Which one to pick
Explanation on various Surface tablets, what's worth buying or not
There are a lot of different Surface tablets for various needs and requirements, including different form factor machines like laptops. Here we'll be going over originals and alternatives if you want a device to shove into a bag for daily use.
NOTE! This is a list for normal people who are looking for an older used Surface tablet!
Surface RT
Known as Microsoft Surface with Windows RT or Microsoft Surface.
Generally, it's not worth buying one in any way. Prices are just stupid and the tablet itself isn't much more useful than a Raspberry Pi 2.
Funnily eBay sellers seem to fake them with newer Windows wallpaper and listing as a normal computer. DO NOT fall for that and please read this to find out the differences!
Pros
Fun to tinker with if you're interested in old ARM hardware
Can be repurposed for something
Still perfectly fine for quick on the go word processing, keyboard needed of course
Cons
Literally useless for anything but tinkering
Surface 2
Sometimes called Surface RT2.
Newer and better than Surface RT. Still not worth purchasing due to high prices and generally the lack of use cases, just like a Surface RT.
Often listed as a Surface RT, read this for more detailed info.
Pros
Much faster than Surface RT and can be tinkered with
Superior hardware
Still perfectly fine for quick on the go word processing, keyboard needed of course
Cons
Literally useless for anything but tinkering
Surface Pro
Also known as Surface Pro with Windows 8.0 or Surface Pro 1.
First Surface tablet with a Intel x86 based CPU. These machines are OLD with glued screens, bunch of screws (see the iFixit teardown) and mostly dead batteries. Also worth noting is that this tablet support a Wacom tablet PC stylus, stuff like Galaxy Note and other Wacom compatible EMR styluses.
Only buy one if you need parts for another or it's in a great condition with a good battery, otherwise stay away.
Pros
This is a full x86 computer fellas
Still perfectly fine for everything basic
Supports the latest due to architecture and OS
Cons
Bulky, heavy and noisy
Batteries are really weak in modern day
Underpowered
Surface Pro 2
Spec refinements and upgrades from the original Surface Pro, also changes the kickstand mechanism out for one similar to Surface 2. Everything else stays the same, including parts.
Same as Surface Pro as far as everything else goes.
Pros and cons are the exact same as Surface Pro
Surface Pro 3
Design overhaul, new pen digitizer and sleek design.
Pro 3's can often be found in broken state (cracked glass) or worn batteries. We advise you to stay away from any that might have touch problems of sorts and are low specs, for example 4GB RAM 128GB SSD.
Screen replacements are insanely expensive, original panel being 160 euros average which is a cost of another tablet. If you find one in great condition with extras then go for it.
Pros
Still a good design, light and has enough juice for road trips
Supports the current Surface Pens
Can be used with the original or newer Pro 4, 5 and 6 covers
Uses the exact same charger as the newer units, Surface Connect to be exact
Cons
Prices are sometimes weird
Extremely fragile screen, insanely expensive to replace/repair - Average price for a good screen is 160 euros or more
Aftermarket screens are so common and lack N-Trig stylus support due to clone ICs
Noisy and run very hot
Kickstand has some play to it, feels loose and rattles due to that
Surface 3
Little Atom cousin to the Pro 3, It's smaller and weaker in terms of specs.
Stay away from units with Samsung eMMC and 2GB RAM, make sure with the seller that it's got Toshiba flash. Cracked screen units are worthless, new panel is 60-70 euros. Tablet also charges via micro USB! Phone bricks work but trickle charge as the tablet requires 5.2V, an iPad brick should do the trick fine.
Buy one if the price is right and you can get a keyboard, if needed. Keyboards are quite hard to get for a good price if at all. We advise to not use one for more than basic web, media and notes taking/sketching.
Pros
Can be really cheap
Battery life is very good on most units, that is if it wasn't abused a lot
Supports all of the Surface Pens
Very lightweight and portable, it's also smaller than Pro 3
Neutral
Uses Micro USB to charge, while this is amazing we live in 2022 where most devices have Type-C. Granted this tablet was released in 2014, when Type-C wasn't even a thing yet. NOTE! Tablet requires 5.2V to charge normally, any iPad brick should work or just get the original power adapter, normal 5V chargers trickle charge. Cable can be anything of decent quality.
Negative
It has a Intel Atom SoC, more specifically a X7-z8700
2GB RAM configs exist and one can accidentally buy one without knowing
Samsung eMMC units fail, STAY AWAY
Only up to 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage, which is fine for casual use but can be limiting
Kickstand sucks, it has 3 open stages unlike Pro 3 with any angle position
Surface Pro 4
First to include Windows Hello and ships with Windows 10 out of the box. Still a very good device for typical use cases of a device this class. Jump to NVMe storage is a game changer for general responsiveness, even with Windows 11 as a unofficial upgrade. This also brought a first magnetic stylus mount for a cleaner way to store your stylus, it's not very strong though.
Pros
Lightweight and more refined over Pro 3
Windows Hello is very good and responsive, even 7 years later
Display resolution got bumped up, making scaling behave very well and increasing the overall experience
Brightness seems to be slightly better over previous models
Neutral
Intel's 6th generation Core processors used in Pro 4 were alright back then but could get in the way now, main downside is the use of LPDDR3 at 1866MT/s
This tablet is over 7 years old now, batteries are not as fresh
Negative
Some units experience screen flickering under load, this seems to exist on Samsung panel units and can be solved but not guaranteed! Commonly related to the Intel Graphics driver, tweaking settings or downgrading/upgrading can fix this
BATTERIES CAN INFLATE AND CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE!!! This was and still could be a risk factor, if the screen starts to bulge out you should IMMEDIATELY replace it or have someone service the device!!
128GB storage options are very common and should be avoided
Note! The hardware issues are mostly solved and you shouldn't worry about it.
Surface Pro 5
General improvement over Pro 4 with a generational CPU upgrade. It's a generally mildly refined Pro 4 with little to no changes apart from vent holes.
Pros
Better battery life compared to its predecessor
Revamped cooling system
LTE cellular connectivity as an option
Neutral
Microsoft could've added a larger battery
Not a upgrade over Pro 4 unless you value LTE
Negative
Storage is soldered, no way to replace or salvage the drive
4GB RAM option with 128GB of storage still an option and common on used markets
Decent amount of performance left on the table by sticking with LPDDR3 at 1866MT/s
To be added...
Community help is greatly appreciated! All this here is written from our experience, be it from one or many people. For more specific information on the mentioned models you can ask directly over Open RT discord in a designated channel category!
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