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Surface Pro 3- i5 vs i7 for virtual machines?

Tags:
  • Linux Mint
  • Intel i7
  • Surface
  • Intel i5
Last response: in Laptop General Discussion
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September 30, 2014 10:07:03 PM

I am thinking of getting a Surface Pro 3. Considering support for Linux (particularly Ubunut/Linux Mint) is not perfect yet particularly with keyboard support, I figured I can buy a Surface Pro 3 with very high specs (i5/i7 with 8GB of RAM) and run Linux as a virtual machine.

I primarily want to run Ubuntu or Linux Mint as a virtual machine and of course have Windows 8.1 as the host (the native OS for the Surface Pro 3). Should I get an i5 or i7 configuration if virtual machines are my main concern? I use VirtualBox currently for my VMs.

More about : surface pro virtual machines

September 30, 2014 10:36:52 PM

The i7 is going to offer more logical cores and possibly better virtualization support, I'm not 100% on that last one because I forget which processors do and don't have all the Intel doodads turned on.
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September 30, 2014 10:36:53 PM

This question grabbed my attention as I have just done exactly what you're describing on my Surface Pro 3. I ended up with the i5 8GB/256GB model. Used VirtualBox to boot to a Mythbuntu (based on Ubuntu 14.04). It works amazingly well. I was a bit stunned to find that enabling the 3D Acceleration in VirtualBox even exposed the OpenGL options in MythTV to enable hardware accelerated video playback. The virtual machine is handling 1080p blueray rips at the native SurfacePro resolution with hardly a dropped frame.

You definitely want the 8GB model as a minimum. I wouldn't be trying to run VMs of 4GB RAM. In terms of the i7 model, with the options 512GB SSD, it really depends on what you'll be doing with the virtual machine and whether you need the extra performance or storage. If it's just for basic tasks, the i5 is plenty IMHO. You can always add a quality USB3 pen drive, external HDD or SSD if you need extra space, which would be waaaaay cheaper than the massive markup MS adds for the 512GB model.

Hope these experiences and suggestions/thoughts are helpful.
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September 30, 2014 10:50:28 PM

rhysiam said:
This question grabbed my attention as I have just done exactly what you're describing on my Surface Pro 3. I ended up with the i5 8GB/256GB model. Used VirtualBox to boot to a Mythbuntu (based on Ubuntu 14.04). It works amazingly well. I was a bit stunned to find that enabling the 3D Acceleration in VirtualBox even exposed the OpenGL options in MythTV to enable hardware accelerated video playback. The virtual machine is handling 1080p blueray rips at the native SurfacePro resolution with hardly a dropped frame.

You definitely want the 8GB model as a minimum. I wouldn't be trying to run VMs of 4GB RAM. In terms of the i7 model, with the options 512GB SSD, it really depends on what you'll be doing with the virtual machine and whether you need the extra performance or storage. If it's just for basic tasks, the i5 is plenty IMHO. You can always add a quality USB3 pen drive, external HDD or SSD if you need extra space, which would be waaaaay cheaper than the massive markup MS adds for the 512GB model.

Hope these experiences and suggestions/thoughts are helpful.


That is damned impressive. I was kind of hoping the i5 would be enough. The heaviest task I would ever consider throwing at Ubuntu much less a VM of Ubuntu is multimedia conversion. I was look at that exact same model. I'm an enterprise developer and not an extreme gamer or someone running more than one VM at once (I may do two if I'm messing around with security and white hat hacking). This is very helpful, thanks!
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September 30, 2014 10:59:41 PM

Glad it could help.

Media conversion would definitely go faster with an i7 over an i5, but it will work fine with either. Depends whether it's worth it to you to pay the extra $$s to have an encode finish a little faster.

Make sure you install the guest additions on the VM, as that does make a difference. I also found I needed to reprogram a few of the shortcut keys as VirtualBox has many of these linked to RightCTRL, which the Surface Pro keyboard doesn't have. I should also say that I've only used it with the keyboard attached (Type cover), I suspect it would be a nightmare trying to use the onscreen keyboard with a windowed virtual machine. Otherwise, it all worked seamlessly for me.

Good luck.
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September 30, 2014 11:04:42 PM

rhysiam said:
Glad it could help.

Media conversion would definitely go faster with an i7 over an i5, but it will work fine with either. Depends whether it's worth it to you to pay the extra $$s to have an encode finish a little faster.

Make sure you install the guest additions on the VM, as that does make a difference. You'll also need to reprogram a few of the shortcut keys as VirtualBox has many of these linked to RightCTRL, which the Surface Pro keyboard doesn't have. I only done it with the keyboard attached (Type cover), I suspect it would be a nightmare trying to use the onscreen keyboard with a windowed virtual machine. Otherwise, it all worked seamlessly for me.

Good luck.


Of course! I have no intention of using Linux without the Type cover lol. And with multimedia conversion, I usually throw those tasks at an old desktop or laptop. But thank you this was extremely helpful and I'll head to the mall this weekend to pick one up.
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