Rhino on Core i5 Surface Pro? Anyone?

Rhino Windows Hardware
1

I need to replace my 7 year old i7 Surface pro 4. That machine could run all my software and push my two 30" monitors. I was wondering if anyone is running Rhino 7 on a Surface with an i5? This will be
for traveling and maybe doing small bits of work off site. I have a separate work rig and I’d only use this sporadically for work, but I would want it to be capable of running Rhino and AutoCAD LT.

2

A new i5 is faster than an older i7, especially with the 10th Generation of Intel processors and newer. I’m not sure what generation you are getting but it should be good enough. Your biggest issue is the integrated GPU. But it should work for a light task.

3

Thanks. I was wondering about improvements over the years. My Pro 4 was 6th gen. New Pro 8s are 11th gen.

4

It is mostly in the instructions per clock. So it can run more computations at the same frequency.

5

The bigger concern is didn’t the old ones have a discrete GPU?

I do have a surface pro 8 that I rarely use for rhino and does “work” but the Intel graphics are below spec so no one can officially say it’s okay.

6

Is there an alternative to windows surfaces?
I want to have something to mainly read pdf and implement some basic algorithms in gh or maybe do a simple rhino modelling with very few parts.

7

I have a Surface laptop from a generation ago. The screen and build quality are great. Compared to the next two I bought (Lenovo is the current and I think the other was an HP) it really stood out for not giving eyestrain.

If you find an alternative you’re interested in, take one last demo view of the latest Surfaces in your local electronics store to compare.

1 Like
8

According to YouTube Dell and Lenovo all have “better Surfaces than the Surface,” but whether any of them have discrete video is another matter. I mean, I have used my Surface for some basic modeling, but no one can officially tell you it’ll work okay. I’ve also used it for Parsec streaming from my desktop.

1 Like
9

Thank you both for your answers. I’ll try to see them at a store to get an idea.
Normally I liked to buy Lenovo, but the one they gave me at work is not nice at all, so maybe try a surface…

10

I’m using 12th Gen i5 Intel laptop at work and I can say that I’m mindblown with the performance leap compared to older generations

1 Like
11

Hi,

maybe this redundant information. In Rhino, “single-core” performance is the criteria to look at CPU benchmarks. I would always try to get a CPU, which is quite balanced regarding performance, energy consumption and price (if this matters). See various benchmarking websites. A newer CPU may also come with more instruction sets, better caching etc. This might not be something to look at for a new buy, but if look for older CPU’s or you plan to hold this CPU a couple of years, it is worth a consideration.
On laptops, it also makes sense to look at thermals. You can indeed have too much performance if the Laptop is badly thermal managed. It will create lots of noise, and also drains performance if being overheated.

1 Like