I've had my Surface 2 for a surprising 6 full years now. I bought it used in very good condition (the 32GB model) with a backlit Type Cover for $248. It is on its third Type Cover. But I think this is about as good as you could do with hardware like this. I have never hard reset it which shouldn't be too surprising as it runs Windows RT so no x86 bloat. Battery still holds a charge, too.
Obviously for modern web browsing it would really lag on many scripted pages but it did still play YouTube, once it loaded. Well, Google finally dumped support for the browser (and it can't run Chrome) so Youtube does not work properly.
I think I have gotten more than enough use out of it to justify getting something newer. I am definitely a believer in Microsoft hardware so my first stop was to check out late model Surface tablets. My options seem to center around a Surface Go or a Surface Go 2. However, there are a few SKUs and configurations possible for each so I wanted a place to at least jot down the different options and prices so I could attempt to optimize. While an 8GB Surface Go 2 with the Intel Core M3 is close to a 2020 Macbook Air in performance, those are $630 new without keyboard (add about $100 for a new keyboard) so even used I don't see how it could get anywhere near my semi-arbitrary under-$300 price point. And while I could make an argument to spent a little more and get something that's a good tablet and replaces my ancient Vaio, I am old school and don't see a 10.5" device replacing a 13.3" form factor laptop. So I think I am better off cheaping out on the tablet since it will just be used for very light computing tasks.
But yeah here are the SKU options for now:
Surface Go 2 w/ Intel Core M3, 8GB RAM and 128GB of real NVMe SSD
Surface Go 2 w/ Intel Pentium 4425Y, 4GB RAM and 64GB eMMC
Surface Go w/ Intel 4415Y, 8GB RAM and 128GB. This may also be a real NVMe but I need to confirm.
Surface Go w/ Intel 4415Y, 4GB RAM and 64GB probably eMMC. Notice the processor was the same on this first gen.
Also all of these are passively cooled. Next I'll pull together some reliable used prices to see what the spread is, and whether it makes sense to get the keyboard in the bundle (as used) or buy separately.
Shopping for a new tablet
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
In order of increasing price....
Surface Go 4GB/64GB with type cover, $240
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... SweJ1fIeex
Type Cover by itself is about $45.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... S&LH_BIN=1
Surface Go 4GB by itself is around $220 so I think the bundle is a better deal. This makes sense I think.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... E&LH_BIN=1
OK so moving up to the 8GB/128GB.
Harder to find but seems like bundles start at $300.
However, there is another option. Various Surface Pros.
Here's a Surface Pro 3 with keyboard for $350. Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... s&LH_BIN=1
Or $340.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... 3867208465
The 12" size is nice. 2160 x 1440 screen. Not sure what battery life is though.
Surface Go 2 4GB/64GB. $264.99 without keyboard.
https://www.blinq.com/detail/electronic ... -very-good
So really I think only the Surface Go 64GB gets under my $300 price all in, if I want a keyboard, charger, etc. I guess I can use any USB-C charger though....
Surface Go 4GB/64GB with type cover, $240
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... SweJ1fIeex
Type Cover by itself is about $45.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... S&LH_BIN=1
Surface Go 4GB by itself is around $220 so I think the bundle is a better deal. This makes sense I think.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... E&LH_BIN=1
OK so moving up to the 8GB/128GB.
Harder to find but seems like bundles start at $300.
However, there is another option. Various Surface Pros.
Here's a Surface Pro 3 with keyboard for $350. Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... s&LH_BIN=1
Or $340.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surf ... 3867208465
The 12" size is nice. 2160 x 1440 screen. Not sure what battery life is though.
Surface Go 2 4GB/64GB. $264.99 without keyboard.
https://www.blinq.com/detail/electronic ... -very-good
So really I think only the Surface Go 64GB gets under my $300 price all in, if I want a keyboard, charger, etc. I guess I can use any USB-C charger though....
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Base Surface Go (4/64)
https://youtu.be/3jPu6Sw677E
This seems quite acceptable considering it's full Windows 10.
https://youtu.be/3jPu6Sw677E
This seems quite acceptable considering it's full Windows 10.
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Another Surface Pro 3
https://www.ebay.com/itm/293771743851
8GB/256GB. Thia seems really good for $297. Claims refurbished too.
Of course this is a 6 year old design....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/293771743851
8GB/256GB. Thia seems really good for $297. Claims refurbished too.
Of course this is a 6 year old design....
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Or a 5 year old OG Surface Book.
https://youtu.be/TosE09tN-CM
Can't get the price to where I want it but this should totally be able to replace my Vaio.
The base has a battery and can be had with upgraded graphics for an interesting upgrade on older hardware.
https://youtu.be/TosE09tN-CM
Can't get the price to where I want it but this should totally be able to replace my Vaio.
The base has a battery and can be had with upgraded graphics for an interesting upgrade on older hardware.
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Surface Laptop Go was just announced.
https://youtu.be/59WHuqaDcPU
I should wait a month. Maybe I can find something new on Black Friday? Or at least let this hit the market and depress used prices of other stuff. The Surface Laptop Go seems about perfect. Sized and priced between the Surface Go and Surface Laptop.
https://youtu.be/Vydw445XA_E
Also here is a wiki decoder for all of the Surface family products:
https://youtu.be/59WHuqaDcPU
I should wait a month. Maybe I can find something new on Black Friday? Or at least let this hit the market and depress used prices of other stuff. The Surface Laptop Go seems about perfect. Sized and priced between the Surface Go and Surface Laptop.
https://youtu.be/Vydw445XA_E
Also here is a wiki decoder for all of the Surface family products:
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Eh, the res is super low on the Laptop Go. Like 1536x1024 which is lower than my Surface 2! It is however reported to look really nice with like 99% sRGB which is excellent.
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Leaning towards Surface Laptop 2, 256GB model. Looks like around $500-$550 used on eBay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Laptop_2
Intel Core i5-8250U (first quad core Surface Laptop)
RAM and storage is variable but leaning toward 8GB/256GB. Real NVMe M.2 SSD (the 128GB version may be...SATA III? Not sure)
13.5 inch touchscreen
2256 x 1504
3:2 Aspect Ratio
Gorilla Glass 3
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
2.76 lbs
Rated at ~14 hrs battery life which is insane to me but that's the class of machine this is.
Should have specs that will last for years, though none of it is upgradeable or serviceable which is "bad." Really like these from what I'm seeing. Reported to have the best keyboard in the industry which is cool. Calibrated screen, 100% sRGB. Thin, light, strong, pretty quick, decent speakers even. When new, MSRP of the model above was $1300 so that's a pretty good discount for only 2 year old hardware and I declare a better overall buy than a new $500 machine.
Also this would replace my Vaio hence spending more and getting a lot more powerful hardware. I've been bouncing around thinking about what I would want in a single device to replace my Surface 2 tablet and old-ass Vaio. Ended up at this Surface Laptop. I like the design/build and I know there is a little premium there but I am willing to pay it to get quality hardware, not some creaky, flexy plastic crap with a questionable display.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Laptop_2
Intel Core i5-8250U (first quad core Surface Laptop)
RAM and storage is variable but leaning toward 8GB/256GB. Real NVMe M.2 SSD (the 128GB version may be...SATA III? Not sure)
13.5 inch touchscreen
2256 x 1504
3:2 Aspect Ratio
Gorilla Glass 3
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
2.76 lbs
Rated at ~14 hrs battery life which is insane to me but that's the class of machine this is.
Should have specs that will last for years, though none of it is upgradeable or serviceable which is "bad." Really like these from what I'm seeing. Reported to have the best keyboard in the industry which is cool. Calibrated screen, 100% sRGB. Thin, light, strong, pretty quick, decent speakers even. When new, MSRP of the model above was $1300 so that's a pretty good discount for only 2 year old hardware and I declare a better overall buy than a new $500 machine.
Also this would replace my Vaio hence spending more and getting a lot more powerful hardware. I've been bouncing around thinking about what I would want in a single device to replace my Surface 2 tablet and old-ass Vaio. Ended up at this Surface Laptop. I like the design/build and I know there is a little premium there but I am willing to pay it to get quality hardware, not some creaky, flexy plastic crap with a questionable display.
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
I am also going to keep my eye out for Black Friday Surface Pro 7 deals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Pro_7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Pro_7
Re: Shopping for a new tablet
Snagged this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284049072817
Couple things here.
First, I refined my requirements and decided that since the RAM and CPU are soldered, and the storage is really not upgradeable in a practical sense, I wanted to make sure I spent a little extra if necessary to get something that will be a little more future proof. So what I realized was by shifting from the Surface Laptop 2 back to the original Surface Laptop, yes I would be stepping back to the 7th gen Kaby Lake dual cores but I could afford 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Bonus, the 512GB SSD in this generation was uniquely fast per an article I'll link if I remember. 16GB of RAM gives me plenty of headroom even though 8 would have been fine for quite a while I'm sure. Possibly a bonus, the i7 of this generation also comes with Intel Iris Plus 640 graphics as opposed to the HD620 of the other models INCLUDING all Surface Laptop 2 SKUs. I doubt it amounts to much but it must be better, no? Might give it just a little edge for more future proofing on the graphics side even though I don't game.
I also bid and lost on another machine (a Surface Laptop 2 with similar specs). I decided that I wanted to pay something starting with a 5. Research also indicated that some very good deals happened in August that I missed. I also determined that my best deal would come from inexperienced sellers using the old school auction format. All of the higher volume used computer sellers had higher buy it now prices and even now it seems like a common price for this machine is in the $700-900 range (plus tax). I did, however, forget about tax. But I was able to enter my max bid within the last 10 seconds and won it at $535.65. With tax and shipping, I really snuck under my goal at $599.88 which is kind of funny.
This one comes with a BT mouse also. The only thing is I asked the seller to provide me stats on battery wear. He ignored me but I also messaged him only a few hours before the auction ended. If it turns out to have over like 15 or 20% wear, I may just flip it back on eBay. I want something more in the 5-10% range for wear, since it is not user replaceable. The good news is the battery life on this type of machine is really high so there's that. Like for casual usage it could be like 9 hours, 10 hours or even like 12 hours. I don't need anywhere near that but it's good to start at that level so when it ages it is still usable.
Couple things here.
First, I refined my requirements and decided that since the RAM and CPU are soldered, and the storage is really not upgradeable in a practical sense, I wanted to make sure I spent a little extra if necessary to get something that will be a little more future proof. So what I realized was by shifting from the Surface Laptop 2 back to the original Surface Laptop, yes I would be stepping back to the 7th gen Kaby Lake dual cores but I could afford 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Bonus, the 512GB SSD in this generation was uniquely fast per an article I'll link if I remember. 16GB of RAM gives me plenty of headroom even though 8 would have been fine for quite a while I'm sure. Possibly a bonus, the i7 of this generation also comes with Intel Iris Plus 640 graphics as opposed to the HD620 of the other models INCLUDING all Surface Laptop 2 SKUs. I doubt it amounts to much but it must be better, no? Might give it just a little edge for more future proofing on the graphics side even though I don't game.
I also bid and lost on another machine (a Surface Laptop 2 with similar specs). I decided that I wanted to pay something starting with a 5. Research also indicated that some very good deals happened in August that I missed. I also determined that my best deal would come from inexperienced sellers using the old school auction format. All of the higher volume used computer sellers had higher buy it now prices and even now it seems like a common price for this machine is in the $700-900 range (plus tax). I did, however, forget about tax. But I was able to enter my max bid within the last 10 seconds and won it at $535.65. With tax and shipping, I really snuck under my goal at $599.88 which is kind of funny.
This one comes with a BT mouse also. The only thing is I asked the seller to provide me stats on battery wear. He ignored me but I also messaged him only a few hours before the auction ended. If it turns out to have over like 15 or 20% wear, I may just flip it back on eBay. I want something more in the 5-10% range for wear, since it is not user replaceable. The good news is the battery life on this type of machine is really high so there's that. Like for casual usage it could be like 9 hours, 10 hours or even like 12 hours. I don't need anywhere near that but it's good to start at that level so when it ages it is still usable.