 10 rolls out in less than 3 weeks, supposed to fix whats broken in Windows 8.
JBStahl, post: 326755, member: 427 wrote: Love my Surface Pro 3 i7 8Gb 512Gb. I've set up with a docking station and two 24" monitors (3 including the surface). Not only replaced my laptop, but replaced my desktop as well. No need for shuffling between systems. Haven't found anything I can run and run fast. Multiple sessions of Carlson w/ Intellicad, ArcGIS, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Google Earth Pro and FireFox with 122 tabs in 12 groups. Never a hesitation running them simultaneously. Seems to handle everything I've thrown at it. Pop it out of the docking station and continue on as a stand alone tablet with or without the keyboard. Take it on the road for meetings and presentations and have everything I need to handle the work emergencies. Not bad for streaming movies either. Next investment is a 40" 4K Monitor so I don't have to turn my head so often when at my desk. [sarcasm]It's really inconvenient.[/sarcasm] o.O
JB
Can I ask where you got your Surface and what they hit you up for it? I'm seeing prices for the 3 from $400 to $1,600
Thanks
Bob
I got a Surface Pro when they came out, around $1600 with MS-Office. It's well over two years old now and has about 4 hours actual use. Having used PCs since the original in 1980 this is the only machine purchase I regret. It's about 80/20 Win8/Scaling problems. The biggest problem 80% is my absolute hate of Win8, the remains is font scaling. Since the Win8 interface was dumbed down, you can't specify the actual sizes of each element, such as the base font size. That appears to be about a 6pt font and combined with the ultra-high resolution you need a magnifying glass to read it. The only choice is across the board font scaling which can create big problems in the newer AutoCAD engine, the least of which being fuzzy icons and dialogs. Even at 200% that 6pt shows up sometimes! I'm signed up to update that machine to Win10 on day one in hopes I can begin to get some use out of it.
And even though my eyesight isn't what it used to be, the hi-res hardware is not the problem. I have an iPad Mini Retina which has comparable DPI and I've enjoyed using it daily with no complaints because Apple understands font scaling.
I'm curious how programs in need of a dongle are handled?
I've used 3 Samsung Note devices with SPen (stylus) and had thought a Surface Pro would be the next replacement for my laptop.
But Microsurvey needs a dongle which is a pain, IMO, only something else to break,lose, leave in PC etc.
Does Carlson run dongle, or hardware key?
I'm curious how Bricscad runs on one. Any comments?
I am using a TBC dongle. The Surface 3 has a normal USB.
I tested Carlson 2015 when I got my Surface Pro 3 and it worked great. I reported on it here. But I wasn't doing any real-world stuff, just testing a few things that I used to use.
Bob Beilfuss, post: 326877, member: 586 wrote: Can I ask where you got your Surface and what they hit you up for it? I'm seeing prices for the 3 from $400 to $1,600
You are seeing such a huge price difference because there is the Surface 3 and then there is the Surface Pro 3. The Surface 3 is smaller like the older models (10") and far less powerful. The Surface Pro 3 is larger (12") and more powerful all around. Plus there are various models. Mine is the middle-grade with the Intel i5 processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. You can get an i7 with more SSD space, but I've read that there's not much performance difference from the i5 and the fan blows a lot more. In the Surface forums that I participate in, they call it a leafblower.
I''m VERY pleased with my SP3. But the SP4 is on the way and the rumor is that there will be a 14" variation. Yum.
Bob Beilfuss, post: 326877, member: 586 wrote: JB
Can I ask where you got your Surface and what they hit you up for it? I'm seeing prices for the 3 from $400 to $1,600
Thanks
Bob
I purchased mine at the Microsoft Store at the mall. Seems that most everywhere (online and instore) the prices were the same. I did buy it when they had a $200 off sale and got a free case. The price variation is primarily caused by the variety of configurations available in the Pro3. Processors vary from i3, i5 and i7 with solid-state hard drives ranging from 64 Gb to 512 Gb. If you're really planning on using it for surveying apps, no sense in going less than all the way in my opinion.
JBS
Wendell, post: 326950, member: 1 wrote: I tested Carlson 2015 when I got my Surface Pro 3 and it worked great. I reported on it here. But I wasn't doing any real-world stuff, just testing a few things that I used to use.
No problem with Carlson 2015 IntelliCad platform on mine. Very quick which I expect is mostly attributable to the SSD than the i7/i5 difference.
Wendell, post: 326950, member: 1 wrote: You can get an i7 with more SSD space, but I've read that there's not much performance difference from the i5 and the fan blows a lot more. In the Surface forums that I participate in, they call it a leafblower.
I've found that the overheating issues are typically tied to Microsoft bloatware background services. I've cleaned a lot of them out completely and others occasionally misbehave causing CPU to be continuously taxed. I just pop into the task manager and kill whatever is causing the rampage and the temp and fan settle down to normal.
JBS
These reviews are tempting me to consider yet another wish list item that I really do not need.
Can it run plain vanilla cad with Carlson survey?
I'm running a Surface Pro3 with I7 processor, 8Gb RAM and 512Gb Flash drive. I run Carlson 2015 on AutoCAD 2015 with no problems. I also have the latest TBC, Adobe Acrobat, MS Office and all other software that I run on the desktop. I've yet to find anything that I can do on the desktop that I can't also do on the Surface Pro3.
Prior to the Surface Pro3, I had a 17" laptop that I rarely had with me because it weighed a ton and was too bulky to use in the truck. The Surface Pro3 is around 2 lbs, the size of large tablet and fits in my satchel with my job files when I head to the field. Equipment is only useful if you have it with you.
