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Popular breakdown site iFixit have panned the Microsoft Surface Pro a horrific 1 out of 10 score for ‘repairability'.
The Surface Pro is the first product ever tested by the publication to receive the lowest repairability score and has joined the 2011 MacBook Pro with Retina display from Apple as the only products reviewed by the teardown site to score so poorly.
On a more positive note, iFixit said the Surface Pro has the ‘Cadillac of batteries' inside.
Sadly, more negative points are raising during the teardown. They said that there was a ton of ‘tar like glue' anchoring down the display assembly. They said it was “the most adhesive we've ever seen on a small device.” It took them ‘well over an hour to figure out how to get inside' the Surface Pro. Clearly it hasn't been designed with repairs and easy access in mind.
The publication recorded a staggering 90 screws holding the tablet together with glue holding the battery to the case.
The battery proved a talking point. “Microsoft spared no expense when it came to keeping the Surface Pro going. They sourced the Cadillac of batteries from LG: an Escalade 42 Wh unit.” While the iPad 4 has a 43 Wh battery, it's rated for 3.7 V, the site noted. The Surface Pro battery's ratings come in at 7.4 V and 5676 mAh.
Microsoft needed a powerful battery inside the Surface Pro as they are using Intel processors in this range. Intel processors consume a lot more power than ARM models inside the Surface RT. Battery life is sadly only rated to around 5 hours, so while it is a hefty model, it drains quickly.
iFixit also noted that the Surface Pro had two small fans close to the chips, meaning it also needs a high level of airflow to remain stable.
iFixit documented the following hardware inside:
- Intel Mobile HM77 Express Chipset
- Intel Core i5-3317U Processor
- 8x Micron 2LEI2 D9PXV 4 Gb RAM for a total of 4GB RAM
- Marvell Avastar 88W8797 Wireless/Bluetooth/FM Radio Controller
- 3x Atmel MXT154E Touchscreen Controllers
- 2x Winbond 25X05CL Serial Flash
- Winbond 25Q64FV Serial Flash
- Integrated Technology Express IT8519G
- Atmel UC256l3U 256KB Flash, 32-bit AVR Microcontroller
- ON NCP6132A 3 Phase Controller
- Atmel MXT1386E Touchscreen Controller
The 64GB Micron RealSSD C400 inside is rated at 500 MB/s read and 95 MB/s write.
See more over here.
Kitguru says: A high performance machine with a powerful battery. Any need for all the glue however?
