Question Regarding MS Surface Pro 4

DJW · December 18, 2022

Is a MS Surface Pro 4 worth $269? I think it is a intel i5. It's the Pro 4 I gave my daughter-in-law mybe 6 years ago. She dropped it and cracked the screen. It did not bend the case but it did jack up the screen and how the touch screen work. Which is iffy at best. I can get the screen and the associated equipment replaced for $269 but the question is it worth it. I know it is to old to work with Win 11. It has the slip into Bluetooth keyboard. So should I spend the $269?

Dennis

Edited December 19, 2022 by DJW

RV_ · December 19, 2022

Hi Dennis. No it is not as R&R of the screen was not made easier until the Surface Pro 8 and perhaps the 7+ but not the Pro 7 back to earlier models. Even Pros like me can mess up the repair. Here is a video showing the process on a Pro 4 if you are interested. This is long and my advice on buying a Surface pro today, and why I recommend the 7 and 7+ and not earlier models or the newer Surface Pro 8 and 9 models.

New or used: The Surface Pro 8 does not have a USB A port or micro SD card slot. It only has two USB C ports so you can't supplement the storage with a USB A tiny flash drive you can leave in all the time. I don't think they can fit the flash drive circuits into the tiny USB C form factor. They also do not have a Micro SD card slot. So unless you find a reasonable SSD replacement you are stuck with whatever SSD came with it despite it being user accessible. The Surface Pro 6 does not have a USB C port.

Only the Surface Pro 7 and 7+ have a USB A 3.1, a USB C hi speed port, AND a micro SD card slot for expanding the storage cheaply. Except for the Pro 7+ with LTE which does not have an SD Card slot but has USB C, A and an expandable SSD slot. The 7+ without LTE does have an SD Card slot. As well, the 11 gen i5 is actually as fast or a bit faster than the older i7 CPUs. Ideally I would suggest a Pro 7+ (Hard to find used) with 16 GB of Ram and LTE like mine because you

However just go to Marketplace and buy a good used Surface Pro 7 or 7+ for about twice that repair price with the keyboard cover. Then you get a 10th gen much faster processor that will run Windows 11. Here is one example with a quick search. Do not buy it or any one that you can't go and see. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/568967018331450?hoisted=false&ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A33bebf46-6a71-417d-8a7e-d5f026492dfb

I am selling mine but prefer to sell face 2 face with a "threshold warranty," it is guaranteed to work until it crosses my threshold. That saves me from anyone claiming it was broken or did not work when I sold it. So I go over the case to show no evidence of drops or screen damage, and let them check the function of the tablet itself before they leave. So do check those.

Why used? My pro 7 i7/16GB/256GB is the only Surface I bought new. All the others including my Surface Pro 7+ I am keeping I bought used and as new.

MY "keeper" Surface Pro 7+ now is an i5 11th gen/8GB RAM/1TB SSD/LTE. I am keeping the 7+ because it has the upgradeable SSD slot and despite MS not selling them and wanting too much for 1TB when new, I found an actual new 1TB MS Surface pro SSD on eBay for $200 and have been using it for quite a while now, maybe six months? It was a great buy and had zero hours on it.

Let me tell you why I suggest the Pro 7 and not the Pro 8. Both the Pro 7 and he Pro7+ Plus, have a USB 3 full size port, and a USB C port. Previous models have only one USB port and the other a mini display port.

There are no tiny USB flash drives in the USB C form factor because there is not enough room for the circuitry. I will include pics of the Sandisk Fit 256GB USB 3 drive I use and leave in my Surface pro 7 and the ports it has below. You can see I use a MoKo heavy duty cover for them that allows me to leave that tiny drive in all the time. They come in sizes up to 512GB for $42.63 today: https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-512GB-Ultra-Flash-Drive/dp/B083ZS4HYD/ref=asc_df_B083ZS4HYD?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80470599120789&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584070146710165&th=1

Since many brands are dropping the USB A ports I expect the price of the 512GB Sandisk Fit USB A Flash drives to drop more too. Then be unavailable.

Look at the pics below and see that unlike longer USB A flash drives that can be damaged or damage the port if left in and bumped these are pretty out of the way so can be left in all the time. And you will see that the Pro 7 and the 7+ have both USB A 3.0 ports and USB C ports so you can use cheaper drives and connect to everything USB today.

Surface Pro 7 with USB A 3.1 and USB 😄 and Sandisk Fit 256GB drive under it, the 512GB Fit drives are the same tiny size:

My Surface Pro 7 with a different color case. It has a USB C port, a USB A 3.1 port with my Sandisk drive inserted, and an SD card slot with the green and gray SD Card inserted.

The next one below is my Surface Pro 7+ taken from the same side as the pic of my Surface Pro 7 above. The 7+ has no micro SD card slot. Instead it has a Sim card slot, and a removable SSD slot. But stilll has both a USB C, and a USB A which in the pic has the USB A slot filled with the fit 256GB Flash drive I leave in it all the time.

Below is an older pic of my tablets from top to bottom:

Black case is one of our two Surface Go 2 M3 tablets one USB C port, no USB A port but a micro SD Card slot and LTE.

Red case is our (sold last year) Surface Pro 4 with only one USB A port and a mini Display port,

Blue case at the bottom is my Surface Pro 7 in the blue case with both USB A, USB C, and a Micro SD Card slot.

So my recommend is to get a Surface Pro 7 or if possible a Pro 7+ used.

I bought a Surface Pro 8 and returned it because it only has two USB C ports and you can only add storage with a more expensive SSD upgrade as it has the SSD slot and can be replaced by the user. It has no micro SD card slot, nor a USB A slot you can get a 512GB tiny flash drive for and leave it in. I like being able to plug in legacy USB A 3.1 and 3.2 devices. And the tiny flash drives you can leave in only come in USB A. A combo flash drive with both USB A and C will stick out. I like to leave mine in 99% of the time.

I bought a Surface Pro 8 thinking Microsoft would make it easier to get 1TB SSDs for it but no, so I returned it - No SD Card slot and no USB A. Just two USB C one of which is also a thunderbolt port, and an upgradeable SSD which are scarce as hen's teeth assembled in the case from the manufacturer. Callmicrosoft and ask if you can buy a 1TB Surface Pro 7+ or 8 SSD. M.2 drives without the case are easy to get but then you get overheating or have to pull the case off your old drive and use thermal paste to mount it in the stock case. The stock case is thin and can be bunged up easily. I tried one one without the case and with a thermal pad and the 7+ overheated. I got a stock drive in the case and it works fine. I refer to keep the old SSD in case there is a problem as then I can put it back in, do an erase all and reset, and sell it keeping my data on my 1TB SSD for use in another computer or surface tablet.

These are all from my experience owning, not reading about, all the Surface tablets from the original RT to the Pro 2, Pro 3, Pro 4, Pro 7, Pro 7+, Pro 8, and two Surface Go 2 M3 tablets, and are my preferences. Your mileage may vary. Many folks hardly use these at all and they are as good as new used. Others are not so good.

Hope that helps explain that for twice the repair cost, and some time checking it out first, you can get a 10th or 11th gen Pro 7 or 7+ that has it all IMHO. And with all the keyboards and pens in many cases.

Edited December 19, 2022 by RV_

DJW · December 20, 2022

Thanks RV. I knew you would have the answer at your fingertips. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Dennis

RV_ · December 20, 2022

BTW, if you look at other Surface Devices like the Go do not under any circumstances get the original Go which had only the Intel Pentium Gold Dual Core 1.6 GHz. I bought one and it was unacceptably slow and I sold it.

The Go2 had two choices: The slow Intel® Pentium® Gold Processor 4425Y, and a much faster by far 8th Gen Intel® Core m3 Processor. I bought one of these used with the M3/8GB or RAM, and 128GB SSD and LTE and it was acceptably fast. Not like my i7 Pro 7 or i7 Pro 7+ but way faster than the original Pentium Gold. I liked it enough I bought another with the same specs and LTE for Lynda and she loves using it daily down in the den. She has an AIO 27" desktop in her office too.

We have the Typecovers for both Go2s and pens but we don't use the pens much. If you want a pen we got a rechargeable one on Amazon that is much cheaper and as good as the one from Microsoft. There are some terrible ones there too. Here's the one I love: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081NRTK9K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I did find this 7+ on eBay that is eBay refurbished meaning it get a 1 year warranty here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275350475280?hash=item401c2ad210:g:puwAAOSwpqJiqf8N&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA8BQwyAzRGOooSnVwCR45VJuVH93rpLCRKBlmCOqpgCDQdQzWKhldh3Tv5OEohMKkbX6jQu%2FLaD31%2FB2MH0w5bYR78896NzU91nvO8NG6XE8qXDfgL%2FWPMkheIpFQZrmo9qB5i1CjolGgwfcLA5E2FVMHIHJEjSJSaUjZepsLHJpLEA523ivGRky3kLNBEf8FVggG15JeIOMbP992f9RCdb0apJ1b48E57BjEp%2By2a5fT2uK2NrTAL4qeCv%2BiAAFh%2BfYMUJ8%2FWoFD9ovYJy1wUklcHk6h0dAzxtIyuQ4lj6bpD04n6YFWdgJw7DidTwaiTw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR46s_YqmYQ

It is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus 12.3" 2019 2.4GHz i5-1135G7 8GB 128GB - Excellent condition for $489.99. I am not endorsing it and you might get a dud but it is warranted. No LTE. If that is not important then may be good. I normally don't recommend which ones to buy here but that is one I would if I did not already have one. The 7+ has some significant improvement over the Pro 7 of the year before. If the SSD is not enough you can get a 1TB for ~ $149 here https://www.ebay.com/itm/154973423213 I bought my 1TB SSD for my Pro 7+ from that vendor.

Edited December 20, 2022 by RV_

RV_ · December 20, 2022

Here is an even better comparison of the Pro 7 and 7+ noting that the 11th gen Intel i5 & i7 processors in the Pro 7+ are more than 30% Faster than 10th gen i5 & i7 Processors in the Pro 7.

As well the graphics are improved. Read a comparison here with pics of the removable SSD:

https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-pro-7-plus-vs-pro-7

If someone has need of copying very large files to the latest fastest SSD external drives for Video processing copies or other very large file copying would be the only reason I would choose their Surface Pro 8 over the 7+. Again due to the lack of a fast USB A 3.1 port with the two USB C ports, despite one being a Thunderbolt, my choice is the 7+ so I returned the Pro 8 within a month to Costco. I had no intent but MS was still unwilling to sell 1TB SSDs to customers back in the spring, so I decided the $1425.00 for the bundle with slim pen and typecover was not worth the price for me.

I was going to sell both my Pro 7+ and the Pro 7 if I kept the Pro 8.

Ideally I will buy a Surface Pro 7+ with the i5 or i7/16GB of RAM and LTE refurbished/with warranty or in person used. I can then sell mine with the original 128SSDor with the 1TB SSD if I can find another for my new one.

In other words for the best bang for the buck the Pro 7+ with i5/8GB/128GB SSD if you want a fast one with upgradeable SSD should you need it, in addition to a cheaper tiny Sandisk Fit 512 USB A 3.1 flash drive, you have it. I don't want long USB C flash drives hanging off it nor have to use Hubs and/or Docks for that.

Edited December 20, 2022 by RV_

RV_ · December 20, 2022

If you want a smaller one at about half price of retail a year ago here is a brand new sealed box Surface Go2 with M3 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM and LTE for $389.99 - about half of retail a year ago.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354206934042?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818141841%26meid%3Da625ab4456e24397b3bb376dcbd273fc%26pid%3D101111%26rk%3D9%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D314274376510%26itm%3D354206934042%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv10MetaCatCoviewsAndHighIDF%26brand%3DMicrosoft&_trksid=p2047675.c101111.m2109&amdata=cksum%3A354206934042a625ab4456e24397b3bb376dcbd273fc|enc%3AAQAHAAABANpayTgwwzngLL2ac5rOpFjYiRZjEf3nuHujzg5l4uKNo%2FKHof5cpCiOWN18B5NwCez7x1cQVsXV6dbagC%2FgJjvJJb3LYBOBz%2FSajj86d%2BH1ZIM310Groo9MZaaRS7JfG09hBj8WTBE405Uc6DrzhJh9TIl%2Ft8W38urutWPw8T3PekQZB5e8CAFWehwbp3KCH206w7UsvAUIdm%2BMxwtQ3%2F4yolWUcs%2FcBWm6uWRVYhM%2Fa4wxug6uHXm6IrN1TSv5BXzbLQ%2BGTITSc9wtzrFRpW3qU%2FLFoUORj99SdJmpGOHTpf43fqAhKly36qbfrV%2BI1GVLRqpn8b6YXhBeuZdxFFw%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2047675&epid=13038172468

For just surfing and mobile use that's not a bad deal with the Microsoft Warranty and the eBay protection.

Here is a comparison:

https://surfacetip.com/compare/surface-go-3-vs-surface-go-2/?utm_source=pocket_reader