Microsoft’s Surface Book line of premium 2-in-1 laptops is getting its third major update in five years. The new Microsoft Surface Book 3 features 10th-gen Intel Core processors, support for NVIDIA GeForce GTX or RTX graphics, and up to 32GB of RAM, and a choice or 13.5 inch or 15 inch displays.
One thing the new laptop doesn’t have? A Thunderbolt 3 port. Microsoft has upgraded the USB Type-C port from USB 3.1 Gen 1 to Gen 2 for slightly faster speeds, but you won’t be able to connect an external graphics dock to this laptop. Depending on the model you buy though, you may not have to.
The new Surface Book 3 laptops are available for pre-order starting today for $1600 and up, and they should ship starting May 21, 2020.
Detailed specs and pricing will be available closer to launch, but here are some details about the new 2-in-1 laptops:
| Surface Book 3 13.5 inch | Surface Book 3 15 inch | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.5 inch, 3000 x 2000 PixelSense | 15 inch, 3240 x 2160 PixelSense |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-1035G7 or Core i7-1065G7 | Intel Core i7-1065G7 |
| iGPU | Intel Iris Plus 940 | Intel Iris Plus 940 |
| dGPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q or Quadro RTX 3000 Max-Q (commercial and education SKUs only) |
| RAM | Up to 32GB LPDDR4x | Up to 32GB of LPDDR4x |
| Storage | SSD | Up to 2TB SSD |
| Ports | 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm audio, SDXC card reader | 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm audio, SDXC card reader |
| Wireless | WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 | WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 |
| Power supply | 65W | 127W |
| Starting price | $1600 | $2300 |
Microsoft also says the Surface Book 3 comes with the “fastest SSD” the company has ever shipped and the company promises up to 50-percent better performance than the Surface Book 2 while offering up to 17.5 hours of battery life for the larger model, or 15.5 hours for the 13.5 inch Surface Book 3.
If the prices seem a little steep, Microsoft does offer cheaper Surface products — the company also introduced the new Surface Book 2 tablet today. The 10.5 inch tablet with an 8th-gen Intel Y-series processor is a heck of a lot less powerful, but with a starting price of $399 it’s also a heck of a lot more affordable.
via Microsoft and Ars Technica
Since they will not do Thunderbolt 3 they should have used USB 4
So much for their partnership with AMD it seems