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| PC World - 1 Jul (PC World)Norton 360 antivirus protects you out of the box, automatically blocking malware and even preventing suspicious-looking programs from accessing your webcam without your permission.
Those are just basic security features, though. Some of Norton 360’s most useful features—cloud backups, VPN, dark web monitoring, built-in software updater—won’t do anything until you set them up.
Here are the first settings you should change after installing Norton 360 if you want to take full advantage of this security suite.
Note: To find these settings, open the Norton 360 application from either your Start menu or system tray. You’ll see a My Norton window, where you can find Norton’s features and options for controlling them.
1. Choose how many notifications you want to see
Like other security suites, Norton 360 can be a little noisy out of the box. This is a matter of personal taste: some like seeing these notifications, others would prefer to see as few as possible.
Want to take control? You can customize your Norton 360 notifications by clicking the gear icon in the middle of the My Norton window to access settings, and then click Notifications.
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Look under Display Preference. The “Alert categories” box is set to All Alerts out of the box. To see fewer notifications, click that box and select either Warning or Critical Only.
By default, Norton 360 will show you occasional offers, too. Uncheck the Special offers box if you don’t want to see those.
You can also customize Silent Mode here, if you like, but the default settings are pretty good. For example, Norton 360 automatically activates Silent Mode whenever you’re in a full-screen application and won’t interfere with activities like gaming or video streaming.
2. Configure how the built-in VPN works
Norton 360 has a built-in Norton Secure VPN feature, which can route all your internet traffic through a secure tunnel. This means you don’t need a separate VPN service or subscription—but Norton doesn’t automatically activate its VPN after installation, so you have to do it.
Note: The Norton Secure VPN is included with most versions of Norton, including Norton 360 Deluxe and Norton 360 Standard. However, it’s not included with the baseline Norton Antivirus Plus subscription.
To control how the Norton Secure VPN works, click the gear icon in the My Norton window and select VPN, or click the down arrow to the right of “Secure VPN” in this window and select Settings.
From here, you can control how you want the VPN to work. Here are the VPN features you can tweak:
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Auto-Connect: Activate this switch to use the VPN all the time. The Norton Secure VPN will automatically connect whenever your computer boots or wakes from sleep mode. (Bear in mind that this will likely slow things down a little bit. There’s always a little bit of overhead to using a VPN.)
Auto VPN: Rather than use the VPN at all times, Norton 360 can automatically activate it when you connect to an unsecured or compromised Wi-Fi network—for example, a public Wi-Fi network with no encryption that might be vulnerable to snooping. Activating this option is a great way to boost security on public Wi-Fi networks without slowing down your connection at home.
Kill Switch: Activate this and Norton 360 will automatically block all network traffic whenever the VPN connection isn’t live. This is useful for unexpected disconnects as you’ll maintain privacy and security without accidentally leaking traffic while the VPN reconnects.
Ad Tracker Blocking: Norton Secure VPN can automatically block advertising-related trackers while the VPN is connected.
Split Tunnel: Norton 360 will let you exclude certain applications from the VPN tunnel, letting just those applications connect directly to the network and bypass the VPN.
If you’re not sure what to configure here, I’d personally recommend activating Auto VPN for protection on more dangerous networks and Kill Switch to ensure nothing can accidentally slip through the VPN when you do decide to use it.
Of course, no matter what you select, you can open up the Norton 360 window and use the Turn On button to connect to the VPN at any time.
3. Set up cloud backups
Norton 360 offers a built-in cloud backup tool that automatically backs up your important files to its online storage so you can access them if you have a computer problem.
If you aren’t using cloud backups yet, you probably should. Those online backups can come in handy when malware takes over your PC, your internal storage drive fails, or you misplace your laptop.
The exact amount of storage you get depends on your Norton 360 plan, but you may have up to 250GB of cloud backup space available. (Some Norton 360 subscriptions offer only 2GB, which can still be plenty for backing up simple but important files.)
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
To set it up, use the Set Up button to the right of “Cloud Backup” in the My Norton window. (Norton will also show you how much cloud storage you have available right under “Cloud Backup” in the window.)
Norton 360 chooses sensible defaults for the backup settings, so you can immediately click Save Settings to accept. But you could also dig in to see exactly what Norton wants to do.
By default, Norton will back up files like your Pictures and Office Documents, and it will create these backups automatically when you aren’t using your computer. Feel free to customize exactly how you want your backups to work.
4. Add more details to Dark Web Monitoring
Norton 360’s features include Dark Web Monitoring, which alerts you whenever your personal information and/or account credentials appear to be shared on the dark web. To make it truly useful, though, you’ll want to add some extra details.
Note: Most versions of Norton 360, including the Deluxe and Standard plans, include Dark Web Monitoring. However, the basic Norton Antivirus Plus plan doesn’t include this feature.
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
In the My Norton window, activate the Dark Web Monitoring option. Then, you’ll need to click View Alerts and sign in on the web.
Once you’ve done so, you can add additional details to Norton 360’s Identity Protection: email addresses, street addresses, phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit cards, bank account numbers, passport numbers, your mother’s maiden name, and even your gamer tag. You’ll get a notification if any of these details are found on the dark web.
You don’t have to add everything, but at the very least you should add your most commonly used email addresses. The more details you provide, the more useful Norton’s Identity Protection will be.
5. Activate automatic desktop application updates
Norton 360 automatically updates itself—no surprise there. But it can also scan your computer for applications that need updates and tell you about them. Better yet: Norton 360 can automatically update those very applications for you in the background.
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Chris Hoffman / IDG
To scan for desktop application updates, just click the Scan button to the right of “Software Updater” in the My Norton window. You’ll then see any applications that have updates available, and you can click Update to install the updates all at once.
To save time in the future, flip the Auto-Update switch near the top-right corner of the Software Updater pane. Norton 360 will then automatically look for these updates and install them for you in the background.
Want more security advice? Check out this list of outdated security practices you can stop using. You’ll save time and boost your security. And, if you’re not already using a password manager, be sure to give Norton 360’s password manager a try, too.
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| ![](/n.gif) | | - 1 Jul ()Thousands of the bank’s customers have been locked out of their accounts due to an unknown issue. Read...Newslink ©2024 to | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 29 Jun (PC World)If you’ve been holding out for the perfect time to get a Nintendo Switch OLED, that time is now!
The Nintendo Switch OLED is currently just $303 at Walmart, down from its usual $349. The Nintendo Switch rarely goes on sale, which makes this sizable discount that much more enticing.
The Nintendo Switch OLED has a vibrant 7-inch OLED screen for vivid colors and contrast. Whether you’re diving into the latest Zelda adventure or racing through Mario Kart like the rest of us, this display technology delivers a more immersive experience.
Aside from the new OLED screen, this version of the Nintendo Switch has another major upgrade: a wide, adjustable stand. Now, when you set your Switch down on the table, you can actually adjust the resting angle.
The Switch is equipped with a wired LAN port, ensuring a stable and fast internet connection when playing in docked mode. With a generous 64GB of internal storage, you have ample space for your game library. (And if you’re a true gaming enthusiast, you can always expand this storage with a memory card.)
If you already own a Nintendo Switch, know that you can continue using your existing Joy-Con controllers with this new OLED model, saving you the cost of purchasing new ones.
The Nintendo Switch OLED that’s on sale at Walmart right now is the black-and-white model, which looks pretty awesome. At just $303, this is the perfect opportunity to pounce on this deal!
The Nintendo Switch OLED rarely goes on saleBuy it now at Walmart
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| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 29 Jun (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
ProsClean, simple interfaceEssential protection against malwareLower impact on PC system resourcesConsLess participation in testing performed by independent security organizationsExtremely light on featuresOur VerdictMalwarebytes Premium Security offers a simple, easy-to-use alternative to Windows Security—but don’t expect big bang for your buck. Seasoned security vets may also find the lower amount of available independent performance test results offputting.
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Malwarebytes was once a crucial piece of software—a necessary supplement for your main antivirus scanner. You couldn’t always count on just one program to catch everything, and Malwarebytes rose to prominence as a reliable secondary tool.
But the world has changed since 2010. Now if you run multiple antivirus apps, you could open yourself up to software conflicts or increased risk for system vulnerabilities. One single program is the way to go—and if you’re a newbie to security and prefer a dead simple app, then Malwarebytes’ streamlined, elegant approach can fit the bill.
How much does Malwarebytes Premium Security cost?
As a simple suite, Malwarebytes Premium Security costs $60 per year. New subscribers can sign up for a two-year package to save $9 ($111 total). Unlike most other antivirus vendors, Malwarebytes bills in monthly installments over a 12-month term, rather than charging the total cost upfront.
For its consumer products, the company offers a 14-day trial, and a 60-day money back guarantee.
Single-device plan (3 devices)
$60 per year (billed monthly over a 12-month term)
Malwarebytes’ plan allows you to spread your device allotment over those running Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and even ChromeOS.
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If you want to cover more gear, or save a little more cash, you can get licenses for Malwarebytes through third-parties like Amazon and the PCWorld Software store with more flexible terms and at lower rates. However, such plans currently don’t include VPN service, which Malwarebytes added to the subscriptions it sells directly.
What does Malwarebytes Premium Security include?
When you step up from Malwarebytes’ free version to a paid subscription, real-time monitoring for malware, email, web, and select network threats becomes active. (The free plan only scans if you initiate a manual check.) Overall, you’re protected against viruses, ransomware, and other malware, as well as other common attacks like phishing attempts, zero-day exploits on the web and over email, and suspicious apps.
Choosing Malwarebytes Premium Security adds on access to the company’s VPN, which Malwarebytes advertises as a no-log service. As premium upgrades go, this one is simplistic—you don’t get parental controls, a password manager, additional defenses like protected folders, or PC utilities, as you do with a rival like AVG. The company seems to weigh its VPN service as equally valuable to a collection of such antivirus features.
Key features of Malwarebytes Premium Security
Installation and user interface
After you install the app, you’ll see the main dashboard. The interface is incredibly streamlined, with just two tabs on the left navbar—Dashboard and Settings. You can choose between Light, Dark, or matching Windows’ mode.
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PCWorld
PCWorld
Accordingly, you’ll send almost all your time on the Dashboard view, which is divided into three segments. In the larger one, you’ll see a couple of sections blocked out. At the upper left is Security, with Scanner, Detection History, and Real-Time Protection as the three options and their settings:
Scanner lets you run a quick, full, or custom scan, as well as jump directly to related settings. You can also access the scheduled scans to review what’s already set up and create new ones.
Detection History shows quarantined items, the history of events (like detected viruses), and your allow list—items that you’ve approved as safe after initially being flagged by Malwarebytes.
Real-Time Protection is not so much a feature, but an explanation for how Malwarebytes and how it safeguards your PC continuously.
Directly underneath the security section is one for the VPN. It puts the major controls at your fingertips, letting you quickly activate the service and change the location. You can also jump into related settings.
Along the right side is a rating for your PC’s protection level—Malwarebyte’s assessment of how close you are to utilizing the app fully. You can also check on other devices associated with your account.
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PCWorld
PCWorld
Generally, the interface is clean and simple, as are the settings for the app and its features. The only area where you can dig in deeper are the antivirus protection settings—but as Malwarebytes rightly warns, nearly all users are better off leaving the defaults as they are.
One tip: Once the software is installed, head to Settings > Notifications, scroll down to the bottom, and turn off marketing notifications.
Virus, malware, and threat protection
Real-time protection
Malwarebytes Premium Security constantly keeps an eye out for a variety of threats. When you’re opening or adding files, using apps, or browsing the web, it’ll block viruses, ransomware, and other malware like rootkits, along with phishing attempts.
Unlike other rivals, Malwarebytes doesn’t offer a firewall. That job is left to Windows. It also doesn’t offer additional protections against dangers like DNS hijacking and webcam takeovers. As for identity protection, like dark web monitoring and insurance coverage, you must upgrade to the company’s Complete Protection plan, which costs twice as much per year.
PCWorld
PCWorld
PCWorld
If you want to adjust your real-time scanning settings, you can change what the app screens for and how stringent it is with its filters, as well as how it handles suspicious files. Malwarebytes allows you dig surprisingly deep, though only experts should get into the weeds. The overwhelming majority of users should keep the defaults as they are.
Scheduled and manual scans
At installation, Malwarebytes Premium Security automatically creates a scheduled scan for once per week. It runs whenever your system is idle, which the app calls a “smart scan.” You can edit this default or create additional scheduled scans.
For manual scans, Malwarebytes offers three types. The default is a threat scan, which checks commonly targeted areas of your PC, including things running in memory and at startup, as well as registry changes. Files stored on your PC are also looked over.
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PCWorld
To fire up a quick or custom scan, you must choose Advanced Scan from the three-dot menu for the Scanner on the dashboard. Custom scans let you tweak a handful of settings related to file types and areas of your PC, as well as how to handle potentially unwanted programs and modifications to your system.
Additional features
Browser extension
Malwarebytes offers a Browser Guard extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, but despite being available as a separate free download, it’s still considered a component of the Premium Security suite. After installation, it runs quietly in the background, protecting your browser from malware and scams (including credit card skimming), as well as serving as an adblocker.
VPN
Malwarebytes keeps its controls for its VPN simple rather than restrictive. Firing up the service is quick and fast, as is choosing a location for a server—and Malwarebytes lets you choose a handful of cities within countries outside of the US, more similar to a dedicated VPN.
PCWorld
PCWorld
PCWorld
You can choose servers in Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, Ukraine, USA.
This country list isn’t as large as with some VPN services, but as mentioned above, you can generally choose between two to four cities per country. The exception is the United States, which has 18 cities available, coast to coast.
Speeds held stable when using the VPN during light testing. For US server speeds, Los Angeles (within the same state as PCWorld’s San Francisco location) showed a decrease of about 5 to 7 percent, while New York saw a roughly 26 percent drop.
Customer support
From within the app, you can jump to Malwarebytes’ user guide, support pages, and support tool. You can also use an AI chatbot for answers to your questions, or if you’re signed into your Malwarebytes account, to contact customer support—you’ll get funneled to your choice of email or live chat.
Updates and maintenance
Updates for the app and virus definitions happen automatically in the background, but you can also trigger a check manually. You’ll need to click on the person icon in the upper right of the app window, then choose About Malwarebytes and click on the Check for updates button.
PCWorld
PCWorld
PCWorld
Performance
While Malwarebytes participates in some independent benchmarking of its software, it has no current results from AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, two major organizations that test how well antivirus suites can catch threats.
Instead, the company points the curious toward AVLabs’s testing data. During the May 2024 advanced in-the-wild test, Malwarebytes caught all 521 samples—though its detection rate was split between 78.32 percent pre-launch and 21.38 percent post-launch of the samples (that is, before the malware samples could activate versus after). In comparison, rivals Bitdefender and McAfee caught nearly all the samples before they could execute, with 97.98 percent and 99.3 percent pre-launch detection, respectively.
When asked about its participation in independent benchmarks, a representative from Malwarebytes said the company “focuses on third-party testing that is most closely aligned with the needs of customers” and that it works “with the third-party testers that are most relevant to what our customers encounter in today’s threat landscape.”
PCWorld / AVLab
PCWorld / AVLab
PCWorld / AVLab
During hardware performance tests on our budget Acer Aspire 3 test laptop, Malwarebytes lived up to its claims of light impact on PC resources. When left idle in the background, it had virtually no effect on typical tasks, as shown by PCMark 10’s extended benchmark. That test simulates video chatting, web browsing, gaming, image and document editing in free apps like GIMP and LibreOffice, and the like.
If you work instead on Microsoft Office documents, our UL Procyon tests showed a minimal impact on results, with a less than 3 percent difference. Similarly, our Handbrake encoding test only dipped by about 4 percent.
Even running a threat scan continuously during our benchmarks didn’t disturb these numbers much—PCMark 10 slipped by about 7 percent, Procyon by about 14 percent, and Handbrake by about 19 percent. Given how rival antivirus engines from rivals like McAfee and Norton are far greedier about system resources, Malwarebytes does distinguish itself in this regard.
Conclusion
If you dislike complicated interfaces, Malwarebytes Premium Security can be a good fit as an alternative to Windows Security—so long as you don’t mind not getting as much bang for your buck. The app is attractive and clean in its layout, and the settings are clear and straightforward. However, more seasoned security vets may have reason to hesitate on pulling the trigger, due to the relatively low amount of independent testing data available about software performance.
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| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 28 Jun (PC World)2024 is an exciting year for Windows. While the AI features touted by Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs are a flat miss, the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite hardware inside Copilot+ PCs is a definite win.
Finally, after more than a decade of effort, Windows on Arm is a viable alternative to traditional x86 processors—and it’s especially alluring if you long for longer battery life.
But what about games? There’s reason to be skeptical., despite Qualcomm’s pre-release claims that games should just work on Snapdragon X Elite. Games are often developed with a highly specific platform target. Even ports that seem simple, like a move from PlayStation 5 to Xbox Series X|S, can take a lot more effort than you might think.
To find out how well Qualcomm’s chips fare in PC games, I pitted Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 7 against a Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with an Intel Core Ultra processor and Intel Arc integrated graphics. The results are shocking.
Further reading: Surface Laptop 7 review: A new Snapdragon-powered era for Windows laptops
Qualcomm vs. Intel integrated GPUs
Every Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip comes with an integrated Qualcomm Adreno X1 GPU, though the IGP’s performance varies a bit depending on the particular Snapdragon X chip in a device:
Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100: 3.8 TFLOPs
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100: 3.8 TFLOPs
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100: 3.8 TFLOPs
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100: 4.6 TFLOPs
As you can see, Qualcomm’s naming conventions are a bit opaque even by the standards of the industry, so you’ll need to pay close attention when buying a Qualcomm-powered Windows laptop.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (13.8?)
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Though the X1E-84-100 is the best Qualcomm chip, it’s currently exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, leaving the X1E-80-100 in the leading spot for most Qualcomm-powered laptops. This is the chip I’ll be using in my tests for this comparison.
Intel, meanwhile, provides integrated Arc graphics into some—though not all—Intel Core Ultra chips. Here, too, the details can vary quite a bit between chips. The least performant have four “Xe Cores” while the best have eight. Clock speeds vary, too.
Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H, the one I’ll be using for this comparison, is a popular option for thin-and-light Windows x86 laptops, the form factor Qualcomm targets with its debut Snapdragon notebooks.. Many expensive laptops use it for their entry-level configurations, while mid-range laptops provide it as an upgrade over an Intel Core Ultra 5.
Qualcomm Adreno X1: Games that failed
Before diving into benchmarks, I want to address a major problem upfront: Most games currently make little or no effort to support Qualcomm’s hardware.
Qualcomm tried to build pre-launch hype with demonstrations of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Control, which both launch and run on a Snapdragon X laptop. However, many of the games I tried refused to launch, crashed at launch, or had instability problems that made them unplayable.
The list of game titles with such problems include many of the most popular games on Steam:
PUBG: Battlegrounds has an anti-cheat system that doesn’t currently support Qualcomm’s hardware, so the game refused to launch.
Counter-Strike 2 launched and, at first, seemed playable. However, the game frequently locked up for seconds at a time. The lock-ups seemed to be triggered by gunfire, which obviously isn’t great in a fast-paced esports shooter.
Warframe launched to the title and login screens, but opened in an oddly scaled window that made the login button unavailable. The game crashed when I resized or maximized the window.
Apex: Legends politely refused to launch. The game produced an error message stating Arm chips aren’t supported.
Diablo IV launched and I was able to enter a game, but the game froze several seconds after I started moving my character, followed by a “[Prism] Device Removal – Win10/Dx12 TQ0 RT0 DLSS0 FG0” error message.
Valheim crashed to the desktop before the game loaded to the start screen. This happened under both DirectX and Vulkan.
As I discovered in my time using the Microsoft Surface Laptop, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X delivers a stable Windows software experience straight out of the box. From web browsers to video editors, nearly everything ran without a problem. And, to my surprise, a large majority of the apps I use for everyday work already support Arm.
But PC games are a different beast. Very few PC developers bother to create Arm-compatible versions of their game. That’s when emulation tries to step in, but emulating a game is more difficult than emulating a typical desktop application.
Can Intel Arc play these titles? For the most part, yes. Games like Warframe and Counter-Strike 2 are very playable on Arc. Others, like Diablo IV and PUBG: Battlegrounds, push the definition of playable with occasional hitches or stutters, but I suspect gamers who aren’t too critical of performance will still find the experience tolerable.
The laptops used for comparison
I went beyond PCWorld’s typical benchmarks for this comparison because I’m interested in a broader overview of how Qualcomm’s Adreno X1 and Intel’s Arc compare across different games of varying age, graphical fidelity, and genre.
Because of that, I had to test a competitive laptop with Intel Arc graphics side-by-side with the Qualcomm machine. I selected the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and I pitted it against the new Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 with Qualcomm X1E-80-100.
Both laptops have (roughly) 14-inch screens, and they’re similar in size and weight so neither has innate thermal advantages. They represent many mid-to-high-end laptops with Qualcomm or Intel hardware.
The laptops were set to their respective “Best Performance” modes for these tests. I ran all benchmarks three times and averaged the results. Both laptops were connected to power.
The games tested and their results
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Firaxis’ Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, released in 2014, is hardly a new game, but it remains among the most popular grand strategy games on Steam. It’s a great game to test because large games like this, with many AI opponents, can still tax entry-level laptops.
I tested this game with the built-in Gathering Storm expansion benchmark at 1920×1080 resolution with low Performance and Memory graphics presets selected. The benchmark ran three times back-to-back and the results were averaged. The DirectX 12 mode was used.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Avg 21.47 / 1% low 14.52
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Avg 72.29 / 1% low 39.52
This is a blowout win for the Intel Arc graphics, which averaged a performance uplift of roughly 3.5 times when compared to the Qualcomm Adreno X1. More importantly, Intel Arc delivered a playable and enjoyable experience, while Qualcomm Adreno X1 did not.
Interestingly, an Arm-native version of Civilization VI exists, as the game is available for both the iPad and Nintendo Switch (both have Arm chips). However, it’s not available for Windows. This implies the potential to improve performance with a native Arm release, but Firaxis hasn’t announced plans to bring it to Windows on Arm.
Dota 2
Valve’s Dota 2 remains one of the most popular esports titles on the planet. I tested its performance using the in-game replay function to standardize the results. The game was launched at 1920×1080 resolution with the Fastest detail preset, and three 60-second snapshots of performance were captured from the same replay file.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Avg 52.8 / 1% Low 17.8 / 0.1% Low 9.8
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Avg 106.6 / 1% Low 52.6 / 0.1% Low 38.1
This is a playable result for the Qualcomm chip, but only just. The average of 52.8 frames per second is solid, though not amazing, but the 1% lows dip into the high teens, and the 0.1% lows dip to single-digits. The game suffered occasional audio drop-outs and glitches.
Intel Arc is both quicker and more stable. Though far from a speed-demon, the Arc delivers an experience that looks and feels more polished. I think most Dota 2 players could get by with Intel Arc graphics if that was their only option.
Diablo II: Resurrected
As mentioned earlier, Diablo IV crashed on the Qualcomm chip—so I instead gave Diablo II: Resurrected a spin.
Although it appears to be a 2D game at a glance due to its fixed isometric perspective, it’s a full 3D title and can prove surprisingly demanding on low-end to mid-range hardware.
I tested the game at 1920×1080 resolution with the Medium detail preset. Dynamic resolution scaling was disabled. I booted the game up, selected a high-level character, and romped through the River of Flame map on Nightmare difficulty.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Avg 47.8 / 1% Low 26.8 / 0.1% Low 19.1
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Avg 74.5 / 1% Low 49.6 / 0.1% Low 27.9
Though hardly perfect, Diablo II: Resurrected was playable on the Qualcomm chip. It delivered an average of about 48 frames per second and 1% lows of 26.8 frames per second, indicating gameplay wasn’t always smooth but usually good enough. I didn’t notice any bugs or glitches in my time with the game, either.
Still, Intel Arc came out ahead by every metric. Not only was Arc’s average framerate much higher, but its framerate dips were less severe. In practice, these numbers mean Diablo II: Resurrected felt smoother and more stable on the Arc system.
Final Fantasy XIV
The popular MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV received a graphical overhaul for its new expansion Dawntrail, but it’s still not an especially demanding game when all things are considered.
I tested it with the standalone benchmark at 1920×1080 resolution and the High (Laptop) detail setting. Dynamic Resolution Scaling was off, while LOD on Distant Objects and Dynamic Grass Interaction were left on.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:4474 / Avg 31.56 / Minimum: 7
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:6111 / Avg 41.8 / Minimum: 24
The Qualcomm chip played the game reasonably well, but it often suffered momentary framerate dips that were a drag on the visuals, while Arc’s dips were relatively rare (though I would still recommend notching down a few detail settings).
This is another win for Intel Arc. While a higher average framerate is great, Arc’s real victory is its superior minimum framerate result. FFXIV fans might get by with the Qualcomm chip in a pinch, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Total War: Warhammer III
Total War: Warhammer III is a real graphical showcase for strategy fans. It has detailed campaign maps and large battles that can include thousands of units. I tested this game with the built-in campaign benchmark at 1920×1080 resolution and the Low detail preset.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Avg 24 / Minimum 16
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Avg 30 / Minimum 19
Intel Arc won this comparison, but the margin of victory was far slimmer than with most of the titles I tried—and it might not matter much. While Arc did average 30 FPS, the framerate frequently dipped into the 20s.
Both Intel Arc and Qualcomm Adreno require significant resolution reductions for a truly playable experience in this title.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Despite its age, Skyrim remains an important title for PC gaming with an active community and a huge library of modifications.
I tested the Special Edition, without mods, at 1920×1080 resolution using the High detail preset. The test run was a walk from the cave you exit at the beginning of the game to the walls of Helgen.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Avg 29.8 / 1% Low 12 / 0.1% Low 8.3
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Avg 59.4 / 1% Low 39.7 / 0.1% Low 30.3
This was a clear win for Intel Arc, which roughly doubled the performance of the Qualcomm chip. Skyrim felt more stable on Arc with a 0.1% low of 30.3 frames per second, while it stuttered and hitched frequently on the Qualcomm-powered Surface with a 0.1% low of 8.3 frames per second.
Cyberpunk 2077
Now we have Cyberpunk 2077, a notoriously demanding title that’s representative of cutting-edge cross-platform games.
I ran the benchmark at 1920×1080 resolution and used the Low detail preset. Resolution scaling was enabled because this game simply isn’t playable on this class of hardware without it. The Qualcomm chip used AMD FSR 2.1 while Intel Arc used Intel XeSS 1.2. Ray tracing was off.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Avg 20.69 / Minimum 14.93
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Avg 35.83 / Minimum 27.90
This is another win for Intel Arc. Cyberpunk 2077 is just barely playable on Arc, though, so it’s a long way from ideal. On Qualcomm, meanwhile, the game’s average and minimum framerates fall short of acceptable.
Reducing resolution to 720p and fine-tuning the settings can arguably provide a playable experience, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
3DMark
Last, but not least, is a pair of 3DMark synthetic benchmarks: Time Spy and Night Strike. Time Spy is not an Arm-native test, but Night Strike is, and that has a big impact on performance.
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Matthew Smith / IDG
Microsoft Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Adreno X1:Time Spy 1,880 / Night Strike 24,573
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1 with Intel Arc:Time Spy 3,523 / Night Strike 25,552
In Time Spy, which isn’t Arm-native, the Qualcomm Adreno X1 is leagues behind Intel Arc. But in Night Strike, which does provide an Arm-native version, the two are rather close. Arc still wins, but only by a hair.
This is a very important result. While not especially useful for gamers buying a laptop today, it hints that Qualcomm hardware could eventually end up in a much better place in due time.
Windows games designed for Arm are exceedingly rare right now, which is bad news for Qualcomm. But the Night Strike result shows that Qualcomm could make up a lot of ground if game developers begin to release updates for Windows on Arm.
Qualcomm Adreno X1 vs. Intel Arc: Conclusion
Qualcomm’s big issue is the lack of Windows on Arm among the PC game development community. Unlike other software developers—who are adopting Windows on Arm at speed—PC game developers seem unmotivated and even reluctant.
That’s understandable. Game developers already have to think about possible support for at least six platforms (Windows x86, Mac, Linux x86, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch). Adding Windows on Arm to the pile is surely a strain.
Still, the consequences are clear. Modern games simply don’t run well on Qualcomm’s chip because they generally run emulated, not natively. As a result, many titles experience hitching, stuttering, and/or extended framerate drops that drag down the experience with instability.
This could all change as game developers begin to release Arm-native versions, but I can’t predict how quickly that change will come.
So, what’s the final takeaway? If you’re looking to play PC games on an entry-level laptop today, you should choose an Intel laptop with Arc integrated graphics (or an AMD Ryzen laptop) over a Qualcomm alternative.
Graphics Cards Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 28 Jun (PC World)Cloud backup services are the OG of online storage. Long before internet bandwidth allowed you to work online, there were services dedicated to providing that all-important third copy in the backup triad: the original data, a copy of the data, and a copy of the data in a remote location. The hallmark of these services are client apps that upload (and restore if necessary) data to from the remote server farm.
Backblaze offers unlimited storage and an effective backup client.
Backblaze offers unlimited storage and an effective backup client.
Backblaze offers unlimited storage and an effective backup client.
Most people are already using a cloud backup service, though they may not think of it that way. Google Drive, iCloud, and OneDrive all serve as backup repositories for Android, Apple, and Microsoft products, respectively. Even if you don’t use them, they’re there.
What we look for in cloud backup services
Our basic goal when reviewing a cloud backup service is to determine its suitability to the task, ease of use, and compatibility across platforms. As to what specific criteria we apply….
Backup and sync
All services we classify as cloud backup provide local apps that handle the backup chore, often one-way sync. If they don’t, we cover them under the umbrella of online storage.
Versioning and retention policies
If a cloud backup service offers one-way sync for backup, it should be keeping older versions of changed files. How many, and for how long can be a major factor in our rating — it’s not always forever.
Capacity
Obviously, you want the most room you can get for your data, depending on the size of your stash of course. However, users such as yours truly, working with large multimedia files, may need a lot more. For instance, the unlimited storage offered by Backblaze and Sync.com. We look for tiers that will suit any data scenario, which brings the discussion to…
Price
We could’ve listed price as number one given that how much you pay for the amount of space you need factors heavily into our ratings. All things being equal, the cheaper the gigabyte (free being the best!), the higher the rating. Things are not always equal.
Icedrive’s menu shows how to access older versions of your files.
Icedrive’s menu shows how to access older versions of your files.
Icedrive’s menu shows how to access older versions of your files.
Online editing
Storage services such as OneDrive/Microsoft 365 and Google Drive/Docs offer full-blown office suites that allow users to work online. We’re not expecting that from a dedicated cloud backup provider, but it’s nice when it occurs.
Online preview
With services that offer limited or no online editing, there’s usually a preview feature. How many file types are supported, and how well they display (video is often problematic) is something we check.
Google Drive’s online interface. It’s the default cloud backup for Android devices but offers no true backup client for Windows.
Google Drive’s online interface. It’s the default cloud backup for Android devices but offers no true backup client for Windows.
Google Drive’s online interface. It’s the default cloud backup for Android devices but offers no true backup client for Windows.
Operating system integration
Carbonite‘s client with its Windows Explorer integration is one of our favorite cloud backup clients. So much so, we wish it could be used with other storage and services. We don’t count clients such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud etc. that integrate as folders or drives, but don’t provide dedicated backup functions.
Of course you can still use these storage services for backup, but only by moving your data onto the integrated folder or drive. The distinction is fine, but you can find coverage of these services in our online storage reviews.
Further reading: Best online backup services
Carbonite provides its own handy and efficient backup client.
Carbonite provides its own handy and efficient backup client.
Carbonite provides its own handy and efficient backup client.
Geographical location and redundancy
Where a cloud backup service’s storage farms are located can effect the speed of transfers. As the internet infrastructure has matured, this is less of an issue than it once was, but it can still occasionally be a bottleneck. We also award brownie points to services that have several farms in different geographical locations to ward off data loss due to natural or unnatural disaster.
Company history and story
A company that’s been around for a while is more likely to garner our trust than one that just started. That said, some newer concerns actually leverage storage from older companies such as Dell EMC — much as smaller cellular companies use larger companies’ wireless infrastructure. Basically, we check to make sure a company isn’t likely to disappear overnight, along with your data.
Device support
With so many photos and video found on phones these days, it’s a plus if a service provides an app that will back up your phone multimedia to its servers. This isn’t a huge deal as Google Drive is integrated into Android, and iCloud into iPhones, but it’s a nice perk.
pCloud’s Android app allows access to your files from your phone.
pCloud’s Android app allows access to your files from your phone.
pCloud’s Android app allows access to your files from your phone.
Web access
When it comes to computers, nearly all cloud backup services allow you to access your files via a web browser. If they don’t, that’s a major hit on the rating. That said, we’ve yet to come across one that doesn’t offer this functionality.
Integration with other online storage services
At least one service, FileShadow, will even connect to and back up your other online storage accounts. This is a definite plus, and generally quicker than using a cloud manager to copy from one service to another.
Further reading: 5 tools that integrate your cloud storage into Windows File Explorer
How we test cloud backup services
During our evaluation, we test every feature a service provides: upload, downloads, sync, backup, restore, editing of files, preview of files, client software and apps, file retention, the web interface, etc. If it all works, it passes muster. However, ease of learning and use are also factored in.
Internxt Drive’s backup client.
Internxt Drive’s backup client.
Internxt Drive’s backup client.
As to speed….Generally speaking, we’re not overly concerned with performance. There are simply too many variables that can impact each user’s speed experience, such as the quality of the internet infrastructure between a user’s device and the service. We do note performance and discuss it, we just don’t put a lot of weight behind it unless something unusually great or bad happens.
How we rate cloud backup services
How many of the above boxes a service ticks, plus its ease of use, reliability, and performance are the primary considerations in rating a cloud backup solution. Price is always paramount as in terms of backup, all the services we’ve tested to date handle that chore just fine.
Backup Software Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 27 Jun (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
ProsPerformance is excellent on native apps, and when plugged inValue is unexpectedly goodWireless Flex Pro keyboard is great in conceptLovely OLED option, though a bit grainyExcellent inkingExcellent webcam, tooConsEmulation performance isn’t great, and some apps won’t runBattery life suffers when tablet has to work hardAI experiences are decent, but not really there yetGames? Ha!Our VerdictMicrosoft’s first Copilot+ tablet, the Surface Pro (11th Edition) balances upon a growing ecosystem of native Arm apps that run efficiently on its Snapdragon X Elite processor. Performance is solid, but the AI experiences aren’t fully there.
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Microsoft desperately needs its new Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition Copilot+ PC to be a success. It’s something like 80 percent of the way there. But the most important thing this Windows on Arm tablet does is point to what feels like an inevitable future for productivity PCs…someday.
You’ve seen a Surface Pro before. Weirdly, this 13-inch tablet is the least interesting part of the whole affair. Inside is the key: how well does Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite work? Do the new AI experiences actually make a difference? And can Windows on Arm finally replace an X86 PC from AMD or Intel?
I have answers. An expanding ecosystem of native Arm apps run great on this tablet, and when plugged in, the performance seems to be on par or even better than Intel’s Core Ultra (Meteor Lake). But whether the app will run or not is still, unfortunately, a question. When unplugged, the story changes yet again, with intensive apps gobbling up great chunks of the tablet’s prodigious battery life. And I’m just not seeing enough in Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI features to overshadow that story, yet. But the hardware? Rather good, minus some weirdness.
Because of this, this review will be much longer than normal, even though I’ve tried to break out some of the topics into separate articles. Please use the built-in table of contents to navigate to portions of the review that strike your interest. Join me in the deep end, will you?
Looking for more options? Be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Surface Pro (2024): Buying options
After literal decades of pricing the Surface at or above the prices offered by its rivals, Microsoft’s Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition is among the cheapest options for a Copilot+ PC. The Surface Pro costs as little as $999 ($899 for an educational discount), though that features a less powerful 10-core Snapdragon X Plus processor inside. Our review unit included the more powerful 12-core Snapdragon X Elite. A new OLED display option and up to 32GB of RAM and a terabyte of SSD storage bump up the total price to a current maximum of $2,099.99. It appears that Microsoft does not offer an LCD option with the Snapdragon X Elite at press time.
By comparison, the Surface Pro 9 ranged from $999 to $2,599 for a 12th-gen Core chip and $1,299 to $1,899 for the Surface Pro 9 (5G), the tablet with the older Microsoft SQ3 chip, a derivative of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, inside.
Surface Pro (2024): Detailed specifications
Display: 13-inch PixelSense Flow (2880×1920, 267 PPI, Gorilla Glass 5) up to 120Hz with dynamic refresh rate and 10-point multitouch, optional OLED screen
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite 3.4GHz X1E-80-100 (as tested), Snapdragon Plus
Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno
Memory: 16, 32, 64GB LPDDR5X (OLED), 16GB (normal) (16 GB as tested)
Storage: 512GB, 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (OLED); 256, 512GB (normal) (512GB as tested)
Ports: 2 USB-C (USB 4.0 w/DisplayPort 2.1), 1 Surface Connect port, 1 Surface Keyboard Port
Security: Camera (Windows Hello), NFC/smartcard reader; TPM 2.0 chip
Camera: Quad HD (1440p) ultrawide (user-facing) with Windows Studio Effects, 10MP rear-facing
Battery: 51.4Wh (design) 53.5Wh (full charge)
Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Operating system: Windows 10 Home or Windows 11 Home 24H2
Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inches
Weight: 1.97 pounds without accessories
Color: Sapphire, Dune, Platinum, Black
Price: $999 on up ($1,499 as tested)
Optional accessories: Surface Slim Pen 2, $90 on sale at Amazon. Surface Flex Keyboard with Slim Pen, $449.98 at Microsoft.
Surface Pro (2024): Build quality
Physically, the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition feels very similar to the Surface Pro 9 (5G), enough that you’d have to take a close look to tell the two apart. Microsoft ships the new Surface Pro in packaging that matches the metallic color options: Black, Platinum, Dune, and Sapphire. As usual, the keyboard and pen (the new Surface Flex Pro keyboard plus the bundled Slim Pen 2) are “optional” adders that are really not.
The Surface Pro is somewhat unique, in that there aren’t too many Windows tablets in the market. The physical design is consistent from Surfaces past, with slim bezels that extend just about 0.25 inches from the side and about 0.5 inches from the top. I tend to use the Surface Pro as a “laptop” of sorts, but be advised that the Surface tablet mode is gone. That does make the new Surface Pro less of a traditional tablet and more of just an oddly-designed laptop. You might walk away thinking that the Surface Pro could have been a 360-degree convertible version of the Surface Laptop Go instead.
If you do use it as a desktop device, Microsoft has left the kickstand in place. The significant change is the new “wireless” Flex Pro keyboard, which changes the Surface Pro experience. We’ll talk about that in a bit.
There’s just the Surface charger slot on the right side of the Surface Pro (2024).
There’s just the Surface charger slot on the right side of the Surface Pro (2024).Mark Hachman / IDG
There’s just the Surface charger slot on the right side of the Surface Pro (2024).Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Subtle differences usually distinguish one Surface generation from the next. In this case, the small “bands” that distinguished the 5G antennas in the Surface Pro 9 aren’t there; while the Surface Pro supports a nanoSIM 5G card, 5G support isn’t yet available and will arrive in the coming months. It’s not clear whether the physical design will change.
Essentially, though, the latest Surface remains unchanged. The same dimensions, essentially the same weight. Microsoft placed the power button and volume rocker on the top, as before, with a pair of USB4 (the non-Intel equivalent of Thunderbolt 4 ports) to the left of the chassis. A Surface Charger port is on the right. Microsoft ships a tiny 39W charger with the Surface Pro, though without the built-in USB charging port that other Surface chargers include.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro points the way to the future of productivity PCs, but needs to solve some nagging issues before it can get there.
What Microsoft calls the “Out of the Box” (OOBE) setup experience felt a bit lengthier than normal. Microsoft advertises some of the AI features within Windows, but makes sure to note that the delayed “Recall” feature, aka “Quickly find things on your PC” isn’t here yet, but will be coming soon. From what I can see, all of the obvious shortcuts for creating a local account are gone, which jives with our report that Microsoft has deleted its guide to local accounts within Windows.
You can charge the new Surface Pro either via the charger or via the USB ports, and the charger powers and charges the tablet even under load. The tablet worked perfectly attached to a Thunderbolt 4 docking station and a pair of 4K displays. Note that the headphone jack has disappeared, so you’ll need either USB-C headphones or Bluetooth to listen to private audio, or use a dock or a USB-C dongle with a headphone jack built in.
A pair of USB4 ports are on the left side of the Surface Pro (2024).
A pair of USB4 ports are on the left side of the Surface Pro (2024).Mark Hachman / IDG
A pair of USB4 ports are on the left side of the Surface Pro (2024).Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Though Microsoft built an Arm chip inside the latest Surface Pro, the tablet is definitely not fanless. Under load, you’ll hear the fan pick up somewhat significantly, though there’s no distracting coil whine. While the fan won’t kick in under normal office work, you will probably notice it under workloads like Photoshop, for example. It will significantly kick in under an emulated workload, as the CPU runs flat out. Then, you’ll hear the fan and feel the back of the tablet get quite hot. I measured a temperature of about 108 degrees F, but my colleagues using the new Surface Laptop noticed even higher temperatures.
While there is no longer any SD or microSD slot, Microsoft does allow a (officially trained) repairman to upgrade the SSD. Access is via a rather nifty magnetically attached back panel that you just flip up by depressing the small divot, then unscrewing the SSD from its slot.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Surface Pro (2024): Display
The Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition’s display is a mixed bag. The Surface Pro ships with either a 13-inch (2880×1920, 267 PPI) PixelSense Flow LCD or OLED display, and Microsoft shipped our review unit with the latter option. Microsoft’s public specifications say that both sRGB and Vivid color options are available, though only a special “HDR” color profile was present on my review unit.
The OLED display is gorgeous, as OLEDs are, with inky blacks and stunning contrast. But you may notice a small bit of grain, depending on how sharp your eyes are. Using the Surface Pro 9 (5G)’s LCD screen for comparison, I noticed some speckling of what looked like individual pixels on the Surface Pro’s OLED screen. To be fair, I didn’t notice this until others pointed this out during the review process, but it’s there.
The Surface Pro 9 (front) versus the Surface Pro (2024) (rear).
The Surface Pro 9 (front) versus the Surface Pro (2024) (rear).Mark Hachman / IDG
The Surface Pro 9 (front) versus the Surface Pro (2024) (rear).Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The other thing that’s annoying is that the panel itself is obscured by the rounded corners of the display, similar to the Surface Laptop Studio. Again, that’s not really noticeable. But if you’re taking a screenshot or screen snip, for example, you’ll notice the corners “disappear” into the display. The entirety of the screenshot appears to be saved, though, and I didn’t notice any UI elements that were obscured by the rounded corners. “When measured as a standard rectangular shape, the screen is 13 inches diagonally (actual viewable area is less),” Microsoft notes.
The OLED display does put out 529 nits of luminance, however. It does not carry any HDR ratings outside of Dolby Vision IQ, which is now present on all of the new Surface Pros. Dolby IQ adjusts HDR picture quality to suit the ambient light and content on the display, and these can be tweaked inside the Windows Settings menu.
The display is super reflective, as you can see from the photos in this article. You might yearn for a matte coating. But how quickly we take for granted the 120Hz screen!
The Surface Pro (2024)’s supported color gamut is worse than the Surface Pro 9 (5G), save for the increased support of the DCI-P3 color gamut — used for video editing and displaying HDR content. For me, that’s a signal that the Surface Pro (2024) is more of a content-consumption device than ever before.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Surface Pro (2024): Typing, touchpad, and inking experience
I didn’t have a great out-of-the-box experience with the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition, and the Flex Pro keyboard was a significant part of that. I’m used to tapping the space bar to wake up a PC. But with the Surface Pro, the tablet itself could be awake, but it seemed like I needed to tap the space bar to wake up the keyboard. That, on top of the need to update the keyboard’s firmware (?!), didn’t get me off to a great start.
This photo shows off the detached Flex Pro keyboard but also indicates what it’s like to use the Surface Pro (2024) outside. The display doesn’t put out enough light with the OLED display to be useful in full sun, but in shade it’s just fine.
This photo shows off the detached Flex Pro keyboard but also indicates what it’s like to use the Surface Pro (2024) outside. The display doesn’t put out enough light with the OLED display to be useful in full sun, but in shade it’s just fine.Mark Hachman / IDG
This photo shows off the detached Flex Pro keyboard but also indicates what it’s like to use the Surface Pro (2024) outside. The display doesn’t put out enough light with the OLED display to be useful in full sun, but in shade it’s just fine.Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The keyboard just seemed to stop working occasionally, too. On one occasion, both the Flex Pro keyboard and the associated Slim Pen 2 disconnected from Bluetooth, causing me a flash of panic. Most Bluetooth keyboards include some button or switch to manually connect them in case they disconnect. This doesn’t. In the case of the Flex Pro, just clicking in the keyboard caused it to re-pair, fortunately. Double-clicking the top of the Pen caused it to connect, too.
But the Bluetooth-connected Flex Pro keyboard does work, and works pretty well. A laptop keyboard feels rigid, and I honestly prefer one. The Flex Pro keyboard, while docked, has a decent amount of bounce and feels somewhat cramped. But even separating the keyboard by a few inches from the tablet gives it a sense of freedom it lacked before. It absolutely solves the “lapability” problem, too — no longer do you need to balance the tablet and its kickstand on your lap. Instead, you can type on your lap while putting the tablet separately on a tray table. (I didn’t have enough time to make an Amtrak trip, as I have done before with the Surface Go).
The Microsoft Flex Pro keyboard for the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition, with the included Slim Pen 2.
The Microsoft Flex Pro keyboard for the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition, with the included Slim Pen 2.Mark Hachman / IDG
The Microsoft Flex Pro keyboard for the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition, with the included Slim Pen 2.Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The Flex Pro hinge folds down, allowing you to flip it underneath and elevate the keyboard angle a bit. It works pretty well, and my typing was decent on the detached keyboard.
The weird thing is that the Bluetooth connection allows the keyboard to be placed a tremendous distance away — a dozen feet in my living room and probably more. That’s well beyond the useful range of the keyboard and screen. Wireless makes for a lovely addition, but does feel a bit like overkill.
As for the Copilot key — all it does is launch a generic old Copilot app that floats around the screen like any other app. It feels rather anticlimactic, after all that AI hype.
Microsoft says that the keyboard has a battery life of 41 hours. From what I’ve seen, it will recharge when the keyboard is connected and when the tablet is connected to power. The Flex Pro keyboard doesn’t seem to recharge when the tablet is on battery and doesn’t serve as a reserve battery for the tablet, like the Microsoft Surface Book.
The Flex Pro keyboard ships with a haptic touchpad, which simulates the actual physical click of a touchpad. It’s wider than the previous Surface Pro Signature keyboards, too — 4.5 inches versus 4.0 inches. When the keyboard is “off” or in standby mode, the haptic keyboard shuts down too, which is a bit disconcerting. And sometimes it just glitches, as when I ran a test, and then the keyboard suddenly shut off without warning.
I really do like how the Surface Slim Pen 2 interacts with the Surface Pro’s digitizer, though. Inking is probably the best I’ve seen on a Surface device, based on my example lines below. I look to see how closely the ink “flows” from the physical tip of the pen (perfectly, from what I see) and if there’s any judder or wobble as I draw a straight line with a ruler. The tell is the diagonals, where you see the most wobble. Here, though, there’s really not much at all.
Inking on the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition. The lines in the bottom half of the screen were drawn with a straight edge. It’s all helped by the 120Hz screen.
Inking on the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition. The lines in the bottom half of the screen were drawn with a straight edge. It’s all helped by the 120Hz screen.Mark Hachman / IDG
Inking on the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition. The lines in the bottom half of the screen were drawn with a straight edge. It’s all helped by the 120Hz screen.Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
As with other recent Surface pens, the Slim Pen 2 recharges in its cubby, which is now always exposed in what Microsoft says is a bid to make it always apparent and accessible to the user.
Surface Pro (2024): Webcam and audio
The Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition seems to include the same 2W speakers as its predecessor. Surfaces have had a reputation for powerful audio and this new Surface lives up to it. My early impressions were that the sound became muddy as the volume climbed, but after spending more time with the tablet I’ve rescinded that. It seems pretty clear, up and down. The tablet does ship with Dolby Atmos for Speakers that’s on by default, though, so that certainly contributes positively.
The Surface Pro (2024) includes an ultrawide 1440p webcam, which I dislike; it’s just too wide for a single-person perspective. But in video, turning on the Windows Studio Effects’ Automatic Framing allows the camera to zoom in, plus add additional effects.
The tablet also ships with a 1440p front-facing webcam as well as a 10Mpixel rear-facing webcam. Microsoft has invested in exemplary webcam experiences, especially with some of the Windows Studio Effects AI features I’ll talk about in a bit. This webcam is excellent, easily the equal and then some of the best webcams I’ve reviewed: sharp, clear, great color, and intelligently focusing and exposing the camera for your face rather than the background. I almost think that it does a better job of lighting your face in a dark room, lit by just the tablet itself, than it does with this moderately lit shot above.
With Cortana essentially dead, there’s no need to test the mic pickup across the room. But the AI noise filtering is excellent, slightly below what the Asus ZenBook 14’s AI audio filters delivered. The filters slightly picked up the lead vocals from a rock song, but absolutely filtered out a background white noise track of rainfall that I played at loud volume right to the side of the notebook. Terrific work here.
Surface Pro (2024): AI experiences within Windows
There’s a problem, which I’ll use as a transition point to talking about some of the Surface Pro (2024)’s AI app experiences: there is a lack of available AI testing apps for NPUs. UL’s Procyon app includes a “vision AI” test, which evaluates the AI performance. But both that test plus Geekbench ML, which also promises to evaluate AI performance, would only run on the CPU. I also couldn’t find any generative AI applications that would run on Arm, let alone take advantage of the NPU. So Qualcomm’s vaunted NPU really isn’t put to good use inside the Surface Pro (2024) from a third-party app perspective.
Microsoft would probably vehemently disagree with that, of course, as there are several Windows applications that now use AI. (Again, I don’t think most users will care whether they use the CPU, the NPU, or the cloud, but I’ll note what I noticed anyway).
And yes, Recall is on hold. So one of the flagship features of this tablet is gone. Poof!
Turning on all available Windows Studio Effects options (some are choices between multiple options) doesn’t max out the Snapdragon X Elite’s 45 TOPS NPU.
Turning on all available Windows Studio Effects options (some are choices between multiple options) doesn’t max out the Snapdragon X Elite’s 45 TOPS NPU.Mark Hachman / IDG
Turning on all available Windows Studio Effects options (some are choices between multiple options) doesn’t max out the Snapdragon X Elite’s 45 TOPS NPU.Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Microsoft has a few new Studio Effects, subtle improvements that may matter to you if you’re on a lot of video calls. The older Studio Effects replicated functions in Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet: background blurring and audio filtering. Eye Contact made it seem as if you were staring at the camera at all times. Automatic framing centers you in the picture by using cropping effects. Those all existed before the Surface Pro.
The most useful addition is a “teleprompter” addition to Eye Contact, so if you’re reading text from a screen during a call, you’ll still seem like you’re focused in on the listener. Several “Creative Filters” (Illustrated, Animated, Watercolor) don’t do anything and are useless. And a new Portrait Light addition to make me look “natural” just yellowed out my screen. They all use the NPU. Interestingly, using as many Studio Effects as I could simultaneously didn’t go over 25 percent of the available NPU resources.
Image Creator is still pretty standard AI art, but it looks nice. I still don’t know what if anything the little “29” token counter signifies, although I asked.
Image Creator is still pretty standard AI art, but it looks nice. I still don’t know what if anything the little “29” token counter signifies, although I asked.Mark Hachman / IDG
Image Creator is still pretty standard AI art, but it looks nice. I still don’t know what if anything the little “29” token counter signifies, although I asked.Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The application that Microsoft is pushing people to use most seems to be the dual generative AI functions in Paint, which use the NPU and the optional-but-not-really Surface Slim Pen 2: Image Creator and Cocreator. Image Creator (formerly called Cocreator, too — don’t ask) is Microsoft’s generative AI service, and it uses the cloud to deliver really wonderful 1152×1152 images.
The new Cocreator is part of Paint, but a separate function from Image Creator — it doesn’t have to be, but it is. Cocreator is essentially the same as Image Creator, but it uses your pen input as guidance to create the image. It’s hit or miss. You can sketch out what you want, and then add the prompt, with an adjustable “creativity” slider that allows Cocreator some leeway. But it’s more fun when you enter the prompt, then sketch out what you want, and Cocreator responds in real time. You don’t get the photorealism that Image Creator offers, but you have more control over the final output.
Two attempts by Paint Cocreator on the Surface Pro (2024).
Cocreator seems to work best when it understands what you draw. It did pretty great with my awful drawing and prompt of a mountain range and forest. But it completely whiffed on a sketch of an astronaut standing on the moon’s surface with the Earth in the background.
Live Captions are more useful than I thought they’d be. They not only caption any video you have (like a video of a wedding or graduation, say) but they will also translate any audio — whether that’s on the screen or via the tablet microphone. Just make sure you enable that in the app’s settings.
The kicker? These AI art apps need to be connected so that Microsoft can vet your images for, well, inappropriate things. It sort of defeats the whole purpose of a local NPU, right?
Surface Pro (2024): The Windows on Arm apps issue
Using a Windows on Arm PC in 2024 still reminds me of a Chromebook: many, many, apps and functions just work via the Arm chip on the Surface Pro (2024), but some do not. To save time and space, I wrote about my experiences trying a number of apps on the Surface Pro in a separate story. There’s a lot! Browsers, especially, are coded for Arm, but even the notoriously slow Slack app runs in Arm. Still, readers took to the Internet to complain about two functions that they felt were lacking: the lack of support for Google Drive and problems connecting to Brother printers.
There are several issues here. First is whether you’ll be simply able to do something. Microsoft is already working to eliminate third-party printer drivers, preferring its own native IPP drivers instead. So in the case of the Brother printer, I thought I’d be able to print a page, just as you’d expect. Nope. Oddly, I was able to scan with my Brother printer, but not print, even after downloading drivers. I had no luck at all with an older HP LaserJet multifunction printer.
Geez, Google, at least let the Prism emulator try…
Geez, Google, at least let the Prism emulator try…Mark Hachman / IDG
Geez, Google, at least let the Prism emulator try…Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
But specific third-party utilities, such as those that accompanied older printers that you probably own, probably won’t work. Certain “assistant” apps such as Razer Axon won’t either. Fun story: just plugging in a Razer USB-C hub, which usually auto-downloads Razer software, caused the Surface Pro to crash, reboot, then show a black screen until I removed the hub. But Razer Synapse and Cortex work in Arm. I gave up on installing Logitech Options, which helps control mice and keyboards, after about fifteen minutes of inactivity.
Most of the apps I tried in my accompanying article ran just fine. But I couldn’t try everything, and certain VPNs (Nord, for example) didn’t work while others did. The other concern — whether manufacturers will write software drivers for older hardware that connects to Arm PCs — is just too big to address here. Basically, if those functions can be included in Windows like printing, you’ll be fine. A driver for some piece of purpose-built hardware released five years ago? I’d doubt it.
Keep in mind that Web apps can step in, too. People complained online that Google Drive’s app doesn’t run on Arm. It doesn’t. But the Web app can step in for some of that functionality and works well.
The second issue is simply how well those apps will run, if at all. Microsoft developed an emulator called Prism that is supposed to step in and emulate an app not written specifically for Arm. In practice, several apps — including some testing apps — simply refused to run if it detected an Arm chip, or generated some other error. That’s supposedly the developer’s fault, we’re told. That really doesn’t matter when it doesn’t work. We ran into that with some of our testing apps, which didn’t work or generated errors. Ditto for Google Drive.
As I found, a number of productivity applications already have native applications written for Arm, and that matters. Adobe Photoshop, for example, is written natively in Arm. Lightroom is as well. In Photoshop, at least, the features found in both the X86 and Arm apps appear to be identical. Other Adobe applications are on their way. (Adobe Lightroom connects to the cloud and runs natively on Arm, and Lightroom Classic runs, according to my colleague Gordon Mah Ung, only via emulation but runs well).
Photoshop likes the Snapdragon X Elite and its Adreno GPU.
Photoshop likes the Snapdragon X Elite and its Adreno GPU.Mark Hachman / IDG
Photoshop likes the Snapdragon X Elite and its Adreno GPU.Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Photoshop’s generative AI features still use the cloud and not the Snapdragon NPU, however. Frankly, I doubt you’ll care how those AI functions are processed, just that they are.
If an app is not written to Arm, and has to be emulated, the Surface Pro’s CPU kicks into high gear. That’s a problem. Take our Handbrake test, for example. The open-source codec does ship with an Arm version, but I used that as well as an older, unoptimized version for compatibility’s sake.
The Surface Pro doesn’t deal well with un-optimized apps. In Handbrake’s case, the rear of the tablet became quite hot over the duration of the test, over 100 degrees fahrenheit. (The new Arm-powered Surface Laptop, reviewed by a colleague, soared to about 120 degrees). But the battery life plunged. I’ll talk more about that in the next section.
As for games? Nah. I saw the Snapdragon X Elite running Baldur’s Gate 3 at 30 frames per second at Low detail settings. As I detailed in my other story, I tried Saints’ Row IV and an older, simple 3D top-down shoot ’em’up. The latter ran, the first didn’t. I’m not going to kill myself trying dozens of games when Microsoft has already told us that the Surface Pro (2024) isn’t a gaming machine.
Surface Pro (2024): How fast is it?
All that leads us to the performance of the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition. I leaned on our familiar benchmarks, trying to quantify some of what I had anecdotally experienced above. But I tested in three modes: plugged into the wall, as you would normally use the tablet, on battery, and by dialing up the Windows power slider to maximum settings. On some tests I experienced little changes. On others, the difference was more profound.
For better or for worse, we don’t have too many rivals to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processor. With Intel, I had but a single Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) laptop on hand and no tablets — Microsoft wasn’t exactly rushing to send the Surface Pro 11 with Meteor Lake inside. So, instead, my colleague Adam Murray sent me a Meteor Lake X1 tablet from OneXPlayer. I also used the Asus ZenBook 14 OLED with a Meteor Lake chip inside. Finally, I compared it to the Surface Pro 9 (5G) with a Microsoft SQ3 / Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 chip inside for a gen-over-gen comparison.
We’re not making explicit comparisons to the Apple MacBook, though our Macworld colleagues’ review of the Apple M3 MacBook Air does allow for some comparisons. We’ll note those where appropriate. We’re trying to give you a representative idea of the Surface Pro’s performance rather than establish which Windows on Arm tablet is the best of the bunch.
I used a selection of tests: Cinebench, which measures how fast a laptop’s CPU chews through a rendering task, and Handbrake, which does the same over a prolonged period. I added the popular Geekbench test, too. The PCMark Apps test calculates the time it takes to perform standard Microsoft Office and Web browsing tasks. 3DMark (both Time Spy and Night Raid) measure how well the Snapdragon X Elite’s Adreno GPU fares. I also added PugetBench’s Photoshop benchmark to try and add a more intensive workload. And finally, I used Procyon’s AI Vision test to try and measure the chip’s AI capabilities.
But there were wrinkles. Though PCMark 10’s Apps test ran, PCMark’s conventional tests did not. (Weirdly, PCMark didn’t run on the Asus notebook either). Procyon’s AI test usually offers the choice of the CPU, GPU, or NPU to test the AI capabilities. But only the CPU test was offered by the app and Underwriter Labs, the developer, didn’t provide an alternative. AI art apps besides say, Cocreator, don’t really use the NPU. So, yes — Qualcomm’s vaunted AI TOPS wasn’t put to the test.
That just underscores some of the compatibility issues Windows on Arm still has and you can see why some think that these early “AI apps” within Windows are just tech demos.
Cinebench accommodates both X86 and Arm, though the most recent R24 (2024) release includes a dedicated Arm version that the earlier versions lacked. The Surface Pro, with its 10 performance cores, won in the most recent R24 release. Intel’s Core Ultra does well on the older versions.
So far, the Surface Pro more than holds its own against the Windows tablet, losing to the Asus notebook. Note the inclusion of the “Max” entry. That’s where I dialed up the Windows 11 performance slider, up two notches from its most conservative “Recommended” setting. There’s a small but notable difference in some tests.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
For comparison: the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air reports a Cinebench 2024/R24 score of 658 in multicore and 141 in single-core performance, according to Macworld. The Surface Pro (2024) is faster.
Now, let’s look at how the Surface Pro fares against the other competitors in terms of performance, when the tablet is just running on battery power. (I didn’t run the tablet on maximum, while on battery).
We’re seeing similar scores here, with drops across the board for the Snapdragon X Elite as well as the Core Ultra.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
We typically don’t use the quick and easy-to-run Geekbench test, but I did so here, just to add another layer of benchmarks.
This test uses both CPU and GPU benchmarks, which I again ran on battery power, wall power, and at maximum settings. I’ll combine the two images together (one on battery power, one on wall power) for brevity’s sake. Again, remember that the “max” settings are only run on wall power.
Geekbench still loves the Adreno CPUs inside the Snapdragon X Elite, but gives the nod in GPU performance to the Core Ultra.
In Geekbench 6.2.2, which delivers performance results consistent with Geekbench 6.3, the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air scored 11,936 in the multicore test and 3,144 in the single-core test. It’s a little closer here.
Let’s move to Handbrake. Handbrake is a open-source transcoding test and we typically use an older version for compatibility’s sake. We do so here, if only to show off the comparison to the other products. But wait! We also tested with an optimized Arm version, too.
There are two points to make here. First, no one will ever be totally satisfied with the available benchmarks. You either choose the latest one and toss out any comparisons you’ve made before or you choose an older one and face howls of protest that your tests are unfair. Second, testing is a question of time as well as effort: testing on battery, on wall power, and on maximum settings is already time-intensive enough.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Scores on both battery and a plugged-in laptop are close to one another. As for the optimized Handbrake scores? It really didn’t make an enormous difference. On the optimized Handbrake app, the Surface Pro (2024) recorded a time of 2,258 seconds, about five percent better than the unoptimized app. On battery, it was slightly slower: 2,278 seconds. On maximum settings, I recorded a score of 1,743 seconds, which is a dead heat.
We’ll talk about the effects of unoptimized apps on the Surface Pro’s battery-life results further below. Now, let’s look at a more practical test: PCMark Apps, which is a direct measure of how well the Surface Pro will fare in day-to-day office work and web browsing. Disappointingly, it wouldn’t run the generic PCMark 10 test — application compatibility held it back.
On battery power, it’s an easy win for the Surface Pro (2024). On wall power, though, the Asus notebook is the best bet.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The problem with our graphics tests are that they really aren’t too representative. Microsoft has said that the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are productivity machines first, not gaming PCs. And there have been numerous reports from our reviews and reporters, plus across the Internet, that align with that statement. Games simply don’t run on the Snapdragon X Elite as well as they do on X86 PCs.
Still, a GPU has more purposes than gameplay, as we’ll see next.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Note the differences in 3DMark’s tests. The cross-platform Night Raid test favors Arm while the more traditional Time Spy test used for our gaming notebook reviews leans towards the X86 processor from Intel. It’s worth noting that 3DMark didn’t even run until I downloaded the very latest benchmark direct from UL, on advice from Qualcomm.
Photoshop, however, is a nice practical tool to see how well the Surface Pro runs. PugetBench is a benchmark released by Puget Systems, which directs Photoshop to perform various tasks. Since it depends on the version of Photoshop already on the laptop or tablet — and Photoshop has both an Arm as well as an X86 version — this is a nice test to compare the two platforms.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Again, the Snapdragon X Elite and Adreno GPU are holding their own, though the clamshell barely tops the tablet. If you thought that Arm wasn’t suitable for creative work, you may have to think again. One question we haven’t had answered yet is if we’ll see an Arm chip paired with an Nvidia GPU… although we’re hoping Nvidia answers that question in 2025.
Last but not least: AI. Again, this is a disappointment. We were hoping for some AI-on-AI competition, but the NPU tests didn’t run on our systems. UL Procyon, which measures how well the chips process AI “machine vision” calculations, ran only on the CPU. But boy, did Qualcomm score a win here.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Normally, we’d close out our performance testing with some comparative battery-life tests. But I’m making a conscious decision not to, if only because I don’t think that the Surface Pro (204) compares well to a gaming-esque X1 tablet and the Asus notebook.
That doesn’t mean that I didn’t test the Surface Pro — just that I think the results should stand on their own. Matt Smith’s review of the Surface Laptop has a much better opportunity to answer this question, comparatively.
When I connected the Surface Pro (2024) tablet to a pair of wired headphones (gasp!) and performed our standard video rundown test — set the luminance to 250-260 nits and loop a 4K video until it expires — the Surface Pro lasted 13 hours 44 minutes. Fantastic! But I thought, well, would Bluetooth deliver better battery life? It’s more realistic, anyway. So I ran the same test connected to Bluetooth headphones. The tablet lasted 13 hours 47 minutes or about the same.
If you go all the way back to the first few paragraphs of this review, though, you’ll remember that there’s an issue with how the Surface Pro’s Snapdragon X Elite chip handles intensive loads. So let’s talk about that briefly. First, there’s good news: using the PCMark 10 Apps rundown test (which simulates Microsoft Office work over the course of a day) still yielded battery life of 10 hours 29 minutes.
But Microsoft 365 or Office apps are relatively light workloads and they’re optimized for Arm. I don’t have a huge amount of data supporting this thesis, but when I ran an intensive, un-optimized Handbrake test, it finished in just under 34 minutes. It chewed through a whopping 31 percent of the available battery, enough that Windows reported that it only had one hour and 15 minutes left. That’s huge! But it’s a potential Achilles heel of the Surface Pro (2024).
The PugetBench Photoshop benchmark finished in about 27 minutes. It’s running Photoshop, but an optimized version. When it was done, 89 percent of the battery was left… though Windows thought that equated to about three hours and 15 minutes left. Again, not great, but unoptimized apps may make a difference here, especially on battery.
As for the optimized version of Handbrake? Um, well, ugh. My test took 34 minutes, and dropped the battery from 68 percent to 35 percent. That’s a 33 percent drop in 34 minutes.
On wall power, the Surface Pro is excellent performance-wise. On battery, it can last for hours and hours… provided that it’s not doing much.
Surface Pro (2024): Should you buy it?
Here’s where I stand: the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition shows definite promise. Arm’s CEO didn’t tell me that half of the world’s PCs will eventually run Arm. But you know, there’s a decent case to be made that a chunk of the world’s business/productivity PCs could eventually switch from X86 to Arm. That’s what they need, after all: long battery life and moderate performance.
But the Snapdragon X Elite undercuts that. Snapdragons have always been engines of weak to moderately-powered PCs, but with battery life that lasts and lasts. Now, Qualcomm is dashing to become the fastest CPU. And it’s succeeding, at least when plugged in.
But on battery, under load — and especially with an unoptimized app that requires it to rev up and rev up hard — Arm’s sacrificing battery life for additional performance.
I liked the Surface Pro 9 (5G) because it ran Microsoft’s core apps well, and that was all that I I thought customers would ask of it. Now, Windows on Arm’s ecosystem is expanding. The border is moving through Adobe’s productivity sphere right now.
Again, though, this isn’t the “it just works” tablet that we all hoped for. It mostly works. In some sense, the Surface Pro (2024) 11th Edition feels like a powerful Chromebook, doing just short of everything you’d want from a productivity machine and very little in the way of gaming.
I haven’t tested the Meteor Lake version of the Surface Pro. I don’t care at all that Intel’s Lunar Lake is coming, something always is. But I’m still inclined to stick with the tried-and-true world of Intel’s Core Ultra and AMD’s Ryzen processors rather than make the leap to Windows on Arm. Not yet. But I’m also more confident that Arm could be the way forward for a good chunk of the PC market. This story ain’t over.
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