Recently I upgraded my Surface Pro 3 to Windows 10 Build 10159. With Windows 8.1 Update 1 (which is default installed) the device was making a lot of noise when plugged in. Also with multiple programs open (most of time Internet Explorer and/or Adobe Reader) it was making a lot of noise too. After many firmware updates the issues was still not gone. In March this year, I wrote the following about this behavior:
As mentioned in the links below, this is being caused by the Windows Installer Module and the Windows Installer Module Worker, which start in the background at random times and cause the CPU to work at higher speeds. This causes the heat and the fans to kick into overdrive. When stopping these processes in Task Manager, my Surface is as quiet as on battery in seconds! Hope that this issue is fixed when moving to Windows 10 in a few months. Otherwise a hardware replacement may be needed to resolve this.
Last week I updated my device to Windows 10 Build 10159. After the update the issue is gone indeed. Even during a stress test (screenshot) at almost 100% CPU the fan makes less noise than before. Happy that this issue seems to be gone now! :-)
Downside is, Out of sleep (when in sleep mode, it will wake up. for it seems because of the keyboard?) is back again. This issue was solved on Windows 8.1 after installing a system firmware update.
Sometimes
my device will go out-of-sleep, which is annoying because all open
programs will be gone afterwards. Strange thing that no hibernation is
used for this? For it seems the device stays on, till battery power is
reached a critical state. After that the device turns down. Lucky me
this happens around rarely and not always.
Furthermore I really like Windows 10, and hope to implement it many times this year already! Windows 10 (a.k.a. Windows as a service) is the new generation of Windows. No specials (issues or other things) to mention on Surface Pro 3.
Update 7-7: Still during installing updates (Windows 10 Build 10159 to 10162) my device makes a lot of noise. Next device will be a fanless one :-)
More information about the fan blowing:
Fix found for Microsoft's Surface 3 overheating issues
Excessively loud fan, constant overheating during idle and light tasks
Tools To Simulate CPU / Memory / Disk Load (for testing purpose)
More blogposts on this topic:
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 first experience
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 second experience
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 experience after 5 months
Since November last year I'm using a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 as primary device for my daily work. I wrote multiple blogposts about my experience in November and December. For over 5 months I'm very happy with my choice, never had a doubt I made the wrong choice here. But still there are some minors left. Let's have a look at my experience so far. Pro's and Con's are taken from my post before.
Pro's (changes in bold)
-Fast (with i7 CPU, i5 performance don't know)
-Quiet (on battery always, on power not all the time)
-Battery (approx. 8/9 hours with Office and Internet open)
-12" display (sharp, resolution, pen support)
-Pen (great in presentations)
-Weight (1,1 kg with keyboard)
-New generation device, high wow factor!
-Windows 10 upgrade coming (waiting for RTM to upgrade)
-Kickstand (can be placed in all positions)
-It's both a notebook and tablet
Con's (changes in blue)
-Fan blowing (on power only, not all the time)
As mentioned in the links below, this is being caused by the Windows Installer Module and the Windows Installer Module Worker, which start in the background at random times and cause the CPU to work at higher speeds. This causes the heat and the fans to kick into overdrive. When stopping these processes in Task Manager, my Surface is as quiet as on battery in seconds! Hope that this issue is fixed when moving to Windows 10 in a few months. Otherwise a hardware replacement may be needed to resolve this.
-Out of sleep (when in sleep mode, it will wake up. for it seems because of the keyboard?)
Sometimes my device will go out-of-sleep, which is annoying because all open programs will be gone afterwards. Strange thing that no hibernation is used for this? For it seems the device stays on, till battery power is reached a critical state. After that the device turns down. Lucky me this happens around rarely and not always. Hope this issue is fixed also when moving to Windows 10.
-One USB port only (far too little to connect multiple devices!)
Last week I ordered a Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Surface Edition, because of this. The mouse works really fine, and benefit of it is a free USB port which I have now. Again no doubt I made the wrong choice here, and it looks great next to my Surface!
-Keyboard function keys (sometimes Fn is needed, sometimes not, which is confusing)
Well, you will get used to it ;)
-There is no insert key on the keyboard (mentioned by @scambler)
Didn't miss it myself actually. What I am missing on modern devices is the lack of pause key, which is really handy during PXE boot. Just have a look HERE for a workaround on the insert key.
More information about the fan blowing:
Fix found for Microsoft's Surface 3 overheating issues
Excessively loud fan, constant overheating during idle and light tasks
Tools To Simulate CPU / Memory / Disk Load (for testing purpose)
More blogposts on this topic:
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 first experience
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 second experience
One month ago my new work device was delivered, a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I decided to order one because of great look & feel, very good feedback (reviews) and Windows 10 in pipeline. A blogpost about my first experience can be found HERE. Let's have a look at my second experience, after using it for over one month now. Most of my experiences are positive, but some negative ones also!
Still very happy with my device, it's fast, quiet, and have a good battery. It's both a notebook and tablet. Let's have a look!
Pro's
-Fast (with i7 CPU, i5 performance don't know)
-Quiet (on battery always, on power not all the time)
-Battery (approx. 6/7 hours with Office and Internet open)
-12" display (sharp, resolution, pen support)
-Pen (great in presentations)
-Weight (1,1 kg with keyboard)
-New generation device, high wow factor!
-Windows 10 upgrade coming (free?)
-Kickstand (can be placed in all positions)
-It's both a notebook and tablet
Con's
-Fan blowing (on power only, not all the time)
-Out of sleep (when in sleep mode, it will wake up. for it seems because of the keyboard?)
-One USB port only (far too little to connect multiple devices!)
-Keyboard function keys (sometimes Fn is needed, sometimes not, which is confusing)
That's it for now. As you can see more pro's than con's are mentioned, so my total experience with the device is still very good. Hope that Microsoft can fix fan blowing with a future system firmware. Then it will be even better. Microsoft did a great job here!
Last week my new work device was delivered, a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I decided to order one because of great look & feel, very good feedback (reviews) and Windows 10 in pipeline. In the past I did have a Surface (1) RT, but that was not actually what I wanted. This device however is a real notebook killer, no need to have a notebook next to this one. Great to experience the whole Windows look & feel, with touchscreen and pen functionality. With Windows 10 in pipeline this will become even better! Really happy with my choice here ;)
Because Surface Pro 3 is delivered with Windows 8.1 Pro, and Enterprise is needed for Direct Access functionality, I upgraded my device. Just start an inplace upgrade, so no need to format or remove anything. After the upgrade type in the new Windows Enterprise key and you're done! Just leave the recovery partition inplace, so when there's something wrong you can start a rollback. I did that once, so just leave it when needed sometime. After the upgrade however I did not see Windows 8.1 Update 1 features setup. This will be done at a later moment, when more software updates are installed.
When the power button on the start menu is needed, use registry instead. For it seems the power button is not displayed always, given the fact the operating system can be used in desktop or tablet mode. Just start registry editor and browse to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > ImmersiveShell". Expand the tree and create a new key called "Launcher". Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value here called "Launcher_ShowPowerButtonOnStartScreen". Give it a value of "1" to activate it and start the device again. Now it will be visible at once.
Nice thing that I worked whole day with type cover and pen. No mouse? Actually I didn't miss it today. With the pen you can do all daily operations also, without the need for a mouse. Curious if I switch back to a mouse or using the pen instead. Time will tell ;)
Can't wait for Windows 10 to complete my Surface experience! Expect more to come in a few weeks, when I did more on my device!
-My personal experience with Windows 10 Technical Preview
-Windows 10 Technical Preview updated with 7,000 changes and fixes
When the pen isn't working right (open OneNote with a single click and Screen Capture with a double click) check these guides too:
-Quick Things to Try If Your Surface Pro 3 Pen Doesn’t Work
-Deploying Surface Pro 3 Pen and OneNote Tips
-Troubleshoot Surface Pen
