What computer/OS are you using?

DustiiWolf · February 03, 2014, 10:33:39 PM

Quote from: Chocofreak13 on February 03, 2014, 04:35:13 PM
hope you get what you're goin' for, man. -w-

I hope so too. Surface Pros are available as low as $500.

Restoring Clara is a b**** though. It came with windows 7, improperly installed 8, crashing and losing its recovery drive, and the 8.1 preview wont stay boot long enough to install 8.1. so im having to reinstall windows 8, use kms to activate (i lost the original key ;-_-), use the media center update key to fully activate, and install 8.1.

Chocofreak13 · February 04, 2014, 05:34:08 AM

well, at least it got done. :\

Dr. Kraus · February 04, 2014, 07:20:19 PM

Quote from: DustiiWolf on February 03, 2014, 10:33:39 PM
Surface Pros are available as low as $500.

I still don't see the attraction of getting one, I mean I have a Lenovo Miix 2 that is slightly smaller and has an intel atom but brand new its $300 that takes a micro SD if you really need more storage.

I mean listing out the differences doesn't even make it appealing

Surface Pro | Miix 2
$500 | $300
Pen input | simple stylus(not included)
touch cover(not included) | magnetic cover(not included)
Office 2013(not included) | Office 2013

Other then whats listed would be the CPU and RAM in which the surface pro will score better but really I'm just going to put my opinion out there for you before you go off and invest your money.

As someone whom was able to test drive the Surface Pro 2 a couple months ago for about a week during my daily routine and now has a Miix 2 that I run through my daily life as a university student I can tell you this:

In real world situations, the Miix 2 is a better tool to get the job done day in and day out. I have this thing with me almost every single day while I'm in class taking notes in word which works great without any problems. When I have down time I'll tether it to my phone to surf the web and check up on twitter using the win8 IE and Twitter programmes, I'll even sit down and buff out some Java for my class with code writer and even some HTML/CSS if I have the time to do so. The best thing about it, it small and light which is great for slipping into your bag or just carrying it around under your arm.

The Surface is a great system, no doubt about it, but its major flaws are that its 10" of glass that you have to lug around town with you ALL DAY LONG and the price. Sure, the responsiveness is much faster than the Miix 2 thanks to the 2gb of more RAM it has and the Intel i5 processor that pumps the blood of the machine. For me, this doesn't mean you, its too much to have to carry with me around all day when I can do everything I really NEED to do and everything I just WANT to do with the Miix 2. Hell, for $500 I can buy and really really nice laptop off the shelf that I KNOW will do everything I want it to do without a problem and is a true mobile system I could enjoy while the Surface Pro 2 couldn't play games (not little app games, real games like Starcraft 2 & ect.) a laptop can even with basic intel graphics.

So go make that investment if you want and buy the Surface Pro, whatever makes you happy mate, but remember that you can get a device that can do everything it can do for $200 cheaper. I'd even say just to get a higher end laptop with that money if you can find one you like because that will last you longer than the Surface will.

Now that I have written a full review here, I have completely lost control of my life.

DustiiWolf · February 04, 2014, 11:03:42 PM

God, creating a recovery drive for clara was a pain in the a**! I've spent days trying to set it up, to find a measly ReAgent xml template was corrupt *-_-

And @Dr. Kraus

Quality. Yes, the mix 2 may be more affordable, but the build quality and hardware boost is what i need. Too long ive compromised and got something cheaper, and everytime i regret it. If i would of saved i could of bought a s.pro by now.

Not to mention kickstand, microsoft built, bigger size (the screen size is just right for me. I want something big, but smaller than atera's friggin (approx.) 12" screen, which being 16:9 makes it cumbersome), and its overall features.

No more compromises. The pro is the beat fit for me.

Im also surprised about the game thing with the pro 2... did you make sure to try all the compatibility modes and plug in a mouse n keyboard (or touch cover)?

Dr. Kraus · February 05, 2014, 06:34:19 PM

Quote from: DustiiWolf on February 04, 2014, 11:03:42 PM
And @Dr. Kraus

Quality. Yes, the mix 2 may be more affordable, but the build quality and hardware boost is what i need. Too long ive compromised and got something cheaper, and everytime i regret it. If i would of saved i could of bought a s.pro by now.

Not to mention kickstand, microsoft built, bigger size (the screen size is just right for me. I want something big, but smaller than atera's friggin (approx.) 12" screen, which being 16:9 makes it cumbersome), and its overall features.

No more compromises. The pro is the beat fit for me.

Im also surprised about the game thing with the pro 2... did you make sure to try all the compatibility modes and plug in a mouse n keyboard (or touch cover)?

and thus I bring somewhat a counter argument

Quality - They are both made in some sweatshop factory in China, even terrible knock off products have decent build quality. I've been pretty ruff with my Miix 2 with having dropped it a time or two with no harm done. Having tried both products, I can safely say that the quality of both are fine but they will both break if you don't treat them well.

Kickstand - My Miix 2 has a kickstand, granted its not built in but it works just fine for what it needs to do.

Microsoft Built - Again, its still made in some factory in China with no differences other than a big 'ol Windows logo on the back and a Microsoft trademark

Gaming - Hell, the Pro 2 had more trouble running Starcraft 2 on lowest settings (Brod war settings AKA 1999 settings) than my laptop that is now 3 years old. It has nothing to do with the keyboard or mouse, its the fact that the system really really can't do it effectively at this point in time. The only games that ran well on it were the little app games in the windows 8 app store, they were amazingly boring though.

Overall - Nice product but more so a Apple-type move by Microsoft to pull in major Windows loyalists for a product that can be matched by other products out there on the market. Hell, even Dell's win8.1 tablet runs better than the Surface Pro 2 according to the buddy of mine who lent me the surface pro 2. Its more of a marketing gimmick made to pull Apple customers who have been gangbanging their iPad's for the last couple of years.

But if its what you want go right ahead and enjoy it, I just wanted to put my 2-cents out there.

DustiiWolf · February 05, 2014, 09:45:26 PM

Quote: Show

Reply: Show

So far one really low offer on my tablet (declined) and 2 watchers on the laptop. -w-"

Dr. Kraus · February 06, 2014, 01:41:30 PM

Vapor MG - To me, just another gimmick because it just feels like plastic with a matte finish placed over it. The point is that you shouldn't have to worry about build quality as long as you are treating the item with care to the extent the item needs it, anything will break with enough force placed upon it.

Taiwan - Still technically under PRC rule in the sense that if they try to obtain true independence from the mainland Military action will be taken, in terms of culture & life in Taiwan its almost the same as mainland China with a large absence of communism. The ROC (Taiwan's government) is only recognized by a handful of nations in the world because China won't deal with anyone who has relations with them. Here is the thing, if either of these products were made HERE in AMERICA then it would be a different story but just remember in the wise words of Bob Dylan, "Let Germany brew your beer, let Switzerland make your watch, let Asia assemble your phone. We will build your car"(Chrysler/Bob Dylan 2014). Granted that quote is from an advert it still rings true, its not America who are assembling these products its Asia who are and that makes a hell of a difference in "build quality".

Bloatware - Really... you can't take the time to uninstall three small programmes? Not really a large enough point here to make much of a difference between the two products.

OS - They all run a full desktop version of windows 8.1 so there isn't a difference much there as well

x64 - As long as programmes run at a decent speed this isn't a problem for most people

RAM - I barely hit the large 1GB ram usage most of the time so having only 2gb of RAM is not a huge issue, if I really needed more RAM i'm just going to use my laptop or desktop

Camera - Who takes pictures with a tablet, really, if I want to take a decent picture I'm going to use my phone and if I want a good picture I'm going to use my proper DSLR

Gaming - I attempted to play SC2 on low settings (win 7 mode on), League of Legends on lowest settings, and a couple of Visual Novels.

SC2 --- amazing FPS lag along with a couple of crashes
LoL --- HUGE amounts of FPS lag, crashes and internet disconnections
VNs --- Little to no problems because they don't require much in terms of resource allocations

I'm not saying its a bad product, just that its not something I really see worthy of a $500+ mark but if its something you want and will enjoy go right ahead.

DustiiWolf · February 06, 2014, 02:21:13 PM

I guess it comes down to personal preference.

As far as ram, i prefer having more, since i have had subpar experience with lower ram devices. As far as bloatware, in my experience, its not so simple as uninstalling. Some "bloatware" is integrated. For instance, samsung forces users to use Samsung Updater for a majority of updates (Samsung specific OS patches, drivers, etc...), vs. pushing them through Windows Update. The same goes with hardware. Some OEM's incorporate custom software into their drivers to manage them. Yes, these are not your run of the mill typical bloatware, and are "needed" for proper operation, but they take up space, ram, and cpu power, and increase boot time. In my experience not all "bloatware" is identifiable as such, and it's hard to tell what will break during uninstallation. Furthermore, the fact that i have to uninstall stuff and re-enable system features (like Defender, which Norton disables), is bothersome.

As far as OS, I have a license for Media Center, which only works on pro. I'd have to spend an additional $100 to get pro on the Miix to use it. I'm not for that. As far as camera, i agree. Hell, the 8MP camera on Atera is worse than the 5MP on my phone! And it seems ridiculous to take pics with a tablet. And as far as cost, the Pro is now $450 refurbished from top ranked certified retailer "Manufacture Certified" on eBay. MS doesn't even have the 64GB anymore. In all, the Pro is worth my money, since its a quality built device (á la-Apple) that I'm less likely to run into problems with software wise.

Spoiler: Show

Speaking of cost, Microsoft appears to be clearing out the original Pro's. The 64GB is no longer on their site, best buy no longer lists them either, and the 128GB have had price drops and numerous sales (128GB for $500, 128GB for $679, etc...). It's like they're trying to purge remaining stock...

DustiiWolf · February 10, 2014, 11:00:14 PM

Sold Clara. $220 (ebay takes $23.80, leaving me $196.20)

In other news, changed my system locale to install the Claudia Live2D App. IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME! MY OWN INTERACTIVE CLAUDIA!

Chocofreak13 · February 11, 2014, 03:52:01 PM

nice, man. how much more do you need?

DustiiWolf · February 11, 2014, 06:39:38 PM

Quote from: Chocofreak13 on February 11, 2014, 03:52:01 PM
nice, man. how much more do you need?

$303^₈₀

Which I'm selling my Ativ, Atera, for $325 + $13 shipping, which leaves me $291^₂₀. And i have approx. $80 in the bank.

Made $30 helping an associate of my grandmother (father's side) work Windows 8.1 today

Chocofreak13 · February 12, 2014, 12:54:34 PM

there ya go! : D

so guys, Claire was going to use Plan 9 on her computer. i seriously need to put you in touch with her, you guys would have so much to talk about. -w-;

Nichi · February 12, 2014, 12:59:03 PM

Plan 9? As in, Plan 9 from Bell Labs? [/bella]

stewartsage · February 12, 2014, 04:38:13 PM

Is there any other Plan 9 for computers? Unfortunately I don't have an available computer to use this installation disk with....

Bella · February 12, 2014, 05:16:27 PM

Quote from: Chocofreak13 on February 12, 2014, 12:54:34 PM
there ya go! : D

so guys, Claire was going to use Plan 9 on her computer. i seriously need to put you in touch with her, you guys would have so much to talk about. -w-;

Give her a high-five for me. ^-^

Specification	Surface Pro	Surface Pro 2	Lenevo Miix 2
CPU	3rd Gen i5, 1.7GHz	4th Gen i5, *1.6GHz	4th Gen Atom, 1.3GHz
64-bit Computing	Yes	Yes	No.
RAM	4GB	4GB	2GB
OS	Windows 8.x Pro	Windows 8.x Pro	Windows 8.x Core
Bloatware	No	No	Yes
Display	10.6"	10.6"	8"
Resolution	1920x1080	1920x1080	1280x800
Pen Computing	Yes	Yes	Optional
USB	Yes	Yes	Mini
Cameras	2 x 720p	2 x 720p	2MP, 5MP
Wireless	Wifi, BT4.0	Wifi, BT4.0	Wifi, BT4.0
microSD	yes	yes	yes
Kickstand	integrated	Integrated	Seperate
Accessories	Keyboard Smart Cover, Display Adapter, etc...	Keyboard Smart Cover, Display Adapter, Docking Station, etc...	Smart Cover, Stylus
Cost	$449 Manufacturer Refurbished (64GB)	$899 (64GB)	$299 (32GB)

Miix 2 64GB	$340
Windows 8 Pro Upgrade	$100
Stylus (+ Cover Stand)	$30	+

Total	$470	Pre-Tax