Devices

Microsoft announces Surface Book 3 with up to 32GB of RAM and NVIDIA Quadro RTX graphics

Published

3 years ago

May 6, 2020

Karl Sorensen

It’s Surface day everyone and a number of new and refreshed devices have broken cover officially. This article focuses on Surface Book 3. Stay tuned for additional Surface coverage.

Surface Book 3

The Surface Book 3 is powered by 10th gen Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs. The 13.5″ and 15″ Surface Book 3 utilize the Core i5-10210U and the Core i7-10510U. We put together a table of specs below:

	13.5″ Surface Book 3	15″ Surface Book 3
Os	Windows 10 Home, Pro	Windows 10 Home, Pro
Display	13.5″,3000×2000 pixels, 267 ppi, 3:2 aspect ratio	15″, 3240×2160 pixels, 260 ppi, 3:2 aspect ratio
CPU	Quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G7 Processor Quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 Processor	Quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 Processor
GPU	Intel Core i5-1035G7 models: Inte Iris Plus Graphics Intel Core i7-1065G7 models: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 with Max-Q Design w/4GB GDDR5 graphics memory	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design w/6GB GDDR6 graphics memory NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 (accessible through business website for everyone)
Memory	8GB, 16GB, 32GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4x	16GB, 32GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4x
Storage	256GB, 512GB, (1TB M.2 2280) PCIe	256GB, 512GB, (1TB, 2TB M.2 2280) PCIe
Connectivity	2 x USB-A (version 3.1 Gen 2) 1 x USB-C® (version 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Power Delivery revision 3.0) 3.5mm headphone jack 2 x Surface Connect ports (one on keyboard base, one on tablet) Full-size SDXC card reader	2 x USB-A (version 3.1 Gen 2) 1 x USB-C® (version 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Power Delivery revision 3.0) 3.5mm headphone jack 2 x Surface Connect ports (one on keyboard base, one on tablet) Full-size SDXC card reader
Networking	Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax compatible Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology	Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax compatible Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology Xbox Wireless built-in (15” only)
Weight	Intel Core i5: 3.38 lb (1,534 g) including keyboard Intel Core i7: 3.62 lb (1,642 g) including keyboard	Intel Core i7: 4.20 lb (1,905 g) including keyboard
Colors	Platinum	Platinum
Starting Price	$1599	$2299

Microsoft now has the option of 8, 16 and 32GB of RAM in the Surface Book 3. Microsoft is still using 15W Intel processors, even though Apple is utilizing 45W Intel Core processors in its direct competitor the MacBook Pro. This shouldn’t be a surprise given Microsoft’s recently “leaked” video explaining why no Surface will come with thunderbolt connections, but there is no thunderbolt support on this or any Surface.

There is a minimum of 256GB of storage, with other options like 512GB and 1TB. IMO, Microsoft should offer the same options that are offered in the 16″ MacBook Pro.

Microsoft announced its Surface Dock 2 today, which includes fast charging via its Surface Connect port, x4 USB-C ports and support for x2 4K monitors at 60Hz.