Microsoft Surface Pro 12.3" Surface Pro 4 2015

That 8th percentile CPU score tells the real story: this is a slow computer by modern standards. But the 95th percentile compact score and 84th percentile display make it a compelling $200 tablet for light tasks. Skip it if you need any real horsepower, but for a secondary Windows machine with a gorgeous screen, it's hard to beat at this price.

Let's be real about that i5-6300U. It's a dual-core chip from a decade ago, and it shows. In our benchmarks, it's in the bottom 10% of all laptops we've tested. You can browse the web, run Office, and watch Netflix without much fuss, but anything more demanding will bring it to its knees. We're talking noticeable lag with more than a handful of Chrome tabs, and don't even think about video editing or heavy multitasking. The 8GB of RAM is soldered and non-upgradeable, so you're stuck with a setup that's barely enough for Windows 10 Pro to breathe comfortably.

The integrated HD Graphics 520 is a weird statistical standout at the 96th percentile, but that's a quirk of the 2-in-1 category being full of even weaker chips. In real terms, it handles 4K video playback and light photo editing fine, but it's a dead end for modern games. The 256GB SSD is snappy enough for booting and loading apps, though its 19th percentile ranking means most competitors offer double the space or more. The standout spec is that 2736x1824 display. It's sharp, bright, and the 3:2 aspect ratio is fantastic for documents and web pages. The touch response is still excellent, and it pairs beautifully with the Surface Pen for note-taking.

Stacked against something like the Lenovo Yoga 7 83JR0001US, the Surface Pro 4 gets absolutely demolished in CPU performance and RAM. The Yoga is a modern machine with real multitasking chops, while the Surface is a nostalgia piece that happens to still work. The Apple MacBook Pro MWP72LL/A is in a different universe for build and performance, but it's also in a different price bracket entirely. Where the Surface holds its own is portability. That 95th percentile compact score means it's lighter and easier to toss in a bag than almost anything else in our database. The ASUS Zenbook UX3407QA and Dell Plus 14 are both far more capable daily drivers, but they can't match the Surface's tablet flexibility or that 3:2 touchscreen for pen input. You're trading every ounce of performance for a form factor that still feels special.

At $200 for a Grade A or B refurb, the value proposition hinges entirely on your expectations. You're getting a premium-built tablet with a killer display and a full desktop OS for less than most Chromebooks. The price per performance ratio is actually decent if you only need a secondary machine for travel, note-taking, or media. Just know that a modern budget laptop at $400 will run circles around this thing in raw CPU power. The refurb market is your only option here, and Newegg's listings show both Grade A and B units floating around the same price. Spend the extra few bucks for a Grade A if you can, the reliability score is decent but these units are aging.

The Surface Pro 4's integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 lands in the 96th percentile for its class, which sounds impressive until you realize the competition in this category isn't exactly gaming rigs. It's a strong showing for a tablet chip from 2015, but don't mistake it for a modern workhorse. The real story here is the display. That 12.3-inch 2736x1824 panel sits in the 84th percentile, and it's still a joy to look at for streaming, reading, or sketching. The 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD are where things get tight, landing in the 14th and 19th percentiles respectively. You'll feel that ceiling if you try to push this thing beyond a few browser tabs and Office apps.

We're looking at a refurbished unit here, priced around $200, and that context changes everything. The dual-core i5-6300U is a 8th percentile performer in our database, which is a polite way of saying it's slow by 2025 standards. But for a compact, well-built Windows tablet with a gorgeous screen and a full OS, two hundred bucks is a different conversation. It's a device that knows its lane: light productivity, media consumption, and maybe some digital art. Just don't ask it to do any heavy lifting, and definitely don't ask it to game. Our gaming score of 8.2 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know there.

Anyone who needs a primary computer should look elsewhere. The 8th percentile CPU and 14th percentile RAM mean this thing chokes on multitasking, and the 8.2 gaming score is a polite way of saying it can't play anything made in the last decade. If you need to run demanding software, compile code, or keep dozens of tabs open, the Surface Pro 4 will frustrate you daily. Students running specialized software, developers, and anyone who edits photos or video should put their $200 toward a used ThinkPad or a newer budget laptop instead. This is a companion device, not a main machine.

The Surface Pro 4 is a one-trick pony in 2025, but it's a pretty good trick if you need it. For $200, you get a best-in-class portable form factor and a display that still impresses, wrapped in a Windows package that can handle the basics. The 8th percentile CPU and 14th percentile RAM are dealbreakers for anyone needing a primary computer. But as a secondary note-taking tablet, a travel companion for streaming, or a dedicated writing machine, it's a data-backed bargain. Just keep your expectations grounded in that 8.2 gaming score and don't expect to push it beyond light work.