Microsoft Surface 3

[alicat]

Today I took some elderly friends to buy a new computer. Basically he thinks he is going to write a book on it but in reality it will be used for a little word processing, some basic spreadsheet use, an internet search once in a blue moon and for doing their grocery shopping once a week when I go round.

The salesman persuaded them to buy a

Microsoft Surface 3, Intel Atom, 4GB RAM, Windows 10, 10.8", 128GB at £499

saying the price tag for the computer at £419 was 'the model below' implying it had a smaller, 8" screen whereas it is this model:

Microsoft Surface 3, Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, Windows 8.1, 10.8", 64GB

Now the cheaper machine comes with a 1 year free subscription to Microsoft 365,which will keep them in their comfort zone and a free upgrade to Windows 10.

I don't mind doing the upgrade since I will be heavily customising the computer to make it as idiot proof as possible.

Am I right in thinking that for their needs 2GB of RAM and 64GB is plenty? Or am I missing something and the extra £80 is worth spending?

 

[Andrew_P]

I bought one for work for a salesman and the 64gb 2gb ram worked fine I would say the keyboard would be an essential add on, in particular for what they seem to want to use it for. So I would go for the cheaper one but add the keyboard

 

[alicat]

Yes, we've got the keyboard.

 

[Andrew_P]

Yes, we've got the keyboard.

Oh they were a £100 add on when we bought one.

 

[vernon]

I wonder how I used to cope with 4Mb of memory and a 20 Mb hard disc.

The lower spec one would meet their basic needs but you'd have to buy a keyboard.

 

[gavroche]

Without sounding like an idiot , doesn't a key board come with any computer?

 

[vernon]

Oh they were a £100 add on when we bought one.

They still are for the 2GB version.

 

[vernon]

Without sounding like an idiot , doesn't a key board come with any computer?

Not if it's a tablet computer.

 

[gavroche]

Not if it's a tablet computer.

Point taken but you still get a built in keyboard with a tablet.

 

[vernon]

Point taken but you still get a built in keyboard with a tablet.

Not always. You'll always get a touchscreen virtual keyboard but for some models a physical keyboard is an extra.

 

[alicat]

Just to be clear we paid £109 extra for the keyboard. They didn't have the computer in stock so I'm due to collect it Tuesday. Unless anyone thinks differently, I'm planning to ring up tomorrow and say we'll take the lower spec computer.

My friends aren't hard up but it stuck a bit in my craw that the salesman wasn't quite straight about the cheaper model. And it was a well-respected store 'Never knowingly undersold'.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Sounds to me like they'd have been better off with a laptop.

 

[alicat]

I thought about a laptop but they have one already. They don't use it, because it is very chunky, runs on Vista and we never managed to get it to work wirelessly. Hopefully if they start to use the tablet to surf the net it will be when they are sitting in armchairs. I personally find my laptop a bit unwieldy for that.

 

[bikingdad90]

We have them at work and we have a few problems along the lines of:

When it goes to idle mode the screen dims and it can be hard to turn it back on it without putting it to sleep and then logging back in as you cant see the mouse and they are pants in the sun. You maybe able to remedy this but our group IT policy is locked down so I cant check.

The other major drawback is there is no USB port and you need to use an adaptor. If they have a desk a docking station is a good way of getting round this issue.

 

[ColinJ]

I thought about a laptop but they have one already. They don't use it, because it is very chunky, runs on Vista and we never managed to get it to work wirelessly. Hopefully if they start to use the tablet to surf the net it will be when they are sitting in armchairs. I personally find my laptop a bit unwieldy for that.

I am still using a Dell D430 laptop which I bought on eBay from @Alexis Holwell about 7 years ago. (He was not a forum member then but I remembered his name when he joined CC and checked it was him!)

It is perhaps a bit underpowered by modern standards but happens to have an excellent keyboard, and only weighs about 1.5 kg. I am using it on my lap at this moment and am very comfortable. It is perfect for the kind of uses you mention and you can pick them up on eBay now for a pittance - EXAMPLE. (The battery would need replacing unless the laptop was only going to be used on mains power. You can get replacement batteries for about £16 on eBay.)