Opinions on Surface Pro 3 or Laptop

Hey guys and gals, my names Alex, I'm in the market right now for what to get for myself as far as a mobile 'pc' goes.

I've been doing a lot of research on Microsoft's Surface Pro 3, and honestly I'm really happy with the results. What I'm looking for is pretty much what the SP3 has, mobility, but power. Now, that's just my general needs, honestly I could probably do without the SP3, but I'm starting to get into 3D modelling, and along with 3D modelling, a little bit of art. I don't and probably won't do it professionally, but more-so as something to do on the side for fun, and maybe to help developer buddies of mine looking for models or art of some kind, but still mostly for fun. (By the way, the version of the SP3 I'm looking at right now, is the i5 variant, with the 8gb of ram, and 256gb SSD. Read and believe it's the best price wise for the uses I'll be using it for, ie. 3d modelling, drawing, light games, etc. Explained more below.)
And I've read up on the Yoga 2 a little as well, and I've found that it costs about the same as the Pro 3 for just about the same components.

The pen for the SP3 looks really good and from what I've heard, works really well with the tablet. But besides just being a good tablet, I'm wanting something that can work as a bit of a laptop. (I'm a big gamer. BUT. When I'm on the road, I'm not the kinda guy to be interested in playing HEAVY games, really.) When I'm on the sail boat or on the road or something, I'd much rather have lighter (less battery required) games, like Dwarf Fortress, or small rogue likes, anything that's fun, requires thought and can drag me away from the drive (unless I'm driving). So I think the SP3 would be perfect for Dwarf Fort and other small games I play, simply because usually they require more processor and near to no graphics (with the occasional exception).

So, I guess really, a tablet would be my best option, at least personally. I really don't want to lose that ability to use a pen in favor of being able to more easily modify and repair a device such as a laptop.

I guess the next question is, is the Surface Pro 3 my best option for tablets? So far it's the most highest rated one I've seen, as good for regular consumers go instead of just professionals.

So, I guess my question is, does anyone have their own opinions on the SP3 or other tablets possibly cheaper that are just about as good? Please, try to avoid being biased, or putting a product down due to a defect or something, I want good, sturdy advice with someone that's had a lot of experience with the SP3 while doing the same things I do, or at least similar.

Cheers,
Alex

PS: Money isn't that much of a problem for me, really, but being cheap whilst also strong performance wise is a really good thing for me. (Used to work on a really really slow PC and really don't want to go back in time.
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Also, I am pretty good with computers, I've spent a good portion of my life working on them myself and even have built the PC I'm using right now myself, not that that matters too much, but it's more to say that if there are things I have to do to improve performance of the SP3 or something, etc to help, that kind of thing.
 
I should mention, the main use for this PC is NOT gaming, if you haven't already figured that out. It's meant more for browsing on the side of my main PC, for browsing and other things when I'm on the road, modelling when I'm away from my main PC, etc. NOT gaming.
 
I own the SP3, i7 version 512ssd and 8gb ram. w/type keyboard and pen it weighs at 2.44lbs
I also own an MSI Ghost Pro 256ssd +1tb spinning - 16gb ram - i7-4710 - GTX 970M it weighs in at just under 5lbs

Both cost me the same, right about 2k, after keyboard/docking station for the SP3. I'm not going to lie I love them both. I don't do 3d rendering but I do a bunch of photoshop/video editing. And as sad as it is I carry both with me in the back pack. If I need to do something fast I pull out the SP3, If I want to work on editing/play games/photoshop I pull out the MSI. I do IT and travel alot, the SP3 is my go to for quick work, if I know I'm going to be there for a while I pull out the laptop. In my line of work I have to carry a USB hub mandatory for the surface pro, as I always have need for more than 1 USB port. The pen is awesome, I love to doodle around with it and have manga studio installed. It's a big hit, with the additional hdmi adaptor it's awesome for pictionary games with the family. To be honest though, I rarely use the touch screen much anymore.

I do have to say that the SP3 is your best bet out there at the moment if you want a tablet type machine. Cost per performance though that MSI for 2.5lbs more and a 3.6" bigger screen would be my pick any day, but if the size gets in the way still the SP3 can't be beat unless you start looking at some of the Dell XPS's that can get a bit pricy if you don't have a business account with them. If power isn't an issue you'll have no qualms going ahead with a purchase of the SP3. It will run your basic games as you have said, just don't expect to be playing in triple A titles on it very smoothly. It also has a high resolution so you might like that for your art vs a standard 1920x1080 monitor. You'll definitely want a mouse, that pad just doesn't do if you're on it for an extended amount of time. Depending on what kind of modeling you're doing you may want to look at the i7 version. But if the program you are using is GPU dependent it won't matter much in that regard.

To answer another question, yes it can work as well as a standard laptop and is faster than many you could purchase at your local electronics store. For art it will be awesome, rendering it depends on your program. Simple gaming, it'll work great. You'll want to invest in wireless mouse, and keyboard for it, a usb hub too if you want more than your mouse connected (unless you go bluetooth, still that leaves you only one port).

Hope it helped a bit :)

(Edit) Also the Yoga may be nice, but I'll say now Microsoft support and warranty is better, I've had hell with Lenovo desktops at work and their support is horrible, cool looking machine but the woes I've been through with them... I won't buy another Lenovo machine.
 
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