I was asked to post here during discussions on the Surface subreddit.

*****************NOTE: This now includes applications as well as gaming because I'm bored.*****************

Overview

I've been a vocal supporter of the SPX for many reasons, but mainly that it lives up to the advertisements in power, battery life, and function. I'm also an ardent supporter of ARM and view the computer engineering world as inevitably moving to arm over the coming years, reducing the dependency on x86. I would also note that engineering and computer science are my fields of study as well s the fields I work in.

So, I'm here to share my experience with gaming on the Pro X. The Pro X can run any 32 bit application, but has a critical flaw in that it doesn't report itself within the system as being capable of doing so. This means that games with x86-32 bit installers that probe the system before allowing you to install will not allow the install to take place even though it could. I'm still working on finding a workaround to that issue. That being said I've got these games to work so far:

What Does Run

Applications

• Visual Studio 2019 - Excellent
  • No issues whatsoever
  • Includes all extensions like SQL Server Data Tools
  • I asked Microsoft for an ARM64 build and they said sure!
• Photoshop - Very Good
  • No functional issues
  • Can stutter slightly when scrolling with touch controls
  • Emulation settings: Fast and Strict multi-core work. Very strict multi fails completely
  • I've requested an ARM64 build. Community feedback was less than positive. No official response.
• SQL Server Management Studio -Excellent
  • Versions 16 and older
  • No issues
  • I asked Microsoft for an ARM64 build and they said sure!
• AutoDesk AutoCad 2019 - Good

Games

• Automation The Car Company Tycoon Game - Excellent
  • Native resolution, mix of Epic and high settings
  • GPU limited for once
  • Emulation Settings: default
• Assetto Corsa - Very Good
  • 1600x900, high-medium settings, FXAA
  • CPU limited (steam was apparently glitched and taking the majority of my CPU time, so this may be inaccurate)
  • Benchmarked at 25-30 FPS
  • Emulation settings: default
• Borderlands (All versions) - Playable, but not great
  • 1600x900, medium-high graphics
  • Borderlands is CPU limited. GPU barely has to work.
  • 100% CPU usage, all cores
  • 20% GPU usage
  • Emulation settings: default for now
• Civ 5 - Can install, waiting to uninstall other games. Will update soon.
• Crysis 2 - Poor
  • Native Resolution
  • Crashes frequently. Do not recommend
  • Emulation settings: they all suck.
• Dead Cells - Good
  • Native Resolution
  • Neither CPU nor GPU limited
  • Unstable. crashes when too much happens. Can't find a good workaround yet
• Diablo 3 - Excellent
  • Native resolution, all max settings
• Dota 2 - Excellent
  • Native resolution, max graphics settings
  • Neither CPU nor GPU bound
  • Emulation settings: default
• Elite: Dangerous - Good
  • Native resolution, high settings, FXAA
  • GPU limited. I should have lowered the graphics settings
  • 20-30 fps on high at native res
  • Emulation settings: default
  • Has a strange bug where you sometimes can't log in because it thinks you didn't fill out a required field. No clue how to fix it.
• Eve Online - Excellent
  • Native resolution, all settings on high except character portraits.
  • 25-45 FPS average
  • CPU Limited
• Fallout 3 - Installed, unplayed. Will update soon
• Fallout New Vegas - Installed, unplayed. Will update soon
• Hollow Knight - Excellent
  • Native resolution, all settings max. Smooth as can be
  • Not GPU or CPU limited
• Kerbal Space Program - Installed, unplayed. Will update soon
• Metro 2033 Redux - Installed, unplayed. Will update soon
• Metro Last Light Redux - Installed, unplayed. Will update soon
• Ori and the Blind Forest - Native resolution, all max settings. Smooth as can be.
• Path of Exile - Excellent
  • Native Resolution
  • All max settings except MSAA. Leave MSAA off
  • 20-30 fps with MSAA, 30 without
  • GPU limited
• Poker Night 2 - Poor
  • 1600x900 (max), all high settings
  • Runs fine except some characters have broken vertices and it fucks up the image. Driver issues I assume
• - Can install, waiting to uninstall other games. Will update soon.
• The Binding of Isaac - Excellent
  • Highest resolution it allows (1280x800 I think), high settings
  • Not GPU or CPU limited
• Starcraft Remaster - Excellent
  • max settings (one setting won't work cause it doesn't recognize the VRAM)
  • Not GPU or CPU limited
  • Emulation settings: default
• Starcraft II - Excellent (updated)
  • 2560x1600, medium settings, No AA
  • GPU Limited
  • Emulation settings: default
• Warframe - Poor
  • Native resolution, mix of medium and high settings
  • VERY difficult to install. I'm still not sure what I did that made the installer run. I do not recommend this

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What Won't Run

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• Blacklight Retribution - Installs, but fails at launch with a "driver initialization failed" message
• Blender - doesn't recognize the graphics card
• Civ 5 - runs, but can't get past the agree screen because clicks aren't recognized. Tried touch version too
• Crash Bandicoot Remake - 64 bit only
• SQL Server management Studio versions newer than 16. I requested an ARM64 build from Microsoft and they said sure!
• AutoDesk applications except AutoCAD
• DOOM - 64 bit only
• Epic Store games, the launcher doesn't recognize it as full windows and won't let you install at all
• Eve Valkyrie - 64 bit only
• Heroes Of the Storm - 64 bit only
• Monster Hunter World - claims it can install, but won't. Not sure why.
• Metro 2033 Redux - Installs using 0 bytes of data. Can't figure out why.
• Nier:Automata - Installs using 0 bytes of data. Can't figure out why.
• Offworld Trading Company - 64 bit only
• Overwatch - 64 bit only
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - 64 bit only
• Tomb Raider (Shadow of the Tomb Raider) - Installs using 0 bytes of data. Can't figure out why.
• Tom Raider (Rise of the Tomb Raider) - 64 bit only
• World of Warcraft - 64 bit

There's plenty more, but I have limited space on this computer and I work long hours. I will continue to update this as I go.

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Conclusion

The Pro X is quite the capable little gaming machine. The screen is beautiful and the GPU is powerful, but it is limited by 2 things. The CPU and 64 bit only games. Most games barely hit 15% GPU usage, but are maxed out on the CPU. This can be helped by closing all background 32 bit applications, but is still a limiting factor. The emulation settings can help (right click on any 32 bit exe and go to 'Compatibility'), but they are highly unstable.

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TL;DR

The SPX is limited by launchers that aren't as smart as they think they are (*looks at at battle net and Epic Games*), but is still a good machine for gaming when the games have x86-32 installers. The machine can stream any game with ease, however, so if you like to stream then by all means go for it.

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Specs

My Surface Pro X is the 512GB/16GB model.

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UPDATE 1: Added Cuphead, set Borderlands settings. Clarified layout. Added what won't run section

UPDATE 2: Added applications section and formatted entire post. Alphabetized games, added path of exile.

UPDATE 3: Added offworld trading company, poker night 2, path of exile, diablo, assetto corsa, tomb raider, and a few others I can't remember

UPDATE 4: Added starcraft and WoW