Microsoft Surface Pro

[Steve Clarkson]

Does anyone have a Surface Pro? I'm wondering if it is powerful enough to run CorelDraw with all the fonts. If it won't work, does anyone have any laptop recommendations?

[Avraham Monina]

Does anyone have a Surface Pro? I'm wondering if it is powerful enough to run CorelDraw with all the fonts. If it won't work, does anyone have any laptop recommendations?

I dont have one, from the specs on Microsoft`s site, it should run the program, but 4GB of memory is a little small (in my opinion) and its not upgradeable , and for super expensive machine to run Corel, you`re not getting too much. I did a quick search on Bestbuy.com, and found this:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+14%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+750GB+Hard+Drive+-+Black/6775213.p?id=1218806578593&skuId=6775213

and thats not even on sale, thats a super duper computer, and its $150 less than the tablet and it has better processor/memory/harddrive.
What are you running now? what do you feel are the weaknesses of your current PC, Memory and Processor play hand in hand when it comes to processing speed (rendering). There is no end to which PC you can get, Im running an i3 processor desktop with 6GB of ram , its working good for me but then again Im only starting out, Im sure you do a heck of alot more on the PC than I do.
Oh one last thing, I read somewhere online that even though it says for example " 3rd Gen i5 " that same processor will be different from a laptop to a desktop and to a tablet. I just dont think the tablets are there yet ( still too expensive to replace a laptop for people who like us who dont just surf the net and watch movies).

[William Adams]

If the battery life were better, or one could install Mac OS X on a Surface Pro, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Advantages it has over the laptop in the above link:

- Wacom stylus w/ pressure sensitivity
- smaller and lighter
- SSD
- convenience of a tablet format for drawing / sketching

I use a Tablet PC, Fujitsu Stylistic ST-4121 w/ daylight viewable display as my main computer, and do a fair bit of graphics work using:

- Macromedia FreeHand MX
- ArtRage
- Autodesk Sketchbook
- FutureWave SmartSketch
- Creaturehouse Expression

I've got an old version of Corel I could try out on it, but I got tired of Corel around v3 or 4, after using it since v1.21 or so.

[Joe De Medeiros]

We just got a couple for the sales guys at work and I would say, save your money I find the screen too small when it's in desktop mode, I didn't have corel at work but I did install illustrator on one, and it seems to runs ok, but once you subtract the space for the menus, it made it very painful to work on such a small screen. We got them to primarily use Onenote which it does very well.

PS. I also tried Autocad 2013 on one, and it seemed very slow.

[Joe De Medeiros]

If the battery life were better, or one could install Mac OS X on a Surface Pro, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.



now that would interest me more

[Walt Langhans]

Just an FYI on picking computers. The processor is what does all the number crunching and unless your are in a supper hurry, or are dealing with some supper big files with lots of information, pretty much any dual core processor above 2Hz will get the job done. Once numbers are crunch they go to the RAM to be stored until the next change, so RAM is basically your computers work space so to say. For programs like Corel Illustrator, or CAD they need lot's of work space. I would not buy anything under 4 Gig of RAM and I highly recommend that you get 8 Gigs, and if your dealing with super large files possibly 16 Gigs. But here's the rub, as soon as you start looking at computers with 8 Gigs + RAM the price jumps big time. However, all you need to find is on that up-gradable to 8 (or what ever you need). RAM comes in sticks and it's as simple are removing the old stick and putting in the new ones. Most brick and mortar stores will have someone who can help you pick out what RAM will work for what ever computer you are looking at, and the good on-line places (tiger direct, newegg) will typically have upgrade recommendations for specific computer. But if you want some specific help, PM me.

[Steve Clarkson]

Thanks everyone. Comparing the Surface Pro to what I currently have, it would definitely be an upgrade.....so that's why I was asking.

Walt, I definitely skimped on the memory last time, so I don't plan to make that mistake again!

Do you think there is a big difference between the Intel i3, i5 and i7 chips when it comes to performance for Corel?

[Walt Langhans]

Do you think there is a big difference between the Intel i3, i5 and i7 chips when it comes to performance for Corel?

No. Now a days, unless your are doing something with video (rendering, editing, etc) the ability of the processors has WAY out paced pretty much the need of any single program. However if you run lots of programs at the same time you might need the extra power. You can always do Alt+Ctrl+Del and then bring up your task manager, go to the performance tab and see how much your CPU and Memory are being used. If you are pegging out the processor or RAM, it's time for an upgrade.

The problem that people have with 'slow' computers is that just about ever program that install these days, automatically starts itself up in the background, and even though you are not using it, it is sucking the life out of your computer.

You can click on the start button, type "msconfig" in the 'search programs and files' space, then click the 'start up' tab and you will see all the programs that start up when you turn your computer on and are running in the background. Unless you have something that you always want running (like antivirus programs) you can un check everything and then restart your computer. If you have a lot of things running you'll see a big difference when you start back up.

The only catch to this is that ever time you install new software you have to go and do this, or you will end up with the same situation.

Hope that help :)

[Steve Clarkson]

Very informative.......thanks Walt!

[Mark Sipes]

Physical Memory Limits: Windows 8The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows 8.


Version
Limit on X86( 32 bit)
Limit on X64


Windows 8 Enterprise
4 GB

512 GB



Windows 8 Professional
4 GB

512 GB



Windows 8
4 GB

128 GB




Physical Memory Limits: Windows 7The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows 7.


Version
Limit on X86 (32bit)
Limit on X64


Windows 7 Ultimate
4 GB

192 GB



Windows 7 Enterprise
4 GB

192 GB



Windows 7 Professional
4 GB

192 GB



Windows 7 Home Premium
4 GB

16 GB



Windows 7 Home Basic
4 GB

8 GB

[Walt Langhans]

Very informative.......thanks Walt!

Any time, IT was what I did prior to getting a laser.

[Mike Lysov]

I would check if your laser driver works under Windows 8 first. It may not at all.
If it does you can get it either with i5 or i7 processor, they are both quite fast and look at the ones with a SSD drive. It will make a huge difference in speed comparing to normal HDD drives.
Other option is to get it with a hybrid HDD. They are much cheaper than SSD drives and faster than regular HDDs. However they are still not as fast as SSDs.