Microsoft Surface 3 Laptop Overheating

[Eric]

I've had one of these for work for a while now and have always liked it, my personal computer is an iMac and my last personal laptop was a MacBook pro but last Christmas my wife decided to buy me my own personal Microsoft Surface 3 since I talked about how much I liked it for work.

After a few months it started to get really hot when charging, I don't mean just really warm, I mean so hot that it melted the glue on the rubber feet and you can actually smell it burning. I got a hold of MS and spent hours with them just to have them tell me they don't consider it an issue and to dismiss the case, even though I'm still under warranty. They even implied that I was making it up by saying "the foot appeared to be removed" (rather than melted as I told them).

So that's where I'm at, I asked them if I could escalate and nobody will respond. So considering most of my work is through Microsoft I directly went to someone much higher in the food chain today, we'll see how they respond.

I'm surprised at the level of shitty support from them at the consumer level, anytime I've had an issue with Apple it was excellent, knowledgeable people and they were right on top of whatever the issue may have been. You get what you pay for.

 

[Alli]

I have a Surface, but I don’t use it much at all. I like having a Windows machine, but I don’t feel compelled to use it. Hehe!

 

[Eric]

I have a Surface, but I don’t use it much at all. I like having a Windows machine, but I don’t feel compelled to use it. Hehe!

They're going to replace it with a refurbished model but I'll take it. It's just not the same build quality as a Macbook Pro, so I am going to move back to that, deal from Costco: Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" with Touch Bar - 8th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 512GB SSD - Silver.

 

[SuperMatt]

They're going to replace it with a refurbished model but I'll take it. It's just not the same build quality as a Macbook Pro, so I am going to move back to that, deal from Costco: Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" with Touch Bar - 8th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 512GB SSD - Silver.

Why not get the new Apple Silicon Mac? It’s faster, longer battery life, runs cooler...

 

[Eric]

Why not get the new Apple Silicon Mac? It’s faster, longer battery life, runs cooler...

You mean the M1? I did see that but I didn't see much info on it so I stuck with the Intel i5 quadcore.

 

[SuperMatt]

You mean the M1? I did see that but I didn't see much info on it so I stuck with the Intel i5 quadcore.

Before the transition to Intel, I got the last 15-inch PowerBook ... and regretted it soon after because the world moved on to the new system and it became obsolete faster than a Mac normally would in regards to developer support especially. No new apps would run on it... I didn’t know the Intel transition was coming at the time, so nothing I could have done, but it was still non-optimal. I remember people learning about the Intel transition making sure to buy the last PowerPC Macs so they could run their old apps, but they also ended up buying a new Mac sooner than they expected.

Based on that experience, I would definitely jump on the Apple Silicon train immediately and not spend my money on an Intel Mac right now.

 

[Eric]

Before the transition to Intel, I got the last 15-inch PowerBook ... and regretted it soon after because the world moved on to the new system and it became obsolete faster than a Mac normally would in regards to developer support especially. No new apps would run on it... I didn’t know the Intel transition was coming at the time, so nothing I could have done, but it was still non-optimal. I remember people learning about the Intel transition making sure to buy the last PowerPC Macs so they could run their old apps, but they also ended up buying a new Mac sooner than they expected.

Based on that experience, I would definitely jump on the Apple Silicon train immediately and not spend my money on an Intel Mac right now.

Fair enough, for my purposes I think the pro is a better option especially considering that I want to use it for longer sustained workloads with Photoshop and LightRoom, I'm also interested in the touch bar. I don't mind the larger footprint and a fan personally but I can definitely see the the benefits of the M1 as well.

This video really helped me to make the right decision.

 

[Alli]

This video really helped me to make the right decision.

I really wish I could justify buying a new one beyond telling myself I have the money. I mean, I get my first social security check next month!

 

[Eric]

I really wish I could justify buying a new one beyond telling myself I have the money. I mean, I get my first social security check next month!

Exactly, it's been several years since I've owned one so now is a good time and I'm frankly disappointed in the Microsoft Surface laptop, it's almost like a toy compared to a real Mac. I still do most of my work in a Windows environment and that will always be the case but for personal use I just prefer the experience of a Mac.

 

[lizkat]

Before the transition to Intel, I got the last 15-inch PowerBook ... and regretted it soon after because the world moved on to the new system and it became obsolete faster than a Mac normally would in regards to developer support especially. No new apps would run on it... I didn’t know the Intel transition was coming at the time, so nothing I could have done, but it was still non-optimal. I remember people learning about the Intel transition making sure to buy the last PowerPC Macs so they could run their old apps, but they also ended up buying a new Mac sooner than they expected.

Based on that experience, I would definitely jump on the Apple Silicon train immediately and not spend my money on an Intel Mac right now.

I completely agree but also have to say I'm glad I nabbed an MBA 2020 when I did. Less pressure now to upgrade again quite so soon as if I were still relying only on a mid-2012 MBP (refurb bought in 2016) and an upgraded but really old 2009 MacBook.

 

[DT]

Fair enough, for my purposes I think the pro is a better option especially considering that I want to use it for longer sustained workloads with Photoshop and LightRoom, I'm also interested in the touch bar. I don't mind the larger footprint and a fan personally but I can definitely see the the benefits of the M1 as well.

This video really helped me to make the right decision.

You ordered a new M1 MBP? Goddammit, everyone is getting one ...

 

[Eric]

You ordered a new M1 MBP? Goddammit, everyone is getting one ...

Apple makes a M1 MBP? All I saw was the Air with M1, my new one is a 2020 MBP with Intel i5 quadcore. Edit: I see they do and I'm cancelling my order and getting this one instead.

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