Well, I just tried the Surface Pro 9 Core i5 at the local Best Buy and, well, yeah, I’m not liking it. As I feared, Microsoft is having to throttle its 12th Gen processor more than 11th Gen in my Surface Pro 8 when unplugged (I unplugged it to simulate what battery usage is like). At 120 Hz and in recommended power mode, when I have just two windows open, the UI gets extremely choppy. At 60Hz, it’s less noticeable but still I see stuttering so I assume the Windows UI is hovering around 30-40 fps. My Surface Pro 8 at the same power mode and 120 Hz refresh rate looks buttery smooth in comparison, getting at least 50-60 fps. I can see how Microsoft is managing similar battery life as the Surface Pro 8 and it is a definite step down. On the other hand, I am guessing the Surface Pro 9’s SQ3 likely does not have to throttle to such extremes while in battery mode from my preliminary reading. I will be doing some asking around on Reddit to get a definitive answer. @Desertlap, have you noticed a more stuttery UI on the Surface Pro 9 Intel models while on battery compared to the Pro 8? And if so, is the SQ3 better? (Best Buy does not have the SQ3 models on demo.)
I just got my Surface Pro 9 SQ3 in and it’s as I suspected: it performs way better on battery than the Intel models. Microsoft is really pulling back the performance on the Intel models on battery to hit their battery life targets. I have Edge open with a dozen of tabs and am dragging the window around like I did in the store with the i5 model. No hitching or stuttering on battery. This is the future!
First post on the SQ3 Surface Pro 9!
Liked from the Surface Duo! :vb-grin:
Impressions so far.
Man alive, is this thing fast. I notice no difference on this versus my i7 Surface Pro 8. By the way, Microsoft is so confident about its battery life that this SQ3 model defaults to 120 Hz unlike the Intel ones. And I can also see why: my Intel experience with the terribly inefficient 12th Gen was Microsoft is downclocking them heavily on battery. When I tried the Core i5 model with the power connector disconnected, it was a stuttery, fluttery mess with the UI with just two windows open and dragging one across the screen with my finger. SQ3? It’s just as responsive on battery as on AC power and it’s as silky smooth in the UI as my i7 Surface Pro 8.
ARM incompatibility is grossly exaggerated by the Apple worshipping mainstream media. Citrix’s older releases (which integrate tightly with Windows) from years ago will fail at install but they fixed this a while ago in their current Citrix Workspace and it works flawlessly. Next, I tried using Revo Uninstaller, an application I keep in my Swiss Army Knife reserve of system maintenance applications. It worked flawlessly uninstalling the Microsoft stock bloatware known as Teams and seemed pretty much just as fast as native. I also loaded up Microsoft Money Sunset Deluxe, my money management program of choice, and it ran as fast and flawlessly as native. Love it!
OK MS - bring us a Surface Go 4 in SP9 design clothing (including slim pen storage), at current weight with 16gb/512gb/5g and WE ARE HOME FREE.
PS - asking for 512gb because I seriously doubt they’ll give us the SSD hatch…
You can read benchmarks all day long but nothing can replace hands-on comparison while doing the things you want and/or need to do on them. :vb-agree:
Congrats!
Are you advocating to increase the screen size of the Go 4? Because I would much prefer the smaller screen size for the portability.
Heavens NO - same size/weight just rounded edges and a type cover with pen storage…trying any way I can to get a WinPad to show the cornballs at Apple that a MacPad is possible…
This exactly. The Intel ones are blazing fast when they are blazing hot and pulling infinite power from the wall. Put them on battery and they are sluggards. By the way, I feel zero heat on the back when on battery. Even the Intel models, while the fans don’t spin on recommended power mode, would get warm for me.
Used it for only an hour and a half and down just 10% (started at 86%; didn’t fully charge it). And this is with Citrix Workspace, Edge with over a dozen tabs, and a 3D printing slicer program all open. My Surface Pro 8 could never do this!
Dude, I am excited if NUVIA gives me this plus Intel crushing performance in the Pro 10. The battery life is insane! 
That’s roughly equivalent to asking Apple to please make an iPad mini Pro. With M2 & miniLED or OLED. 
Well, if Windows on ARM really kicks off, maybe they will eventually put a midrange NUVIA offering equivalent to what we are getting now on the Pro 9. Maybe that can be Surface Go 4 ARM?
3:03 PM and down to 70% from 76% (at 2:07 PM). What sorcery is this?!?
Intel is garbage compared to this as a mobile solution.
No, no, no my friend - that would very much be an iPad Pro 11 competitor…
Connect it up to two 4k monitors, and load it up with a dozen Edge tabs, couple of Word docs, couple of Excel spreadsheets, an Adobe Photoshop RAW edit, and YouTube running in the background, THEN we’ll talk…
Sorry, I wasn’t clear, I meant it was comparable as far as the possibility of it ever happening.
Uh, well, even an iPad Pro would be crushed at that point. Seriously though, just running Google Docs side-by-side with Safari drains the 2022 12.9" iPad Pro in about 5 hours flat (see here: iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) review: still the best pro tablet on the planet | TechRadar).
Interesting experiment, though. For science!
Ars Technica review: