Is say i7… you really want the processing power.
Don’t know about mem setting for 16gb, but I know you won’t run out!
I’d go i7 too. 8gb is still a lot, and i7 also has better integrated graphics than i5. (irrelevant in ZBrush/KeyShot, but great for other things)
I saw a post by Marcus that the 64 bit version of zbrush can’t access over 8 gig… I thought that was one of the huge benefits of moving to 64 bit… addressing more memory?
I’m actually on my second surface now… the first one developed pen issues, and then the touch screen completely stopped responding after microsoft attempted to remotely fix the pen issue.
and the really sucky thing, is I had a duplicate of my desktop activated, and the old surface, so now I can’t activate zbrush until the weekend. I’m tempted to hunt down a pirated copy, even though I have a license so I can activate it instead of waiting for support. (I installed it on friday evening.)
Ok, get this: The new Surface started acting up doing exactly the same thing! First after a while the pen stops working, and then the touch screen stops working.
So I head to my old desktop to see if my Google fu is better than the last week, because I REALLY do NOT want to take the surface back for another exchange, and I hit pure gold!
One forum discussion suggested to check for interference from other electrical devices, because the surfaces are very touchy around them.
And I look at my desk, and at the plasma lamp on it! I turn it off, and BAM! Touchscreen and pen start working again correctly!
Happy dance!
I’m thinking of purchasing surface pro 4 for zbrush, mainly for concepting. Will I be ok with an i5, 8gigs?. How does zbrush feel on surface pro 4? Are there any kind of mini bluetooth keyboards around that poeple know of?
all the best montana
I have the i7 SB, but my desktop is an older i5 Haswell and i’ve never had an issue with CPU intensive processes like ZRemesher, BPR renders etc, but I suspect its a matter of your personal threshold for waiting. I also can’t speak to the RAM issue since I’ve got 16G on the SB and 32G on my workstation. What I can comment on is the bluetooth KB. MS’s is pretty pricey so i thought i’d take a chance on another, cheaper brand. I use this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VRCKF5K?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
I’ve only had it for a few weeks but i LOVE it. It pairs instantly and works great at a great price point. I personally much prefer this to any on-screen programmable soft buttons because A) you’re not giving up any screen real estate and B) those on-screen apps still need focus so if you press a key and then go back to ZB (or any other app), the first pen press doesn’t lay down a stroke, it just switches focus back to your art app. Its not a huge deal for some, but i couldn’t stand it. now i sit on my couch with my SB in tablet mode and have the 1byOne KB next to me for easy access to Shift\Ctrl\Alt etc. Plus the 1byOne KB has an internal battery and charges by micro USB. Would I use it to type code or an lengthy doc or email? Not really. Even though its full QWERTY, its still a bit small and it feels odd to me…plus I have a Surface Book so I just use its keyboard which is really nice. However, if you go with Surface Pro, it might be an option (though I’ve heard the new type cover for the SP is pretty good).
As far as ZB on a SP4\SB? I like not having to sit at my desk to get a quick sculpt in. The feel of the pen on the screen is pretty good and i don’t feel like it slides around like crazy or anything. I personally don’t miss the extra 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity that i’d get from my wacom at my desktop, but that’s likely personal preference. Overall, once you get the WinTab drivers installed and a good bluetooth mini KB, i think the “lapability” of the SP4\SB with ZB is awesome!
Thanks for the reply mate 
that keyboard looks good, i will check that out. I mainly want SP 4 to use zbrush on the couch as well. Sometimes I’m in a creative mood but the thought of sitting at a desk puts me right off. I’m about to buy one of these bad boys just cant decide which version to get. :-/
They have a sales on them now for $100 off… if you can wrangle a educational discount, you can get 10% off, and best buy wok match it. I wanted it for Manga studio, lightwave and zbrush, and the recommendation I was given was a 16 gb I7. Zbrush seems fine on the i7, but I suspect after you get a biggest mesh going, you might regret the I5. Part of the reason I got the 16 gb, is the memory is soldered on the mb, and there is no way to expand it, so if you want more, you’ll be looking at reselling and buying up. I love both the surface and the Microsoft keyboard, and the surfsce knows to switch to desktop mode if it’s connected… it might not if using a bt keyboard.
Im from the UK so i doubt i could get that deal. i would love i7, 16gig but man they are expensive ;(
https://www.wacom.com/en-us/store/other/express-key-remote
Not a keyboard but I like it 
edit: here’s uk link
http://uk.shop.wacom.eu/detail/index/sArticle/842/sCategory/2213446/sFromAccessoryListing/true/sAccessoryID//sModel/2213446
The $100 off is in the Microsoft store, as is their educational discount. Others stores are now advertising their current discount. It’s also a limited time offer.
I’m thinking of getting an sp4 i7 16 gig soon.
Is it possible to program the side button on the pen?
I think they added that in the latest surface update, but the surface uses it as your right mouse button. Imagine zbrush without the capability to edit brush settings.
Doesn’t anyone else have an issue with Windows Ink for the n-trig versions of the SP? I don’t see a solution for this in Windows 10.
Here it is obstructing the view of the edge trying to be unmasked:
There’s no option to map the pens side button in Surface App 10.0.342.0 (appears to be the latest version)
@ObliviousOstrich
Wow that looks like it really sucks. I’ve not seen anyone else mention this before. Hope there is a way around this. The pen button wont be an issue for me in zbrush as I use it as right mouse click but I cant believe that they got rid of the second side button. Keyshot is going to a pain to use without the middle mouse button on the pen.
Having said that I’m still very much looking forward to getting an SP4
Yeah, I’m surprised that I haven’t seen anyone else commenting on this… I see Win 7 & 8 have solutions for removing it. Though it’s something I can grudgingly learn to deal with perhaps: (a little script to toggle ZAdd & ZSub, to avoid the “Alt” label popping up)
[IShowActions,0][ISubPalette,“ZPlugin:ToggleAlt”]
[IButton,“ZPlugin:ToggleAlt:Toggle”,“Toggles between ZAdd and ZSub”,[RoutineCall,ToggleAlt],0,0,0]
[RoutineDef,ToggleAlt,[If,[IGet,Draw:ZAdd],[ISet,Draw:ZSub,1],[ISet,Draw:ZAdd,1]]]
In terms of how the hardware handles things, it’s amazing.
I’m very excited. My surface pro 4 will be arriving tomorrow. i7, 16GB, 256 SSD.
Cant wait.
That’s what I got, and you’ll love it! There was an update 2 days ago you’ll want to download first. Also download the surface app on the store in case it doesn’t have the latest version.
Thanks Gareee, will do.
So I have my surface pro 4 all set up. It’s going to take a while to get used to drawing on the screen lol.
I’m trying to find a decent hotkey app. I’ve tried Tablet pro but it seems really unstable. Any recommendations?