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Should I get a new Surface Tablet for Quilt Path


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Hi, I'm considering buying a machine listed here in the forums. I'm in touch with the owner. It has Quilt Path now and it's on a Surface Pro 3 which is so old it can't be upgraded to Windows 10. 

When I've used Quilt Path at the local APQS dealer's studio I've noticed it is incredibly slow and it's crashed and the response was that was pretty normal. I worry about this because it was a simple border to border pattern, not that dense, and the quilt was only queen sized. I assume the tablets in the studio are newer than 3rd Generation.

So my question is this:  if I decide to go ahead and purchase the used machine which is in wonderful shape, should I upgrade that Surface tablet to a newer one with a better processor and more RAM? I can afford this but will it help? A 6th Gen Surface with an i7 processor aand 16GB of RAM is $1700. Will throwing money at Quilt Path make it better? 

Or for those of you with IQ instead of QP does it make more sense for me to walk away from this machine and look at one without QP and buy IQ for it instead? 

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This is only my experience and opinion. Please do your own research.

I had one of the older Quilt Paths with the older Surface Pro tablets installed on my Millie. I bought the QP from a dealer who used it as a demo. (I originally owned a CompuQuilter for about 9-10 years and was happy with it until the company went out of business).  I found the QP was extremely slow and crashed constantly. If any dust or lint got onto the drive belts, the system wouldn't track accurately and I would spend more time trying to realign and ripping out stitches. Even though I was told by the dealer I wouldn't have any trouble updating to the new version and everything was transferrable to me and then a newer owner, when I actually tried to sell the QP I was told (by APQS and the Grace Co.) I would not be able to update to the newer version and neither would the new owner without paying a hefty fee. The warranty of the QP operating system/program was not transferrable. Another problem I had was the system needed to have the firmware updated constantly. It was a real hassle for me. Also, in order to find out more about using the QP and what problems people are having, you have to already own a QP to become a member of their Facebook group. I always wondered about that. Once I had my QP and was able to join the group. I found out the reason why. If I had learned about all the problems, I would never have purchased the QP - I really wasn't able to do all the research I should have done before purchasing my system. Don't always listen to what a dealer says - find out what real users are saying. About 4 years ago I finally was able to get rid of the QP and I purchased an IQ. I have no regrets and have been very happy ever since. I made a very expensive mistake in purchasing the QP. 

I am not familiar with the newer Surface Pro tablets and if the newer QP program was ever released, but I can highly recommend the IQ. Their support is amazing and updates are FREE. I also know that when I had the QP  it was a real hassle to install designs because very few digitizers saved in the format that was required for the QP. Almost all digitizers save their files in the iqp format.

The IQ can do more than the QP can do and does it easier and faster. Their Facebook support group is fantastic and anyone can join (check out Friends Using IQ). You don't have to own an IQ to join. Also, support from IntelliQuilter is wonderful.

If I were you and was interested in the APQS machine, I would see if I could purchase the machine and not the QP. I would highly recommend you seriously look into the IQ. If you are being told that what you saw the system do was "pretty normal", you'll never be happy with it when you purchase it. 

 

 

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Michelle, I have been using Quilt Path since it first debuted in 2012, on Surface 2, 3, 4 and 5 tablets. There is NO reason that a Surface 3 tablet cannot be upgraded to Windows 10, it's just no longer a FREE upgrade, since the window (excuse the unintended pun!) for the free upgrade is well past - blame Microsoft for that one. Further, while the warranty for QP does not transfer to a new owner, the right to FREE software upgrades DOES transfer. I don't know who told Sue that she would have to pay a "hefty fee" for a software upgrade, it's just not true. And ongoing support for QP, no matter whether under warranty, continues the same. Yes, you have to be a QP owner to be a member of our QP Facebook Group, for the very reason that Sue mentioned - all she saw was problems. What she didn't explain (or perhaps didn't understand) is that, while a lot of "issues" pop up on that Facebook group, it's because it is our go-to platform for helping our owners, usually within minutes of them posting a problem. The overwhelming majority of our owners are happily quilting away and NOT posting on the FB group.

While the FB QP Group is limited to owners, the APQS QP Forum here is NOT. Please check in there and discuss your concerns with current QP owners and those in "search" mode like you. You might also join the We Love APQS Facebook group - you can ask questions and speak with real owners there, as there is lots of overlap between that group and the QP group.

All that being said, I strongly encourage you to try out both QP and IQ, compare costs and features, and make an educated decision. If you have any questions that I can help with, don't hesitate to email me at info@apqsnw.com.

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Reason the Surface 3 isn't upgradeable - maybe it is technically possible but it depends on the amount of RAM. The current owner wasn't able to upgrade it.

The specs on the Surface 3 indicate they came configured with either 2GB or 4GB RAM, not expandable because it is soldered to the board. 4GB RAM, that's pretty low for a modern OS and won't leave much available resources for any software - like Quilt Path - to run. 2GB: that upgrade isn't going to happen. I don't know which RAM configuration is on the 3 that is up for sale.

Back to my original question: If I were to upgrade to a newer tablet with a faster processor and more memory - would that be helpful to improve my experience of QP? Or maybe the suggestion is I shouldn't even be asking the question here and instead try to find the QP forum?

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You can ask here, not sure whether there are any techies that monitor this particular part of the forum. I've posted your questions on the QP forum and tagged three of our resident techies - will let you know what answers I get!

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Here are a couple of responses from our QP users, Michelle:

"I am not an expert but think that if the Surface Pro 3 came with QP it should run just fine. I thought I had a Pro 2, however when I looked it says it is a Pro 1, has 4 GB RAM, came with Windows 8, and I upgraded to Windows 10 during the free upgrade period. I do not have other software on the tablet and use it only for QP. I think that more RAM, along with a newer processor, will allow the software to run faster."

"Not sure why the Surface wasn’t upgradable, but a faster system is worth it. I jumped from a Pro 2 to a Pro 4 and could definitely see the increase when using the program. So going from Pro 3 to a current Pro would also change the experience."

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5 hours ago, barbm said:

Further, while the warranty for QP does not transfer to a new owner, the right to FREE software upgrades DOES transfer. I don't know who told Sue that she would have to pay a "hefty fee" for a software upgrade, it's just not true.

And ongoing support for QP, no matter whether under warranty, continues the same. Yes, you have to be a QP owner to be a member of our QP Facebook Group, for the very reason that Sue mentioned - all she saw was problems. What she didn't explain (or perhaps didn't understand) is that, while a lot of "issues" pop up on that Facebook group, it's because it is our go-to platform for helping our owners, usually within minutes of them posting a problem. The overwhelming majority of our owners are happily quilting away and NOT posting on the FB group.

All that being said, I strongly encourage you to try out both QP and IQ, compare costs and features, and make an educated decision. If you have any questions that I can help with, don't hesitate to email me at info@apqsnw.com.

Barb, I was talking directly to Dawn Cavanaugh who was talking with the Grace Company to get the answers for me. Yes, she mentioned that the hardware would be supported but that was basically it. When I had the QP, there were many hardware problems that were not getting fixed. Also, when the people in the group, tell you to send your design to the "sew page" and then go get a cup of coffee while the system works, I found this system to be far from useful. As I mentioned, I was one of the early owners and I would hope things have been fixed by now. I was also very discouraged when it was suggested that I would need to take a very expensive course - travel across the country, pay for a hotel, food, plus the course - to be fully able to learn and use the QP. I was up and being productive with my IQ in a matter of hours!

I also suggested to Michelle that she compare the two systems and do more research. I love my APQS Millie, but didn't like the Quilt Path.

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