by Anand Lal Shimpi on 2/13/2013 11:04 AM EST
Posted in Tablets , Microsoft , Surface , Storage , SSDs
Posted in Tablets , Microsoft , Surface , Storage , SSDs
After we published our Surface Pro review I went back and updated it to confirm that the SSD inside was indeed of the mSATA variety. My particular review sample used a Micron C400 mSATA SSD, similar to what I reviewed here a while back. Today, the patient folks at iFixit tore their Surface Pro apart and offered visual confirmation: the Surface Pro SSD is mSATA and technically, if you can get inside the system, it can be upgraded.
While I applaud Microsoft for sticking with an industry standard SSD interface and not something proprietary, iFixit discovered that getting into Surface Pro isn't all that easy. While Surface RT was built from three discrete pieces of VaporMg (kickstand, frame and back panel), Surface Pro only has two (kickstand and the frame with integrated back). The downside to this simplification is that the only way into Surface Pro is to soften the adhesive that holds the display stack in place and pry it out. This tends to be a potentially destructive way of getting into a device, so if you're planning on buying a 64GB Surface Pro and upgrading to a larger SSD yourself you might want to keep this in mind.
If you're still undeterred, it looks like you should be able to at least physically swap the Surface Pro SSD with something bigger. There's a whole other discussion about compatibility - I'm not sure what has been tested and validated with Surface Pro, but from a physical standpoint the SSD is upgradeable.
Source: iFixit
11 Comments
Answering the questions we have. by eanazag on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Yeah, no doubt this question went through my mind. Can I buy the 64GB model and upgrade it to something faster and sensible? Which is what Microsoft should have done to begin with. I really don't get the 64GB model at all. It only made sense if the mSATA was easily accessible. If it was, that model would have sold out and 64GB mSATAs would be all over Ebay today.
eanazag
Reply
Well by Death666Angel on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
I kinda expected it. But it's still sad. They could have gone another route (Samsung Ativ Pro is upgradeable without heat gun), as is the RT. Oh well, I'm not gonna buy it anyway, so no loss for me. :D
Poor engineering? by UpSpin on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Compare the PCB of the Surface Pro with the PCB used in the MacBook Air or other Ultrabooks using similar hardware.
What you'll notice:
The PCB in the Surface Pro is huge, has lots of unused space (more than 50%, just take a look at the back of the PCB).
The parts on the Surface Pro PCB are nicely divided and spread across the whole area, but it rather looks like a prototyping platform than a finished product. The PCB could have been easily 1/3 of the current size (see other Ultrabook PCBs), allowing a slimmer casing or larger battery. With a PCB in the size of the Macbook Air and the same casing they also should have had enough space to make the battery user replaceable, made the memory user replaceable and accessible from the bottom, together with the SSD.
Based on this teardown the Surface Pro looks like a rushed out half baked product which could have been much more user friendly and probably much thinner than the current product is.
What you'll notice:
The PCB in the Surface Pro is huge, has lots of unused space (more than 50%, just take a look at the back of the PCB).
The parts on the Surface Pro PCB are nicely divided and spread across the whole area, but it rather looks like a prototyping platform than a finished product. The PCB could have been easily 1/3 of the current size (see other Ultrabook PCBs), allowing a slimmer casing or larger battery. With a PCB in the size of the Macbook Air and the same casing they also should have had enough space to make the battery user replaceable, made the memory user replaceable and accessible from the bottom, together with the SSD.
Based on this teardown the Surface Pro looks like a rushed out half baked product which could have been much more user friendly and probably much thinner than the current product is.
RE: Poor engineering? by nerd1 on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/getfile/24941/
http://i.imgur.com/XksmK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hsLNo.jpg
Compare it to the internal of samsung slate 7 (older gen Ativ smart PC Pro)
http://i.imgur.com/XksmK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hsLNo.jpg
Compare it to the internal of samsung slate 7 (older gen Ativ smart PC Pro)
RE: Poor engineering? by Taristin on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
That "wasted space" is more than likely the wacom digitizer.
RE: Poor engineering? by Taristin on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
I take that back. Closer inspection shows I was wrong.
re: Room for growth for the Surface Pro by garygech on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
No use to be critical of an initial design. There are valid reasons for separating various areas logically.
(1) First of his heat. Separating the various areas where lead to less long term failure. Most PCB failures occur after about 3 years of steady use. This is a device without a lot of cooling.
(2) Microsoft will benefit from Intel die shrinks
(3) There will be improvemens in SSD over the next year
(4) The software will become more efficient and streamlined over time, (I.E. Windows 8.1 or Windows 9)
Microsoft delivered the device, 2 years late, better than promised. They took a high level of risk and are looking for integration of the X-box, Cell Phone, Laptop, Desktop, and Tablet design all in one package. They are not going to get their over night. But this is a superior product to the RT and to the previous Zune.
A Surface Pro a year from now that is 30% faster, 15% more efficient, 20% thinner, with options on screen form factors, improved wireless, and a operating system that is more refined will be a fairly good seller and good rejuvinate this market.
(1) First of his heat. Separating the various areas where lead to less long term failure. Most PCB failures occur after about 3 years of steady use. This is a device without a lot of cooling.
(2) Microsoft will benefit from Intel die shrinks
(3) There will be improvemens in SSD over the next year
(4) The software will become more efficient and streamlined over time, (I.E. Windows 8.1 or Windows 9)
Microsoft delivered the device, 2 years late, better than promised. They took a high level of risk and are looking for integration of the X-box, Cell Phone, Laptop, Desktop, and Tablet design all in one package. They are not going to get their over night. But this is a superior product to the RT and to the previous Zune.
A Surface Pro a year from now that is 30% faster, 15% more efficient, 20% thinner, with options on screen form factors, improved wireless, and a operating system that is more refined will be a fairly good seller and good rejuvinate this market.
RE: re: Room for growth for the Surface Pro by UpSpin on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
What exactly do you want to say? The next version will always be better. That's progress and happens everywhere. But you can only buy the device which gets sold now and not which gets sold in one year. In one year the other technologies have improved, too, so in one year you'll compare the next version with other newer devices and not with one year old ones.
So don't dream how it might be superior in one year, because it will for sure, just as the competition.
1.) This is a device with a lot of cooling. I hope you can see the two active fans, two heat pipes and two cooper coolers?
2) Just as everyone else. But how is this and the following 'reasons' related to 'valid reasons for separating various areas logically'
3) Yes, but how is this related to the current product which definitely can't get upgraded with a higher capacity SSD without causing any damage to the tablet?
4) Ok? What's your point? If I buy the device now, I get Windows 8. I'm a tablet PC owner, and from Windows XP to Windows Vista a lot of things got improved in the tablet area. From Windows 7 to Windows 8, I barely see any improvements except Metro which does add nothing to the area in which the Surface Pro will get used (non Metro apps, usual programs (Adobe, Office)). With a service pack they won't add any new features. The time of Win 9 release is unknown.
The Surface Pro is nothing new and not an 'initial design'. Windows x86 slates with pen input aren't anything new. See Motion Computing, Fujitsu Stylistic, Samsung Slate 7 and many others. They exist since Windows XP.
Yes, Surface Pro it's superior to the RT regarding performance. Regarding portability, noise and price it's worse.
A year from now, you might be able to do with an ARM tablet the things you do on a x86 tablet. A year from now the alternatives may be 100% faster, 100% more efficient, 100% thinner. A year from now anything can happen.
So don't dream how it might be superior in one year, because it will for sure, just as the competition.
1.) This is a device with a lot of cooling. I hope you can see the two active fans, two heat pipes and two cooper coolers?
2) Just as everyone else. But how is this and the following 'reasons' related to 'valid reasons for separating various areas logically'
3) Yes, but how is this related to the current product which definitely can't get upgraded with a higher capacity SSD without causing any damage to the tablet?
4) Ok? What's your point? If I buy the device now, I get Windows 8. I'm a tablet PC owner, and from Windows XP to Windows Vista a lot of things got improved in the tablet area. From Windows 7 to Windows 8, I barely see any improvements except Metro which does add nothing to the area in which the Surface Pro will get used (non Metro apps, usual programs (Adobe, Office)). With a service pack they won't add any new features. The time of Win 9 release is unknown.
The Surface Pro is nothing new and not an 'initial design'. Windows x86 slates with pen input aren't anything new. See Motion Computing, Fujitsu Stylistic, Samsung Slate 7 and many others. They exist since Windows XP.
Yes, Surface Pro it's superior to the RT regarding performance. Regarding portability, noise and price it's worse.
A year from now, you might be able to do with an ARM tablet the things you do on a x86 tablet. A year from now the alternatives may be 100% faster, 100% more efficient, 100% thinner. A year from now anything can happen.
Why can't they make phones and tablets come apart with a little invention called a SCREW! What the HELL is what I always say. I would hands down rather buy a device I can unscrew and replace broke parts or upgrade. I do not get these stupid companies that deny us from fixing and upgrading our products. They are all damn greedy and I hate all of them. The first comepany that does it right will win my cash and loyalty. Wake up companies!!!!
If you looked through the iFixit article... there's actually a lot of screws! Unfortunately none of which is used to attach the display instead of using the tar
"There are over 90 screws inside this device. We're proponents of mechanical fasteners, but this number is a tad crazy."
"There are over 90 screws inside this device. We're proponents of mechanical fasteners, but this number is a tad crazy."
Follow AnandTech
Latest from AnandTech
AMD Reiterates 2013 GPU Plans: Sea Islands & Beyond
Logitech Announces Enterprise Focused Webcam
Tegra 4 Shipment Date: Still Q2 2013
Nexus 4 JDQ39 4.2.2 OTA Update Removes Unofficial LTE on Band 4
Apple Cuts Pricing on MacBook Pro with Retina Display and SSD Upgrades
Microsoft Surface Pro Teardown: mSATA SSD Inside
Times are Changing: Intel Building an IPTV Service + Box
Broadcom Announces BCM21892 - Their First 4G LTE-Advanced Baseband
CyberPowerPC FangBook X7: An Alternative to Clevo Whitebooks
NVIDIA's New F2P Bundle: The First Hit Is Free
Samsung Laptop UEFI Bugs: Not Just for Linux
HP Chromebook Confirmed: Available Now For $329
Samsung Introduces REX Smart Feature Phone Line
Facebook Defeats German Watchdog Group in "Fake Names" Case
SoShare Beta Offers 1 TB File Transfers Via BitTorrent Browser Plugin
New Kind of Computer "Never Crashes"
Meteor Explodes Above Russian Urals, Leaves Nearly 1,000 Injured
FDA Approves First Retinal Prosthesis for the Blind
NYT Reporter Responds to Tesla's Accusations About Model S Article
Quick Note: U.S. Pricing, Availability for HTC One Revealed
Dell CEO Reduces Value of Shares in Hopes of Company Going Private
200 Mbps UK 5G Trial Looks to Scrap Air Traffic Radar for "Retro" System
Valve Fires Roughly 8 Percent of Its Employees
NYC Mayor Bloomberg Wants 20 Percent of All New Parking to be EV-Only
Update: Adobe CEO Dodges Questions on Overpricing in Australia
Checkmate: Tesla's Elon Musk Provides Driving Logs from NYT's "Peculiar" Model S Trip
Quick Note: Former BlackBerry CEO Sells Entire Stake in the Company
IOS 6.1 Bug Allows Anyone to Bypass Lockscreen to Access Contacts, Voicemail, Photos
Chrysler Takes the Plunge, Will Offer V6 Turbodiesel in Ram 1500 This Year
RT @anandtech: AMD Reiterates 2013 GPU Plans: Sea Islands & Beyond http://t.co/yjMMFM7d
@AcheronViper but it's not Merrifield :)
@AcheronViper I think it's a bit too early for Merrifield, there seems to be confusion about what's being used in that Lenovo phone.
@AcheronViper indeed!
That being said, looking forward to MWC as always. It's really become one of my favorite shows.
@anshelsag it must be post CES burnout, I can't imagine having to manage the exhibitor side of both shows back to back
I have to say that MWC meetings feel a lot like projects in college, everyone clearly waits until right before the show to schedule them
I don't normally like posting things that are only relevant to other press, so please forgive the next tweet
@dveneski you're too kind as always :)
@BrianHinckley @vivg91 you have no idea how happy this would make @nerdtalker
Copyright © 1997-2013 AnandTech, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms, Conditions and Privacy Information.
Click Here for Advertising Information
