Given the substantial reduction in chassis thickness, I suspect the Y-series parts may have been a better fit for the design to begin with. Even using the same workload, the Y-series parts weigh in with a lower TDP than the more typically used U-series parts (11.5W vs. The Y at the end of the part number implies a Haswell ULx SKU, the only Haswell type to ship with a SDP as well as a TDP rating. Interestingly enough, the CPU doesn't actually save Microsoft any money. To hit the $799 price point Microsoft went to a 64GB M.2 SATA SSD.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Configuration Options For a quick refresher, this is what the Surface Pro 3 lineup looks like: Battery life testing alone will take a few days, but I wanted to share some of my initial performance data since there is a pretty substantial difference between the Core i3 and i5 models. We just got our hands on the $799 entry level Core i3 configuration and are in the midst of a full review of the device. Until next month the Core i5 models are the only ones available, however starting on August 1st you'll be able to purchase cheaper Surface Pro 3s with a Core i3-4020Y or more expensive versions with a Core i7-4650U. In our review we were sampled one of the launch versions of the tablet, a $1299 configuration featuring Intel's Core i5-4300U. Surface Pro 3 starts at just $799 and can be configured at up to $1949. While the original Surface Pro launched at $899 and $999, the second version offered increased storage options that drove the max price up to $1799. The device's price range extends both lower and higher than any prior iteration. Unlike previous generations however, Microsoft delivered multiple CPU/GPU options with Surface Pro 3. If you've ever been tempted by the Surface Pro story, the latest model was bound to push you over the edge. From a hardware standpoint, Surface Pro 3 is the chassis design that Microsoft needed from the very start.

Earlier this Summer Microsoft released Surface Pro 3, a fully equipped Haswell ULT based tablet in a chassis that was much more in line with what you'd expect from a tablet.

Pro surface 3