Overall though, the Surface Pro 3 is a fine piece of hardware. (At least there’s Steam in-home streaming from my desktop, which performed flawlessly and had no formatting issues.) The 3:2 aspect ratio also seems to create problems for some games. Without this option - apparently removed to make room for Connected Standby - I don’t get the same uninterrupted smoothness in games like Fallout: New Vegas. That’s because Microsoft removed a “high performance” power option that unshackles the processor at the expense of battery life. The only area where the Surface Pro 3 is a clear step down from its predecessor is gaming. I could bring both a laptop and a tablet upstairs with me, but it’s a pain to switch machines for each task.

Likewise, I could just use a dedicated laptop, but that’s not as comfy when I’m just trying to relax with some games or watch the Yankees on MLB.tv. The keyboard would not be full-size like the one on the Surface Type Cover, and all the fully adjustable keyboard cases I’ve seen add a lot of bulk, unlike the Surface tablet’s built-in kickstand. Granted, I could just use an iPad with a third-party keyboard, but this introduces its own trade-offs. If I’m taking a device up to my bedroom to play Hearthstone, I don’t have to think about whether I’m also going to do some writing or e-mailing before bed.

For writing, the Type Cover keyboard doesn’t have the same spacing and travel as a laptop keyboard, and the trackpad - while much improved over the previous Surface - still has less depth than those of dedicated laptops.īut the Surface Pro 3 also eliminates some complexity by not making me juggle multiple devices. Juggling the desktop and snapping Windows Store apps is sort of complex, and using touch with desktop apps isn’t always ideal.

Being able to do all this on a single device involves some compromises.

Microsoft surface pro 3