Here I compared the iPad Pro and the Surface Studio 2 relative performance running Grandma’s Game of Life  Blinker pattern. It is a good visual measure of the relative speed of the two implementations of MakeCode for Minecraft Education Edition on these two computers. See the video of Blinker test below.

New iPad Pro Inspired My New Surface Studio

I was depressed that my new — and my old — iPad Pro ran circles around my old  Surface Studio when running the performance hogging MakeCode for Minecraft program  described in Grandma’s Game of Life in MakeCode for Minecraft . I found such a topsy-turvy world to be quite depressing. Since I always crave the latest and greatest computer, I assumed a new Studio was in my near future, so  I decided to make it sooner than later.

My New Surface Studio 2

On the Saturday after Black Friday, I walked over to the Houston Galleria Microsoft Store to explore buying a Surface Studio 2. I told the Microsoft Store person that I wanted to set up the new Studio 2 and test it with my MakeCode for Minecraft app before taking it home. The results are sown in the video below. I wept.

The iPad Pro and the Surface Studio 2  are running Grandma’s Game of Life, specifically the Blinker pattern. It is a good visual measure of the relative speed of two computers. I have run many other patterns to compare — all with the same results: iPad wins.

Oh, well, I took the Studio 2 home anyway. I want to test it against my old studio. And, I have a month to return it.

Don’t Judge  a Computer on Just One Test Program

I’ve done enough computer-performance testing in my life to fill volumes. I understand that one program is an insufficient test. Rather, one needs a balanced load that represents the sphere of applications and users, blah, blah, blah…… But, in my case, I only cared about this one program — and, the Studio 2 results are dismal.

Surface Studio Has Redeeming Features

On the other hand, developing on the iPad even with the 12.9 inch screen, for the size programs I do, is simply not feasible. And, I love that touch  Studio display — but do I need a new Studio? More exploration is needed.