Surface Pro 3 throttling

The "Haswell" processors in these tablets are actually built different than the regular desktop and laptop versions.  They are flatter and wider which means that they are not "stacked" like a regular processor and that increases the cooling capability with only one fan.

I have the desktop i7 "Haswell" and the CPU cooling fan alone is not enough to do the job.  The processors in the tablets can be cooled with the newer design.

The battery life rating of 9 hours should be with the i3 version and will go down the higher you go with the processor class.  BUT, the i7 can achieve 7 hours and maybe even more.

That is the thing of the "Haswell" class of processors because they are designed to use less energy and actually have more functions.  The entire video card is in the processor just like in the ones for the Pro and Pro 2 tablets.  That means fewer components and less juice used.  It will also be with the motherboard as well since it has been re-engineered to use fewer components and that also boosts battery life per use.

So, in summary, you should have "all day computing" on battery with the i7 and just a little longer with the i5 and i3.  That means you can do anything you want and should last that long.  In fact, you may even forget that you are on battery at the end of the day and see no caution balloon from the battery indicator on the TaskBar.

Also, like in the Pro 2, Microsoft had the batteries custom built just for these tablets and I do believe LG Electronics built them (they did for the Pro 2).  Everything from the ground up has been engineered to use less power and also to increase the cooling capability.  Also, when you get the tablet, look around the perimeter of the chassis and you will see holes all around.  That along with a larger "Cyclone" type cooling fan will definitely keep the processor cooler.

With that all being said, chances are, the tablet 'may' be throttled "down" since they are new and later on, Microsoft can adjust those settings with firmware updates to bring the tablets to the highest optimum operational level and maintain long battery life and keeping them cool.

Why would the i7 run any cooler?

And how much worse will the battery life be on the i7?

Yea, just remember that these are new machines with that "new car smell".  They haven't had their first oil change yet!  Heh, heh.

Thanks James.

That's certainly what I'm hoping, that there will be tweaks to the throttling behaviour, maybe even firmware or driver improvements.

I like the form factor of the Pro 3 so much now that it's hard to use my Pro 2, even if it does perform better!!  Honestly at this point, my only reason for returning it would be to wait for the i7 version.  But if the i7 version doesn't really improve things, then I've wasted money, and should just have kept the i5.  If I don't return, and then the i7 DOES improve things (and those improvements don't make it to the i5) then I'm left wishing I'd returned the i5.  This is why I'm hoping Microsoft will say SOMETHING soon, because 6 of my 14-day return period has gone already, and I want to be more informed before I make any decision.

As for what they mean by "gaming" - their website specifically features League of Legends, Elder Scrolls Online, Civilization 5 and Age of Mythology: Extended Edition.  It goes on to talk about how well they run on the Pro 3.  (Why, yes, they do run quite well.........for 5 minutes)!!

Thanks!

Like you, I used to use Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasty as a test article for a new built machine because the game would rip the guts out of the video system.

There is a possibility that a throttling action is being taken via the BIOS.  That could be in place to safeguard the tablet.  The "Haswell" series of processors (to include Pentium and Celeron versions as well) are real good and can clock in real fast in a desktop.  I have both the i5 and i7 versions in desktops now and have three motherboards to build up the Pentium version.

With a desktop and laptop, you don't need to control the speed of the processor (which I think is happening here) because they both have robust motherboards and chipsets to support that.  The tablet versions will have the high speed performance but with limits.  That means, no horsepower to back it up.  The supporting chipsets are probably key to the issue here and a limit has to be set.

Now, when PC makers mention "gaming", that can be subject to interpretation.  Playing Solitaire is a game!  I think you know where I am going on this one.

Don't get rid of the tablet.  There can be tweaks to increase performance in the future.  The Pro 3 is a re-engineered machine compared to the 1st and 2nd generation models.  I would expect more firmware updates in the future to do that.