Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Announces Surface 3 Tablet
An anonymous reader writes: Today Microsoft announced the latest device in their line of Windows tablets: the Surface 3. The tablet runs a full version of Windows (the troublesome "RT" line has been deprecated), and aims to compete with Apple's iPad. The Surface 3 has a 10.8" screen running at 1920x1280 (note the 3:2 ratio). It's 8.7mm thick and weighs 622 grams (1.27 lbs). They're somewhat vague about the battery life, but they say it will last up to 10 hours "based on video playback." They've also made it possible to charge the device with a standard micro-USB charger. The base device with 64GB storage, 2GB RAM, and Wi-Fi will cost $500, and it'll scale up with more storage, more ram, and 4G LTE connectivity. (It maxes out at 4GB RAM, so any heavy-duty gaming is probably out of the question.) The keyboard is still a separate $130 accessory as well.
As much as I hate Windows 8.1, one thing they have done right is greatly reduced the memory load.
Windows Vista 64-bit took about 2GB RAM, you basically had to have 3GB+ to run anything.
Windows 7 64-bit took about 1GB RAM, or practical tests 0.8GB, you basically had to have 2GB+ to run anything.
Windows 8/8.1 takes a whole 0.28GB RAM, you basically need 1GB+ to run anything.
The Surface 3 is made for word processing, browsing the web, watching video, taking notes, or simpler tasks like that. 2GB will work well for this role.
Sorry but I can't agree. I've never seen Windows 8.1 EVER run with that low of a memory load, and that's the first thing I checked when I bought a Surface Pro 3 fresh out of the box because I was worried that 4GB wasn't going to be enough. Admittedly I do photography which is why I was worried about 4GB, and really I was right. It is a battle to get any software to provision more than 2GB of memory. Windows 8.1 booted up out of the box consuming just over 1GB. These days it boots to about 1.5GB with Chrome, Dropbox, and generic odds and ends installed. Firing up word, opening a 3 page document, and having Outlook open at the same time will consume around about 500MB of RAM by itself.
So no. I do not agree that 2GB is enough on a modern system. I do not agree that 2GB is enough on a modern system that only runs Office, let alone one that will have Onenote and other things open in the background.
I love the Surface 3 Pro. It's been a real pleasure to use since I bought it and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with enough budget and the desire to have one device act as a tablet and a laptop. But I won't EVER suggest to anyone these days that they can get away with a full Windows PC that only has 2GB of RAM.