Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface Pro 3: Which is better?
Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Pro 4 and Surface Pro 3 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.
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Surface Pro 4 Pros
Reasons that Surface Pro 4 is better than Surface Pro 3.
2015 vs. 2014
Intel Core i7-6650U inside Surface Pro 4 has a 42% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-4650U inside Surface Pro 3.
Surface Pro 4 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Pro 3. It supports up to 16GB versus 8GB of system memory on the Surface Pro 3.
Surface Pro 4 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Pro 3. It supports up to 1866MHz versus 1600MHz of system memory on the Surface Pro 3.
Surface Pro 3 Pros
We couldn't find any advantages of Surface Pro 3 over Surface Pro 4.
Prices
Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.
Surface Pro 4 Price | ||
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Latest Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (2736 x 1824) Tablet 6th Generation (Intel Core i5-6300U, 8GB Ram, 256GB SSD, Bluetooth, Dual Camera) Windows 10 Professional (Renewed) By Microsoft $260.20 | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 4; 256 GB, 8 GB RAM, Intel Core i5 (Renewed) By Microsoft $239.99 | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 128 GB, 4 GB RAM, Intel Core i5 (Renewed) By Microsoft $195.00 | ||
Surface Pro 3 Price | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (256 GB, Intel Core i5)(Windows 10 Professional 64 bit) (Renewed) By Microsoft $229.73 $252.52 9% OFF | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet (1631) Silver - 256GB, 12in, Windows 8, Intel Core i5 - Renewed By Microsoft $269.00 | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet PC - Intel Core i5-4300U 1.9GHz 4GB 128GB SSD Windows 10.1 (Renewed) By Microsoft $185.00 |
Availability | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Released | 2015 | 2014 |
Release Date |
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Pricing | Starting at 899$ | Starting at 799$ |
Generations |
Exterior | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Dimensions | 11.50” x 7.93” x 0.33” (292 mm x 201.42 mm x 8.4 mm) Width: 11.50” (292 mm) Height: 7.93” (201.42 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.4 mm) | 11.50” x 7.93” x 0.36” (292 mm x 201.3 mm x 9.1 mm) Width: 11.50” (292 mm) Height: 7.93” (201.3 mm) Thickness: 0.36” (9.1 mm) |
Weight |
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Colors | Silver | Silver |
Keyboard and Trackpad |
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Display | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Size | 12.3 Inches | 12 Inches |
Info |
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Ports | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Left (1)
Right (3)
Bottom (1)
Under Kickstand (1)
| Left (1)
Right (3)
Bottom (1)
Under Kickstand (1)
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Internal Specs | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Processor |
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Integrated Graphics |
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Memory | 4GB 8GB 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 4GB 8GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM |
Storage | 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD | 64 GB 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB SSD |
Connectivity | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Wi-Fi |
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Bluetooth |
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Battery | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Size | 38.2 Wh | 42.2 Wh |
Battery Life | Up to 9 hours of video playback | Up to 9 hours of web browsing |
Power Supply |
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Software | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
OS | Windows 10 Pro | Windows 8.1 Pro Free upgrade to Windows 10 |
Built-in Apps | Microsoft Office 30-days trial | Microsoft Office 30-days trial |
Camera & Audio | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Camera |
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Audio |
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Misc | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
Inking | Supports Surface Pen 1024 levels of pressure magnetic storage | Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology |
Sensors |
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Security |
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In the box |
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Warranty |
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More |
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Key Features | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 |
At Glance |
Comparison Summary
Microsoft has released the Surface Pro 4, a 12.3-inch machine, in mid-2015. It is powered by up to a dual-core Intel Core i7-6650U with a boost clock speed up to 3.40 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Graphics 540 (48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1050 MHz).
On the other hand, we have the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 was introduced by Microsoft about a year earlier in mid-2014. It comes with up to a dual-core Intel Core i7-4650U with a boost clock speed up to 3.30 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® HD Graphics 5000 (40 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz).
Geekbench 5 Single Core
Geekbench 5 Multi Core
The Surface Pro 4 has a 12.3-inch display which is quite similar size to the 12-inch Surface Pro 3. In addition, The Surface Pro 4 weighs 1.69 lbs. about 4% lighter than the 1.76 lbs. Surface Pro 3. Moreover, measured at 11.5” x 7.93” x 0.33”, the Surface Pro 4 is slightly more portable than the Surface Pro 3 at 11.5” x 7.93” x 0.36”.
There are a toal number of 6 ports and slots available on Surface Pro 4. That includes a headphone jack, a Mini DisplayPort, a USB-A port, a Surface Connect, a Type Cover port, and a microSD card slot. With that said, it has the same number of ports and slots as the Surface Pro 3 including a headphone jack, a Mini DisplayPort, a USB-A port, a Surface Connect, a Type Cover port, and a microSD card slot.
Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Pro 4 supports up to 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.
For Surface Pro 3, it supports up to 8GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 memory. Like Surface Pro 4, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users.
Comments
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