Photo: Would it Work on a Surface Go 3?

[Ali]

Forgive the query, but I've looked at the tech specs for AP and for the new Surface Go 3 (minimum spec), and can't work out whether it would be powerful enough to run AP. I am doubtful because of the video card requirements, but just thought I'd ask here in case anyone already knows the answer.

[Ali]

Anyone?

[firstdefence]

A lot of the processing is done by the CPU, why not use the trial version to take Affinity Photo for a run on your surface, this is probably the best method to find if what you do with Affinity Photo will be ok for you.

https://store.serif.com/en-gb/checkout/?basket=71ca8f7aa62c8f35d9f602c4b4d7c33bbae11fa1ef71f784

[Ali]

Thanks for your response. Not sure I made myself clear, though!

I already have AP on my laptop. I am considering purchasing a Surface in addition, so was hoping that someone might be able to offer some insight before I do. If it helps, I'd only be using the Surface with AP for developing RAW files and/or basic retouching. The heavy duty work would be done later on my laptop.

The entry level Surface Go 3 has an Intel Pentium Gold G5600 processor.

 

 

[firstdefence]

Interesting post here: https://onetechtraveller.com/what-software-can-the-microsoft-surface-go-handle/ referencing Affinity software.

[Ali]

That's really helpful - thank you!

Looks like I might get away with the entry level Go 3 for what I want.

Thanks again for finding that for me - I hadn't stumbled across it.

[PaulEC]

23 hours ago, Ali said:

I am doubtful because of the video card requirements,

For what it's worth I looked up the specs for the Intel Pentium Gold G5600 processor and it seems to use an Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics card. I have an Acer desktop which uses the same graphics card and Affinity Photo works well with it. (I'm not too sure about this, but I assume video card and graphics card are the same thing in this context!)

[Ali]

This is also good to know. I'm beginning to feel that I can make a more informed decision now.

I used a Surface Pro at work before I retired (I was a teacher), and having also had iPads, resolved that at some point my tablet of choice would be a Surface (I prefer a Windows environment to an iOS one - personal preference). I don't want to shell out for the higher-powered models because this is very much a secondary device for me, one that I'll use when I'm out and about and for casual browsing, and occasionally when I go on a photo shoot. Photography is something I wanted to take up again once retired, and now I can.

Thank you both again for the useful insights.

[firstdefence]

18 minutes ago, Ali said:

That's really helpful - thank you!

Looks like I might get away with the entry level Go 3 for what I want.

Thanks again for finding that for me - I hadn't stumbled across it.

Happy to help 👍

[Ali]

Just as a postscript to this thread, I went ahead and purchased the entry level Surface Go 3 and have installed AP. I have yet to use it, but when I do, and if I have any issues, I will report back here.

Thanks again for the help and advice.

[emmrecs01]

@Ali

Completely OT but it's good to see another ex-Community Plus member here!

Jeff

[Ali]

@emmrecs01

Hi, Jeff - long time no 'see'.

[tifferella]

Can you please update whether Affinity worked well on the Go 3?

[Komatös]

5 hours ago, tifferella said:

Can you please update whether Affinity worked well on the Go 3?

Hi tifferella,

for photo editing, the Surface Go 3 is sufficient. However, astrophotography and photostacking will push the CPU to its limits.