Microsoft Surface Pro 8 vs Pro X: Real Horsepower

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Microsoft's Surface Pro 8 finally breaks the mold of the Surface Pro line by introducing a modern redesign worthy of its high price point. But it follows the Surface Pro X, which introduced this design a couple years ago. Can the Surface Pro X still stand up today to its newer cousin? Check out the video, and check out our Surface playlist here:

[TeacherTrainerMadrid]

This was a great video. I own the Surface Pro X sq2 and it works for me. I know that there are better devices out there and l like the fact that people find what works for them. Keep up the great work on your channel.

[stevencharette]

outstanding comparison you did excellent very detailed and unlike other reviewers you know what ur talking about.

[weeliano]

I went for the Surface Pro X sq2 as I am intrigued by the battery life and instant on ability. Also No moving parts! No fan to cool the chip and longer than average battery life. Yes I knew what I am getting myself into when I got the Surface Pro X and it is more of a media consumption device for me and in this area it worked great! I hope Microsoft doesn't abandon the ARM64 development as I see it as a viable alternative to Intel and AMD X86 platforms. I got my Surface Pro X SQ2 with 16GB Ram and 512GB storage at a great price, it even comes with the keyboard and stylus and I'm very happy using it. I enabled Windows Insider to try out pre-release versions of Windows 11, I tried to install as much native ARM64 apps as I can and I can see that emulated X86 apps do perform more sluggish. I managed to get Blender 3D to run with the Free Microsoft open cl and gl compatibility pack. Its not perfect but it runs and its good enough for me.

[louisnk]

so the Pro X where I am is now 590 Euros - worth buying?

[NvTwist]

The surface 8 lured me away from apple… been using apple product’s since 2004! Its about time a legit hybrid tablet/laptop device.

[leetronix]

The Surface Pro X was designed for non heavy professional business users on the go and not for more demanding software usage. That is what it's for.

[msp]

SP8 does not have LTE, nor is it's battery even close the the SPX.
So for mobile white-collar professionals, the SP8 is inadequate.
Also, you don't need "horsepower" to run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Zoom, OneNote, etc.

[RolandoNispiros]

I have the X with SQ1. I like it because of the LTE functionality. I can just open and use it with having to use my phone hotspot. The 8 came after I bought the X. No regrets. I have a handful of laptops to use.

[rjcrisostomo]

Great video. I'm torn between the X and the 8. I love the look and feel of the X but hate that running certain apps is questionable. If it had an intel chip I would have bought one already but this ARM chip thing is making me second guess it. I'm going to mainly use it for travel and as a tablet but want to be able to install all my apps I already have on my current laptop

[yearsoldnot]

gaming 120hz with geforce now on a 120hz screen is amazing! I'm not much of a gamer either but it is amazing!

[mortinocano]

But the Surface Pro 8 is just so much heavier that it looses everything tabletty about it. If you can accept that and see it rather as a light weight pc then I guess it is fine. But in the Pro X you keep the tablet experience AND you can use it as a pc. That is why I prefer the Pro X over the Pro 8 (i had both).

[logaandm]

Very good review of practical things. I have a Surface Pro X and it's good enough for what I want to do on the road, which means I don't game and I don't edit video. I appreciate having the built in GPS. I navigate, wife drives. Perfect!

Microsoft will not give up on ARM for a while. It's all about power consumption at data centers - and Microsoft has lots of them. Microsoft has been trying to get servers to move to ARM to save on energy costs for years. It's about operations per watt and cooling. If for no other reason than to force Intel and AMD to up their game, Microsoft will keep pushing ARM. I definitely like how cool my Surface Pro X runs.

Data centers is one of the reasons MS recently released the developers kit for ARM with emphasis on Linux Support. Get all those server applications ported to ARM, get a good chip, save a lot of money and the environment at the same time. Something like a Surface Pro X Mark II with 20 hours of battery life will just icing on the cake for consumers.

[danieloherrick]

Nice comparison. One point of disagreement: the SP8 is not a consumer-focused product. It is first and foremost a business focused product

[wilhelmpaulm]

Damn 3 years really does make a difference. Now everyone is all about arm especially for portable computing.

[safiulfaiyaz]

Everything about the Surface Pro 8 is perfect for writing/Academic works and even better for multitasking when compared to an Ipad as it actually runs a full-blow desktop OS.
The few things I don't like about the Surface Pro 8 is the lack of an LTE option[You can get it from the Business sector ig], but you can always hotspot and it's not like you need to be connected to the net 24/7 the other thing is a lack of some sort of ecosystem that you get with Samsung or Apple.
You have no dedicated mobile phone for this series or a watch for that matter.
The only thing you have are the earbuds.

[asifsiddique]

Thanks for giving a clear answer. Most of the vs videos conclude like whatever works for you and I hate it...

[themadatheist]

Planning on getting a Pro 7+ for the SD card slot and save a few bucks. I already have a 10th i7, 2060rtx laptop as my main, so the tablet will just compliment it when I don't need the power and require longer battery time away for the wall. I prefer a SD model so I can easily swap cards loaded with game ROMs between the 2.
Only issue I might have is only the i7 line have a fan. Be interesting if a fan could be added in the i3 or i5 models, but the screen would have to be removed to see.

[KngJseph]

Great Review, thank-you for the knowledge!

[rawcircoking]

Can they both multiplies, do data analyst etc???

[wenklyment]

I have both devices, still hard to say goodbye to pro x, it bearly get heat . and the long battery life, thinner and lighet . while pro 8 give you confidence of power and apps .