Surface Pro 4 vs Surface Pro 3 Detailed Spec Comparison
Check out our detailed spec comparison between Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs Surface Pro 3 whether it is worth upgrading or not.
Microsoft Surface is the most successful hardware product line from Microsoft. Back on October, 7th 2015, Microsoft has announced a new Surface Pro 4 packs with many new features and improvements. The most exciting new features including Windows Hello authentication, the new 12.3″ PixelSense technology, and a new range of great accessories.
Interestingly, Microsoft did care about Surface Pro 3 owners by enabling all new accessories to compatible with Surface Pro 3 including the new Surface Dock, Surface Pro Type Cover, and Surface Pen.
If you wonder how the Surface Pro 4 compared to the Surface Pro 3, here we have a detailed spec comparison between both devices. It will help you to decide whether the Surface Pro 4 is really worth the upgrade or not.
1 Surface Pro 4 vs Surface Pro 3 – Overall Specs Comparison
| Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced Date | October 26, 2015 | June 20, 2014 |
| Starting Price | $799 - 128GB|M3|4GB | $799 - 64GB|i3|4GB |
| Software | ||
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro | Windows 8.1 Windows 10 Pro |
| Office | Office 30-days trial | |
| Display | ||
| Display Size | 12.3 inches | 12 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2736 x 1824 (267 PPI), 5M Pixels | 2160 x 1440 (216 PPI), 3.1M Pixels |
| Screen Technology | PixelSense™ display Aspect Ratio: 3:2 Touch: 10 point multitouch Inking: Supports Surface Pen Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 | ClearType Full HD Plus Aspect Ratio: 3:2 Touch: 10 point multitouch Inking: Supports Surface Pen Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 |
| Internal Specs | ||
| CPU | 6th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-6Y306th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6650U | 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-4020Y4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4300U4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U |
| Graphics | m3: Intel® HD Graphics 515i5: Intel® HD Graphics 520i7: Intel® Iris™ Graphics 540 | i3: Intel® HD Graphics 4200i5: Intel® HD Graphics 4400i7: Intel® HD Graphics 5000 |
| Memory | 4 GB 8 GB 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L RAM | 4 GB 8 GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM |
| Storage | 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB SSD | 64 GB 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB SSD |
| Network | 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology | 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology |
| Battery | ||
| Battery Size | 38.2 Wh | 42.0 Wh |
| Battery Life | Up to 9 hours of local video playback | |
| Power Supply | 24W power supply (Intel® Core™ m3) 44W power supply with USB charging port (Intel® Core™ i5 and Core™ i7) | 36W power supply with USB charging port |
| Exterior | ||
| Dimensions | 11.50″ x 7.93″ x 0.33″ (292.10mm x 201.42mm x 8.45mm) | 11.5” x 7.93” x 0.3” (292 mm x 201.3 mm x 9.1 mm) |
| Weight | m3: 1.69lbs (766 grams) i5: 1.73lbs (786 grams) i7: 1.73lbs (786 grams) | 1.76 lbs (800 grams) |
| Casing | Magnesium kickstand with full-friction multiposition hinge to 150 degrees | |
| Colors | Silver | |
| Keyboard and Trackpad | Not Included. | Not Included. |
| Ports | Full-size USB 3.0 microSD™ card reader Surface Connect™ Headset jack Mini DisplayPort Cover port | |
| Camera & Audio | ||
| Camera | Windows Hello face sign-in camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video | 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 5.0MP rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video |
| Audio | Stereo microphones Stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium | Stereo microphones Stereo speakers with Dolby® sound |
| Misc | ||
| Sensors | Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope | Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer |
| Security | TPM chip for enterprise security | |
| Surface Dial | Off-screen interaction only | |
| In the box | Surface Pro 4 Surface Pen (Intel® Core™ i5 and Core™ i7) Power Supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents | Surface Pro 3 Surface Pen Power Supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents |
2 Surface Pro 4 vs Surface Pro 3 – Processor & Graphics Comparison
| Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Level Configuration | ||
 |  | |
| Processor | Intel Core m3-6Y30 | Intel Core i3-4020Y |
| Base Frequency | 0.9 GHz | 1.5 GHz |
| Max Turbo Frequency | 2.2 GHz | N/A |
| TDP | 4.5 watt | 11.5 watt |
| Level 1 Cache | 128 KB | |
| Level 2 Cache | 512 KB | |
| Level 3 Cache | 4 MB SmartCache | 3 MB SmartCache |
| # Cores/Threads | 2/4 | 2/4 |
| Bus Speed | 4 GT/s OPI | 5 GT/s DMI2 |
| Max Memory Support | 16 GB | |
| Max Memory Bandwidth | 29.8 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
| Memory Types | LPDDR3-1866 DDR3L-1600 | DDR3L 1333/1600 LPDDR3 1333/1600 |
| Advanced Technologies | Turbo Boost 2.0 Hyper-Threading VT-x VT-d EPT Intel 64 My WiFi Idle States SpeedStep Thermal Monitoring Flex Memory Access Small Business Advantage Smart Response AES New Instructions Secure Key SGX MPX OS Guard Execute Disable Bit | Hyper-Threading VT-x EPT Intel 64 Idle States SpeedStep Smart Response ME Firmware 9.5 HD Audio Identity Protection Rapid Storage Smart Connect AES New Instructions Secure Key Execute Disable Bit Anti-Theft Technology |
| Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics 515 | Intel® HD Graphics 4200 |
| Graphics Frequency | 300 – 850 MHz | 200 – 850 MHz |
| Graphics Max Memory | 16 GB | 2 GB |
| 4K Support | Yes, at 60Hz | Not Supported |
| DirectX Support | 12 | 11.2/12 |
| OpenGL Support | 4.4 | 4.3 |
| # Display Supported | 3 | |
| Graphics Technologies | Quick Sync Video InTru™ 3D Clear Video HD Clear Video | Quick Sync Video InTru™ 3D Clear Video HD |
| Mid Level Configuration | ||
| | |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-6300U | Intel Core i5-4300U |
| Base Frequency | 2.4 GHz | 1.9 GHz |
| Max Turbo Frequency | 3.0 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| TDP | 15 watt | |
| Level 1 Cache | 128 KB | |
| Level 2 Cache | 512 KB | |
| Level 3 Cache | 3 MB SmartCache | |
| # Cores/Threads | 2/4 | 2/4 |
| Bus Speed | 4 GT/s OPI | 5 GT/s DMI2 |
| Max Memory Support | 32 GB | 16 GB |
| Max Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
| Memory Types | DDR4-2133 LPDDR3-1866 DDR3L-1600 | DDR3L 1333/1600 LPDDR3 1333/1600 |
| Advanced Technologies | Turbo Boost 2.0 vPro Hyper-Threading VT-x VT-d EPT TSX-NI Intel 64 My WiFi Idle States SpeedStep Thermal Monitoring Flex Memory Access Identity Protection SIPP Smart Response AES New Instructions Secure Key SGX MPX Trusted Execution Execute Disable Bit OS Guard | Turbo Boost 2.0 vPro Hyper-Threading VT-x VT-d EPT Intel 64 Idle States SpeedStep Thermal Monitoring Identity Protection SIPP Smart Response ME Firmware 9.5 HD Audio Rapid Storage Smart Connect AES New Instructions Secure Key Trusted Execution Execute Disable Bit Anti-Theft Technology |
| Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics 520 | Intel® HD Graphics 4400 |
| Graphics Frequency | 300 – 1.00 GHz | 200 – 1.10 GHz |
| Graphics Max Memory | 32 GB | 2 GB |
| 4K Support | Yes, at 60Hz | Not Supported |
| DirectX Support | 12 | 11.2/12 |
| OpenGL Support | 4.4 | 4.3 |
| # Display Supported | 3 | |
| Graphics Technologies | Quick Sync Video InTru™ 3D Clear Video HD Clear Video | Quick Sync Video InTru™ 3D Clear Video HD |
| High End Level Configuration | ||
| | |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-6650U | Intel Core i7-4650U |
| Base Frequency | 2.2 GHz | 1.7 GHz |
| Max Turbo Frequency | 3.4 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| TDP | 15 watt | |
| Level 1 Cache | 128 KB | |
| Level 2 Cache | 512 KB | |
| Level 3 Cache | 4 MB SmartCache | |
| # Cores/Threads | 2/4 | 2/4 |
| Bus Speed | 4 GT/s OPI | 5 GT/s DMI2 |
| Max Memory Support | 32 GB | 16 GB |
| Max Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
| Memory Types | DDR4-2133 LPDDR3-1866 DDR3L-1600 | DDR3L 1333/1600 LPDDR3 1333/1600 |
| Advanced Technologies | Turbo Boost 2.0 vPro Hyper-Threading VT-x VT-d EPT TSX-NI Intel 64 My WiFi Idle States SpeedStep Thermal Monitoring Flex Memory Access Identity Protection SIPP Smart Response AES New Instructions Secure Key SGX MPX Trusted Execution Execute Disable Bit OS Guard | Turbo Boost 2.0 vPro Hyper-Threading VT-x VT-d EPT Intel 64 Idle States SpeedStep Thermal Monitoring Identity Protection ME Firmware 9.5 HD Audio Rapid Storage Smart Connect AES New Instructions Secure Key Trusted Execution Execute Disable Bit Anti-Theft Technology |
| Graphics | Intel® Iris™ Graphics 540 | Intel® HD Graphics 5000 |
| Graphics Frequency | 300 – 1.05 GHz | 200 – 1.10 GHz |
| Graphics Max Memory | 32 GB | 2 GB |
| eDRAM | 64 MB | |
| 4K Support | Yes, at 60Hz | Not Supported |
| DirectX Support | 12 | 11.2/12 |
| OpenGL Support | 4.4 | 4.3 |
| # Display Supported | 3 | |
| Graphics Technologies | Quick Sync Video InTru™ 3D Clear Video HD Clear Video | Quick Sync Video InTru™ 3D Clear Video HD Flexible Display Interface |
