Arka Offline Upload & Sell: On
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I used a Surface Pro 2 256GB i5 for a time, and was fairly pleased with it. Unfortunately, as an imaging machine, the pen/tablet concept is one that is not all that well executed on the Surface. The pen feels like an afterthought, and this is even more true since Surface moved to the nTrig tech (SP1 and 2 were Wacom, which are better digitizers). Also, the out-of-box experience on the Surface (at least for pen functionality) was sub-par. I had to figure out what drivers to download to enable pen pressure in Photoshop and Painter, and when I installed them, they didn't work until I uninstalled and reinstalled them three times. Given that MS controls the hardware and software for the Surface, I would have expected better out-of-box functionality from their flagship computer product.
I have since sold the Surface and moved to the Cintiq Companion 2, which is a far better content creation device. Among the reasons are;
1. Superior pen input, with 2048 levels of pressure and tilt sensitivity that works right out of the box;
2. More powerful CPUs and GPUs (I use the Broadwell 3.4GHz with 16GB RAM and Iris 6100 graphics, which is stupid fast for a computer that weighs less than 4lbs)
3. The programmable hotkeys and floating menus virtually eliminate the need for a keyboard when drawing or processing photos;
4. The screen is larger and higher resolution;
5. I can plug it into another computer and use it as a pen display;
6. I can toggle touch on and off with the touch of a single button.
My only issue with the Companion is that it runs Windows (I would much prefer MacOS, as both my Companion and Surface Pro ran into Windows-specific issues that I've never experienced on my Macs, including hangups during the installation of Windows updates, random driver crashes, and the persistence of the virtual keyboard (on the Surface) even while the type cover was connected. But if you want a decent tablet with strong drawing functionality, Windows is it. And I think the Cintiq Companion 2 is the best product money can buy if visual content creation is your primary goal (though you'll need a lot of money and patience, as the Companion isn't cheap or readily available).
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