Surface Go 3 Review 

4G ram configuration should not exist. It is for no one. I’d love to see you review the 8 gigs one!

I appreciate A LOT the fact you chose the cheapest models to review 😭. Great video Brad, sending love 🤍

You are very inspiring artist,I like how you find the solution’s for every difficulty on your work process..awesome artwork’s 😍😍👏👏👏👏

Hey Brad! Loved your version! Thank you for including it in your video.

Awesome review! I enjoy the details of your tests. I know you've done a video on this in the previous years, but please what are the best recommended apps on windows for drawing in 2021? Something that maybe mimic procreate but for windows. Thanks ☺️

Thank you for giving us the conclusion right out the gate. I appreciate the respect you show for your audience's time and intelligence. A noble sacrifice (since it probably reduces total watch time), thank you.

I have the tab S7 and the surface Go 3 core i3. The tab S7 with the keyboard and dex is a phenomenal productivity machine, it doesn't get hot it runs very smoothly, but it is so limited by the tablet interface. The problem with Samsung and apples IPad is that the Microsoft apps are basically unusable, one note is bare bones and featureless, excel doest have near the features as the desktop, microsoft word doesn't even have a references tab. The apps microsoft are almost unusable on tablets. The surface Go 3 on the other hand, runs full fledged Windows 11. You can download full softwares and desktop applications, you get the full microsoft desktop apps with all of the features, you get xbox game pass, the only downside I've experienced is the device gets HOT because there is no fan. The surface go 3 with the core i3 runs like a beast and in my opinion is far superior to any tablet. My S7 is now primarily used for media consumption and coaching

Amazing video! Love the initial soundtrack

It's good you stated right up front that this is a test of the base model specifically so people can see it in action and decide if it's worth it for the price. Of course double the ram and a beefier processor will make for a better experience- but it's important for many people to know if the base model is feasible or, in this case, if they can just drop it from the list of possible devices. I think the bigger takeaway here is that the Slim Pen upgrade doesn't "fix" the drawing situation. It's not a power issue- it's base compatibility. Further proof will keep people from dropping money on an ultimately useless upgrade.

I just ended up getting a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+, which is a shame because I really wanted to use my Clip Studio license on the go and/ or edit photos, sculpt in Zbrush etc... But some of those are demanding and 4GB of RAM is a slap in the left booty cheek. I like the tablet, but I really hope Windows tablets get better with price and its respective components, because it's a great form factor, but currently the pricing on the components don't give it a good value.

Bottom line: if you gonna pick a Surface, Go for the Pro :D

i love your reviews! and your art is so good :D

I would really like to see a review for the i3 model from you. I know that the surface pro is better, but nothing beats the portability of the surface go. Thanks!

Super helpful, cleared the confusion. Thanks!

Pretty amazing that it's on its third iteration, and is still only useful as a picture frame or mp3 player. Nice kickstand, though.

Concepts is one of my favorite apps! The pen is unreal in that app for note taking and sketching.

love you for your honest opinions

Thanks for another great review Brad! I agree that for art and illustration there are much better android tablet options.

It's a good thing I'm not a good artist. I would primarily use the Go for reading, notetaking, and connecting to my main computer for my more intensive tasks. I'm also skeptical about taking it out of S Mode because I would primarily only use Office on the Go. That's just me, though.

Will you do one review for the highest version? It'd be great, please!

I was waiting for this kind of review since the product was released, and I think that I'm going to stick with the iPad for illustration.

It's very telling that in order to properly redraw a fan's work in your own style (i.e deliver a finished, presentable product within your line of work), you had to resort to an entirely different device just to get it done.

Good review 👍 Glad I got my M1 11”

Thank you for reviewing the base model!! I wish more reviewers did this to point out how terrible most base models, and how a lot of the time they're just marketing to make it seem more inexpensive

I dunno, Brad. If the engineers “never intended it to be run that way”, they wouldn’t have made it possible to do so. Think you did fine.

Now, my Slim Pen 2 I got for my new SP8 worked on my Surface Go 1... So I would think it should work on the 3 as well... However, the Go 1 isn't even able to like render the Windows 11 UI smoothly, so if it can at least run smoothly, that already is a giant improvement.

Really want to know how good or bad the i3 model is

I got the i3 8GB 128GB model. Yes, it feels laggy and the touch is hit or miss. I often hit a icon several times. Espeially on the bottom edges of the screen the touch just doesn't register. Microsoft as usual. I would have been shocked if it worked well. My 4th Surface tablet. I have lost hope.

I actually have the Go3 with the pentium and 8gigs of ram and it performs DRASTICALLY better than the one he picked up. Its still not near the speed pf the pro 8 or x but for basic school, I find it performs quite well for the price. I don't do any drawing but taking notes, doing homework and watching videos is very nice. 4gigs of ram is not near enough for any computer by todays standards.

I really dont get why they dont include the keyboard. They are 100% aware that you cant use a windows machine without one

When Apple gets recommended as a *better value* alternative... ouch.

Is this a no buy, or a no buy for a professional? Would it be suitable for a begginger level drawing tablet / computer or can anyone recommend something within the same price range for me? Any advice would help

Not sure if you are planning on it, but will you be doing a review of the new macbook pro 14 with the M1Pro? I recently got a macbook pro Intel right before they announced the M1 and was super bummed out but now I am happy that the new models have the HMDI and SD reader. Just wanted to know how well the apps work for artists. The tech channels all they talk about is bench marks but I want to know how well art programs run on it. Thanks Brad!

Yes, I agree with your comments, because I use it.

What's the best surface for art and illustration?

Can you recommend a good alternative for a $500 price point?

Woof, that refresh rate flicker is something else

honestly I think considering price with the pen and keyboard you are kinda better off just buying a budget 2 in 1 with pen with more powerful hardware

Can you noise cancel the white noize in the audio? When listening on headphones it's a little desrupting

please review new sketchbook ... should i buy it? and what's new

Concepts is also available in iPad for any who is interested!

The whole point of the Go3 is the light form factor of a tablet. This review only proves the base model is a definite no go! The real review would be the i3 and 8GB.

But, the iPad mini has a higher retail starting price than the Surface Go. I'm confused because you said it was much less.

You know it's bad when Brad goes to flick the tablet off when he thinks the camera is OFF!

Please do performance review on Surface Pro/Go on Windows 10 vs 11 . Thank you

imagine if apple make surface style macbook or make ipad able to run mac os apps.. that'd be perfect device for artist

Thanks for review. At least I had even been considering Go 3 before watching. Remember I should've watched your Go 1 / 2 review and passed them.

Hmmm was windows running updates in the background. I have notice new machines doing intense updates in the background causing serious slow down

Hey nice review. But I have read there is heating issue in some versions of SG2 and SG3. Would you pls specify about it? I am planning to buy either SG2 (Refurbished) or SG3 (New) for basic use like word/excel/you tube viewing as a secondary option but don’t want a roaster. Which version should I opt for basic use? 4GB/64 or 8GB/128? M3 or Pentium? Will appreciate your input. Thanks..

Sticking with my Tab S6 Lite for the tab.

When are you getting the duo 2?

Muchas gracias por tu reseña completa. Me acabas de ahorrar mucho dinero

I would absolutely love a device this size with premium hardware I would gladly pay for it please just guide it to us

Hey Brad, I love your stuff. Will you perhaps review the surface go 4, apparently it got a considerable spec bump (about 80% more according to microsoft). I have an ipad that's great for drawing but if the surface go 4 is decent I might get away with one device for everything!

Oh this is beautiful and great

The "peace sign" means something else where I'm from

Can you do a video to see if the best iPad is better then the best computer/surface meaning is a computer like the surface pro better then the iPad Pro? Because I want to use procreate and I don’t know what to use, either the best iPad (iPad Pro) or computer (surface pro)?

Noche Review Brad. I think you must review the ROG Flow X13.

How mutch nits is the go 2, some say 480, some say 430, others say 400, i want to know how mutch brighter the go 2 is compared to the go 3

You really saved me a ton! I was almost convinced to buy the Go3 and this video helped me see that it wouldn't be a good fit for me.

brad. can i use new suface slim pen on the surface pro 7?

I have been looking for a digital sketchbook for years, starting with a Toshiba M200 in the mid 2000s, even todays tablets and software don't quite cut it for me.....If I am working digitally, I want to output very high res images so they can be printed for Art Exhibitions. I always find myself going back to real graphite and paint and then just scanning the artwork. Maybe when quantum computers are mainstream I might have a digital sketchbook that's worth using. :)

So Xiaomi Pad 5 is a better choice?

Thank you. I was thinking about getting this for my wife for Christmas. Turns out it would have been a disaster. You saved Christmas (no kidding)

I have a Surface Go 3 and i have a problem with Adobe Fresco - when I am drawing with oil, it's EXTREMELY laggy

If i only want to... see multimedia, conect to others PC, use office 365, play videogame with xcloud and with my xbox series x and something more... its okay, for me?

Thank you, Brad for this viable info and review of how the Surface Go 3 is not great for art and general compute stuff. I have a base 6th gen. iPad with Apple Pencil that I bought new in 2018 or around $32.9 for the iPad and $100. for the Apple Pencil (if I remember correctly). I am a hobby artist and don't need top of the line digital art equipment. That being said my 6th gen. iPad is way better at drawing as compared to the Surface Go 3.

I just bought one because they only had the 4gb model in the store. It's a shame that something like that exists for most people, but I want to put a different OS on it too

will you review the new xp pen 12 ?

In this day and age, RAM is not expensive enough to need to charge a premium for 8gb. It should be the base amount on any windows device. All of my windows devices use over 4gb at idle…

I'd recommend either an ipad or a used surface go 1 (it's very easy to get a 8 gb ram one with stylus and keyboard for 400 dollars) or surface pro 5 which has a better processor and you could get one with a keyboard and stylus for like 650 dollars

is WSL2 running in windows s mode?

I have a 8gb go3 and its really good

I was gifted a surface go randomly last year and cleaned it up, bought the keyboard and pen and was wondering if it's worth to trade the surface go only in best buy for the surface go 3 so my total will be around 289 and the keyboard and pen I have works on it correct? Wondering if it's worth it or not I'm using it for notes currently and some research

Microsoft just put a i5 in the Surface Go and I would buy in a heartbeat!! Surface Go 3 should have base level Surface Pro 8 specs at minimum. I'm going to have to get Surface Pro 8 to get some decent performance but I would much rather the Surface Go 3 form factor.

Brad!!!!! Please! Please! Please!!! Can you make a video review of the Lenovo P11? The price is soo good 425,53, and the package includes a keyboard and a pencil, I know it's not a great deal but maybe a great option for those who do have not too much money. I know is not an Ipad, but in some special dates here in Colombia even drop the price for the combo to 355,45 soo :) let me know what do you think!

Thank you

Trying in 2021 to run creative apps under Win10 is a true achievement. How about you test the i3, 8Gb please?

Great review. I almost feel you should call out in the title of this video that this is the lowest spec b/c the that and the higher spec version are basically two different products (useable vs not-useable). Not sure if MSFT should even bother selling this lower end version w/ much stronger mobile OS offerings out there.

My surface go 3 is great! Commented on my surface go 3 btw your right about the surface go 3 being to slow

Is the charging cord bulky? That's one thing that i don't like about Microsoft products -- they can't seem to make light weight chargers for travel

If it's the same as the Go 2, the higher spec version runs much better than the Pentium Gold. It's like 2 or 3 times better. It's always difficult to review the Surface Go, as the performance disparity between the base configuration and higher end one is night and day. Not just the processor, but also the RAM (Windows already used a lot of RAM, so 4GB won't last long before it used pagefile) and even differences between slower eMMC and a proper SSD. Still, yeah, the pen isn't that good. There's Surface Pen alternative that works better though, like the Renneiser 520. Also when you get the higher end version, it isn't that far off from Surface Pro line pricing-wise, so you had to like the form factor to choose the Go over the Pro.

9:50 if accuraccy is the problem drawing on this device you should try paint tool sai. Pls include this on your next review too on surface go 4 in the future.😊

I have to admit, these reviews are definitely less relevant for me since I'd be buying a Go for the light form factor, not for the budget, so I'd definitely be getting the more powerful configuration - which is the one I need to know whether is painful to use. Oh well, you gotta pick your target audience carefully I suppose.

Basically Microsoft needs to offer the same specs in the Go that they offer in the Pro, just in the smaller screen. I would love to migrate to the Surface Pro when my iPad slows down because it is a tablet that runs a full blown OS, but I love the small size. If the Surface Pro came in a 10-11” I would get it without a second thought because it would be the perfect size for any purse, rather than having to pull out a larger bag because my tablet is the size of a computer.

Why do these companies act like it should cost more for 8gb of ram 💀 what does it cost them? 4gb is outdated for like....a decade now 8 should be mandatory

So, the 8 gb ram would be a better option? I mean, for a non artistic use

I think surface go 3 feels like base model for kids or emergency computer you need to do learning in home for zoom (anything you need to learn some Microsoft apps to run basic essential things) it feels like its for trying surface model in affordable price for beginning than save money to upgrade to pro models

Ay mate can you test flipa clip on the me pad 5 just test the line quality plz could be a RU-vid short

oh god thanks for this i cant stand slow opens for basic stuff!

Please try out there Lenovo Tab 12 Pro Android tablet

Can you please Review i3 version? 🥺

If they release the new surface go 4 can you include paint tool sai in your review., there are other artist review shows that it works well. Thanks

Anyone else think the markup for 8 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD is absurd? Comparing this with the base model iPad for a moment, that device comes with all the RAM you need in the base model for $70 cheaper than the Surface Go, with the same amount of storage, but faster. If you need more storage, that model has double the storage of the upgraded Surface Go, also for $70 less. On second thought, Apple’s lack of a 128 GB offering makes the iPad almost as offensive. But you can get a 7th or 8th Gen iPad from some sellers with 128 GB for $429 or less, hopefully $379 or less at this point, given that’s where the 128 GB 9th Gen would slot in. And the major advantage to using a Surface Go is that it’s a full PC, so I disagree with people who say it’s not fair to take it out of S mode, but I think your half-and-half review is a good balance.

I think the performance would be at least acceptable with the 8gb model

Thanks

Sometimes I wonder why does the surface go even exists, given the performance limitations. There are tons of Chinese tablets running full windows that perform similarly and cost so much lesser.

this is why i love my ipad.....and im a windows user

Funny is I have none of these problems with Surface Go 2 (the m3 version).

Hican you run zbrush