Microsoft Surface Go 3 Review - Watch BEFORE You Buy! 

Hey Chaps! What laptop/tablet are you using right now??

I’m still using my 6 year old Surface 3 (the Go’s precursor) as a second PC, which TBH gets more use than the first. It’s got 128GB and 4GB of RAM. It’s perfect to chuck in a bag when I go somewhere. It owes me nothing any longer. It works a treat and I can’t find an excuse to upgrade it until it breaks. If it lasts until the Go 4 comes out maybe I’ll give it a decent retirement. I’m writing this on my 8 year old iPad mini 2. I like to get the most out of my purchases.

I want a tablet for note taking (with a pen) that can also be used as a laptop, when I want to do something like PowerPoint presentations. So, I think the Surface Go is ideal for me. I don't need high specs, as it just needs to handle a note-taking app and the standard office stuff. I don't want a surface pro or 2-in-1, because they're to big and bulky. The go is perfect in this aspect, as it's quite small and light.

You put a lot efforts in the work Tom, the new studio looks amazing! Thank you for caring about your audience. Best wishes! ✌

Just got a surface go 3 8GB/128GB i3 yesterday to supplement my work laptop. I think most reviews are too critical of this product... My main use is for taking digital notes with the surface pen (syncing OneNote instead of paper notes that I don't organize and forget about), plus email, browsing, and some MS word when I'm on the road between meetings. I was hesitant about its performance based on what I'd seen online but so far so good. It is faster than expected and has no issues running multiple windows/apps. Battery life doesn't seem excellent but what can you expect from a small tablet running windows 11 OS. So far it seems like a great blend of tablet & computer when I need it to be -- which an iPad just couldn't deliver on.

After about 6month of usage, this is what i can say about the Go 3. Pros: -it is very mobile -handy for students thanks to microsoft edge pdf writing ability (you can write on pdf scripts instead of using paper) -it is technically a fullfledged laptop so you can install actual programs like visual studio etc. -Battery life about 6h so you can use it without needing charging throughout the day -Inbuild camera is quite usefull Cons: -Pen support of various Microsoft software like word etc. is very bad compared to an actual ipad from apple, so if you dont need an actual heavy weigth program like coding software etc. you cant get through apps, its better to use a tablet -Its hard to near impossible to draw straight lines unless you insert an actual line, so drawing a triangle or in general using this for math related stuff is rather bad, on that note writing is also quite janky -not sure if its the edge browser or the go 3, however opening a pdf and zooming way in to have more precise control of what you are writing or drawing causes consistent crashes over time, of the browser, but also the cpu cant handle it sometimes -it does a very bad job saving pdfs you drew or wrote in using the pen, again this is edges problem, i noticed often how my pdfs when loading them the next day after saving and closing them, lost some of the stuff i drew or wrote in them, which was a very rude awakening especially if you wrote down a formula and then a variable is missing in it and u dont see it right away, this btw happened in word aswell, but much more rarely -microsoft does not want you to actually use it as a laptop that can download programs from the internet, so you can initially only download apps fromt the store, which are mostly not free and they are really bad, if you dont deactivate the windows11s mode forfeiting rights, you are better off just buying either a laptop or a tablet -its obviously not the fastest in processing -the pen and keyboard are extras you have to buy for nearly another 200$ on top of the surface go 3 which is ridiculous -you cant properly use it as a tablet to write on, if you rest your arm on it while writing like on a piece of paper, it really does not like that, which makes it rather hard to write on in, imagine you try to write with your pen on your monitor and see if that would work out for you

Thanks for the heads-up Tom, good review.

Dude, this is the absolute best review I have ever seen. I'm getting one of these for school and now I know everything! Thank you!

Really great review! Hope people start considering this over certain tablets.

This is perfect for my school work and browsing! It’s so good for the price cuz I know tablet and laptop in 1 are pricey. And the hinge is awesome! I will get one soon! And forgot to mention this review was freakin helpful thanks!

Nice mention and thoughts regarding performance. Many reviews lack that.

I'm watching this on my 6 year old Galaxy tab S2 8", it's a great value tablet now, it was the king of 8" Android tablets in it's days. Will keep it until it breaks. Although the charging port is broken, it somehow manages to work. As far as Laptops go, I have 2014 MacBook Air which still works. But that didn't stop me from trying other devices: Couple of years ago, I got SP6 i3 version, no issues so far. Few months back, I got Tab s6 lite, it runs smoothly. I use tablet devices regularly, for second screen, or when I am in bed, watching RU-vid. My tip is get them around holiday seasons, with heavy discount and trade-ins.

The Go would be so good if Microsoft gave it the Surface Pro 8 treatment. I bet you they’ll do a complete redesign for the Go 4. I hope we see two USB C Thunderbolt 4 ports and an upgradable M.2 SSD 2230 on the back. We’ll probably get a new Keyboard with Pen 2 slot but they need to bundle it in with the device. I would like to see better performance maybe with a quad core i3 or dual core i5 with some sort of XE support.

I have a surface go 1. It's my favorite device. It's a cheap windows PC and the design is perfect. The stand is so amazing and I love that the tablet is matte and not glossy or with a weird grip pattern. I plan on getting the GO 3. It's really an excellent device.

Start video, immediately think of Sheldon Coopers' Fun With Tabs! :D Thanks for the review.

Personally, I would buy this to read, edit some work, and take notes when I'm out and about and don't really want to go home, and also for travelling. I don't work with video or photo editing, and mostly work using Office. I like that on Edge, I can still use Google Docs, and that is a big plus for me. I'm not too concerned with battery life because it is running a full operating system. It certainly isn't a deal-breaker for me.

Thanks for the review.

Really liked the production quality of this video, and the personality. Couple of corrections... (1) the 60% faster claim from MS is in regards to the Pentium Gold versions. So you can buy the lower-end models this time and have a better experience than with the Go 2, and the i3 version isn't as drastically faster than the m3 Go 2. Also means recommending the Go 2 on discount may make sense if you're buying the highest model, but could be a big mistake if you're buying one of the two lower-end models. (2) The middle model with Pentium Gold DOES has SSD (as well as double the memory and storage of the low end model). Only the lowest Gold model has EMC.

Good reviews Tom - You deserve more subscribers 🤟🤟

Thanks for the review. I've been considering getting one of these Surface Go 3 laptops and your review just helped me make my decision a lot easier.

Thanks for the wonderful video

Currently using a Surface Pro 7 for at-home use and was looking for a cheaper but reliable computer for school and work. I actually think I might go with this one or the GO 2. Thanks for the review, it really helped me out!

Nice video. Thank you 👍👍👍👍

Best review ever. Exactly what I needed to know

It has micro SD card slot which other Surface models do not. Pretty convenient and affordable to beef up storage

Just bought this and a dell 2 in 1 for school Can't wait to see how amazing they work

Waiting for your Surface Laptop Studio Review!!

I receive many Surface ads and I am curious as to how good the devices are. The review provides insight as to what Microsoft is doing. Shame they overrated the battery. Please do a review on Windows 11. Is the media center better? Is it cool and fun to interact with?

I was really hoping this had a good increase in performance over the go 2 or at least to eliminate the lag, guess is back to waiting for me

Thanks G for this video. I was thinking of grabbing this over the iPad 9. Should I?

I checked and the i3-10100Y version of this has the same performance as my old Surface Pro 2 with a Core i5 from 8-9 years ago. However, using a third of the power, and having double the RAM (although it need more as well with todays OS and apps.) I expect to pay considerably less for the same performance this many years later. The launch price of the SP2 was 900 bucks, but today I can find the i3 version of the Surface Go for 60% of the price of what I paid for my SP2, so I guess it's a similar experience for decently less money. However, I'm not sure about the user experience on a tablet in Win11. Win8 was actually very nice on the early Surfaces (even if it was horrible on desktops and laptops), but I'm not sure if I want a tablet for Win11. But as a secondary device next to my desktop, sure I would consider it. Right now I have a normal laptop for Windows-apps, and an iPad for drawing in OneNote, as well as a desktop at home for heavy duty work. This would be an optimal device for replacing both my aging laptop and iPad in a single device, for relatively little money!

To be honest Tom, I thoroughly chuckled at that "go away" joke 🤣🤣

I bought one on the premise of wanting a hand held full computer which the SG3 is. Not the fastest but definitely the cutest and still very capable. A keeper. (Edit: I got the i3 8 128 version)

00:42 I See what u did there ! Good one XD!!

8:04 The surface Pen 2 isn't for the surface go lineup. The official supported Pen is still the surface pen. That the reason, why it doesn't hold with magnets... Sometimes it's still smart to read the manual :)

I like the review I ordered one because I do not like carrying my laptop around when I go out

What a coincidence.... The laptop I ordered from PC Specialist arrived today and now I watch this video which happens to have a PC Specialist ad :')

I was looking to use the Go 3 as a unit to work with Bosch or Leica laser tape measuring software. The 10 " form factor is "just right the right size". The Pro 8 has a 12" screen which might be okay for some and it has the specs I wish the Go 3 had > an i5 processor / 8gb ram and 256 gb storage. If Microsoft could do that for us consruction guys, we'd be grateful!

I have a 2011 Windows 7 Dell All-in-One (Inspiron One) that, when upgraded with an SSD, 8 GB of RAM, and Windows 10, still runs pretty acceptably (streams 1080p content, UI still snappy). The fact that the "lag" you showed and talked about on this new 2022 device is comparable to what I occasionally experience on my 11 year old Athlon II machine is kinda LOL

This might be an old video, but the best use for this thing is as an additional monitor through wireless screen casting and doubling as an easily transportable document viewer for work/school/church business.

Great review. I'm considering going for a Go 3 to use when studying and this review really helped. Anyone know if you can take notes on the Go 3 using the pen and then convert to text? Thanks.

Honestly, if money weren't a question, I'd stick with my Go 2 then get the Surface Laptop Studio as my main 😂 The Go 3 doesn't seem to be a huge step up from the highest spec-ed Go 2.

Great review.... However I was too lazy to track down the m3 and decided to go for the i3 instead... Not my main computer but way smaller than my 16" MBP... And does what my iPad pro can't... Run chrome extensions... Damn Apple... Loving this little gadget for what I needed is perfect, can output to my wide screen monitor at work while charging via one cable and even can handle Photoshop very slow but usable... I'm really happy with experiencing windows after so many years... I wish upcoming versions can Microsoft follow Apple silicon route and give us something amazing

I'm looking for something like this mainly for beginner level drawing painting and sketching using the pen, needed both a tablet and computer for a budget. Is this a good buy for what I need? Mainly be using it for photoshop and similar apps

Great video and you are right because windows 11 has its bugs with in itself. Microsoft coud have done better in the go category. Tech Chap I will wait for the GO 4 to see if its a real upgrade. My choice of mini 2-1 is lenovo chromebook duet. BEST CHOICE HANDS DOWN, AND TWO THUMPS UP.

By default Windows comes with "balance" in the power option for saving battery. You can change it to "High Performance". This will give you significant boost in cpu. You should also set windows to use all 4 cores as the default is 1. Type msconfig. Select the Boot tab and then Advanced options. Check the box next to Number of processors and select the number of cores you want to use. Select OK and then Apply.

I had been using the 1st Generation Surface Go (Base Model, 4GB, 64GB eMMC) as my note-taking tablet during my school days. Since my graduation, I am now using it as my secondary computer. I still love this device even for my use case as it really does well in what I used it for. The reason why I did not buy the iPad 7 which is at a similar cost is that it does not do well as a secondary laptop which the Go is designed to do like the bigger Pro Line.

Want to pickup the i3 version for GameCube and below emulation and minor work and graphics when I don't want to pull out my gaming laptop. Might get a cheaper type cover and compatible pen that uses a AAAA battery since I have those cells on hand. Getting this tablet will allow me to easily swap the SD card between that and my laptop. I could also do retro PC gaming a little bit.

Coming from an iPad 2, the Go 3 is amazing. Even against the newest iPads, the Go is FAR more durable and much, much better if you're primarily using pen input to drive your user experience. And Windows 11 is definitely more suited for a pen-drive experience, and is more differentiated than using an apple pencil on an iPad (vs finger input).

I'm satisfied with basic Go 3 model 😉

I still use my OG Surface Go (top of the line w/LTE) and I still like it. The form factor is exactly what I need. I hope they keep this line alive and just throw an ARM processor in it. That would probably help the performance and battery life.

This thing is really worth looking at with the introduction of Chrome OS Flex.

Nice review, thanks, and also you are a very nice personality just cute 👍👍

I think the best thing to do right now is to wait for the Surface Go 4 to be released, hopefully in the fall.

Thank you for the review! Think you've helped me make my mind up and I won't be investing in one of these... its the lag that puts me off. Might look at the new iPad instead. Don't know anything about them yet, though hopefully you have a review 😛

My biggest advice for the Go 3 is learn how to use Windows 11 as a tablet OS. Which it's surprisingly competent at. Most things are easier than tapping a button. Want to full screen an app? Grab the title bar and slide it to the top of the screen. Three fingers up brings up take view, three fingers down brings you to your desktop. On 22H2 you can also slide up from the taskbar to open the start menu

Beautiful

I bought a Surface Pro 4 last year, used from Ebay, but it had the widespread "flicker" problem wherein the panel is faulty and the screen flickers after an unreasonably short time (about 2 hours, or 4 to 5 hours if I cool it with a fan or portable AC). Otherwise, I love it, but obviously I have to get a replacement, as I got for reading PDFs, streaming video, and mounting Blu-ray discs images, i.e., reading and media consumption for long duration. I believe the Go 3 may do all these things, but do so at a lesser resolution (the 1,920 x 1,280 screen instead of the Pro's 2736 x 1824) a smaller size (10 inch vs 12 inch), and lower pixel density (220 vs 267). I could get a used Surface Pro 7 for the same price, or less, as a new Surface Go 3, but Amazon offers an installment payment on the Go, which is very tempting. What do you think I should do?

i definetly will recommend you if my freinds have any guestions your amazing also could you do a video telling us if we can play video games?

This seems like a form factor that is ideal for a mobile Snapdragon chip. If Windows for ARM was as viable as what Appple did for M1, the Go 3 would have an awesome platform to pull it off. My guess is that won't happen.

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I will be interested in seeing what kind of performance ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate will have (even though I don't expect much 😁), because with OLED screen, smaller bezels, included detachable keyboard + Pen and possibly better price it should be a great device for basic tasks on the go and just more appealing than Surface GO 3 🤔

The relevant comparison would be against iPads, not laptops. Weirdly, the geek bench scores for previous iPads are often similar and they often had only 4 GB RAM, yet there is basically no lag ever and apps can often stay in memory as if it had 16 GB or something. :D (I can't stand iOS, so it pains me that neither Samsung, nor apparently Microsoft (haven't tried a Surface myself yet) can provide an experience that's at least comparable.)

I have the Surface GO, and love its SIM slot. Why was this slot dropped? Every GO should have a MicroSD slot for up to 2TB and at least one SIM slot. I need and demand a SIM slot

Looking to buy the surface laptop studio!

I'm using a Go for everything away from my desk. I do recommend being sure which version someone picks up has the 8gb RAM

Are you going to review the Surface Pro 8/laptop studio? Pretty sure they are the ones people are actually interested in...

So I'm looking into possibly downgrading from the surface pro x to this. Only because I'm not trying to overspend on something when i could use something that's cheaper that will still meet my needs. My only concern with the surface go 3 and it's something i might not even use that much Is just the drawing applications. I don't need anything crazy i just would need something that's just like drawing with paper and pencil. Do you think it'll work for me?

I have the Surface Go 3, 8gb ram, 128 GB ssd. Love it. Can't wait for the go 4 😂

I personally own both Go 2 and Go 3, and as much as I love the Go 2 core m3, I recommend to upgrade to the Go3 i3, as performance are even better.

I'm not a heavy user of Pc's, I just use them for word editing and some phone backup stuff. Would this be a good option for me? 🤔

I have Go 2 lowest version and I love it

Actually is very nice performance already. If opinion, i would choose three model hahaha 1st - IPad Pro 11inch 2020 Version (Lifestyle) 2nd - Samsung S7+ (Working Purpose) 3nd - Surface Table (Do what ever I want hahaha because is Window System)

Thank you

I know this is kind of an old video but chance that you do check your comments. What do you think about this? Would you choose the surface go as a mobile productivity option for like word processing things of that nature versus getting one of these new mini PCs and putting on a small, monitor with it? I was gonna go with the surface in a wireless mechanical keyboard, but then I start seeing these inexpensive mini PCs with decent specs and thought maybe I get one of those with a $65 monitor and wireless keyboard and that seems like a better option. what do you think?

I'm surprised that Microsoft didn't upgrade the base model with a Core I3 Processor and 128GB SSD, considering that there are laptops with the same specs listed for $300-$400

I've got a go2, and was considering whether to buy a go 3, but after watch your video, well, it seems that I should keep the go2...

I bought the Go 2 because I needed a small pc that did basic work and modding my gaming consoles.

As a second or third laptop only for business trips - Go2 or Go3 is perfect.

Sorry if this was already asked, but do all Surface Go 2 in 1’s have a SIM card tray and are LTE compatible?

I currently have a LG Android tablet that's is on the last leg and I need a new tablet. I have 1 windows program that I need to run so I was looking @ this as my new tablet. From this review I think I've found my replacement

what is the battery capacity? how tong does it last? what is the adapter voltage and current???

Do you reckon you could persuade Huawei to do an international release of the Huawei matebook e. Or convince Microsoft to stick an OLED on their pro.

I’ve had the first Surface Go for a long time. Thinking it’s time to upgrade to the Go 3, but I don’t know. Will it be that much of an upgrade?

Could I use this for running Microsoft 365, internet browsing, basic games from the Microsoft store, listening to music, and streaming?

The 10" size is why you buy this. We can always get something larger. It's the portable PC that is the appeal of this .

The Go 3 is just minor update unfortunately. However, the 60% improvements that Microsoft claimed is for the Pentium Gold version, so it should had more differences on the entry level model. The Core m3 to i3 has just minor performance boost.

Best laptop reviewer

I know this is a bit off topic, but what chair is that, that you are sitting in at the table for most of your video ?

Right Now My Current Laptop Is A MacBook Pro Mid 2009, With The 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM And 500GB SSD. Although This Works A Dream For Game Development And Video Editing, The Battery Makes Me Want To Upgrade, As This is a 13 year old laptop i gotta give it credit of how smooth it is to this day but the battery needed replacing 2 years ago. i bought a battery off ebay and 2 years later it jumped from normal to service battery status. So instead of paying iFixit £80 for a battery, I am going to probably get the go 2 soon as it has 7 hours of battery compared to 1/2 Hours on my macbook. Although I Do Game Development And If I Had This It Would Sound Painful, But I Used Unity On 4GB Of RAM Before, It Should Be alright

Is it good enough to use for my university assessments and Netflix? And refresh and smoothness is good right? Won’t lag?

Fair review - if Microsoft included the type cover then it would be worth it, it's a shame they never will. I love my Go 2 and run my small business on it. Performance is fine for my use - email, Office, web browsing, notes, reading, virtual meetings and signing documents. Hooking it up to my 2k monitor is also fine with minimal choppiness. Only significant downside for me is the battery life and I've thought about moving to an ipad because of this, but Windows is better for my use.

What keyboard do you recommend ? Thank you very much

I absolutely want Surface Go 4 option to have ARM version. I'd most likely pick that up as portable.

I’ve ordered the 128/8GB version for £499. Always used Mac and really need to use Windows for my job. Didn’t want to go the whole hog on a Microsoft laptop - thought I’d give this a go. As I own a Duo 2, it seemed a sensible selection.

With the besels etc, is it not worthy you making a comparison with the galaxy book 12? I mean the 2018 book which has an i5 and I'd detachable and has same form factor. Doesn't that the book 12 do better given its got a bigger chip?

I own the Surface Go1 and my biggest complaint is that Microsoft software as not wrap the Go1 properly. For example, if you try to download OneNote to it and just use it as a note-taker it works very slow and is frustrating to use. Today, I only use it with the Edge browser. Microsoft installed a very powerful OS on the Go1 but it is too powerful for the specs and this is the most frustrating point. The good point of the surface, it is super light, connects with everything, and is super secure, and no one wants to steal it even if you forget it in an airport while you go to the WC. Personally, I will buy the surface Go3 because it is a good, small, and light unit to carry on the go.

If i need a computer for note taking, writing papers, and general studying/browsing, is this going to be enough with the base model? will it be slow/laggy?

Im currently thinking about getting a 4G version of the Surface Go 3 (as a device to use when our home internet is being flaky, or just outright fails)

I’m looking one for minor occasions like installing third party apps into iOS devices, xcloud gaming, studies… you know, nothing heavy. Could I go for the Surface Go 2 or is better to go for the Go 3? Did xcloud runs equally in both of them? At this moment I no longer have windows devices, I opted to go just for an iPhone and a iPad for studies, entertainment, video editing (I’m one of the first LumaFusion users and it’s been great since the beginning), etc. But in some minor occasions I do need a windows device. Edit: I’m open to others more affordable windows devices, I’m all ears (eyes) for you guys.