What you need to know
- The Surface Book 3 is now available for preorder.
- The device has up to 50 percent more power than the Surface Book 2.
- There is an option for Quadro RTX 3000 graphics on the Surface Book 3.
- Pricing for the Surface Book 3 starts at $1,599.
Microsoft's newly announced Surface Book 3 is now available for preorder. The device doesn't have any external changes when compared to the Surface Book 2, but has several internal improvements, including 10th Gen intel chips and faster LPDRR4x memory. There is also an option for Quadro RTX 3000 graphics on the 15-inch model. The 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 starts at $1,599 and the 15-inch Surface Book 3 starts at $2,299.
The Surface Book 3 retains its design and form factor from the previous generation. You can use it as a traditional laptop or detach the device's screen. You can then use the screen as a standalone tablet or reattach it after flipping it around.
Externally, the Surface Book 3 looks identical to the Surface Book 2 down to the millimeter. Some people wanted the Surface Book 3 to have a larger trackpad or other external changes, but those didn't happen for this generation. Instead, the Surface Book 3 focuses on internal improvements such as quicker memory and support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. There are also much more powerful options when it comes to graphics. Microsoft states up to a 50 percent performance boost when compared to the Surface Book 2.
The 13-5-inch Surface Book 3 comes with up to a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce 1650 Max-Q graphics.
| Category | Surface Book 3 13.5-inch |
|---|---|
| Processor | 10th Gen Intel i5-1035G7 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 |
| RAM | 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB LPDDR4x |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB |
| Display size | 13.5 inches Touch |
| Display resolution | 3000 x 2000 3:2 aspect 267 PPI |
| Graphics | Two USB Type-A 3.1 (Gen1) One USB Type-C w/ video, power in/out and USB 3.1 (Gen1) data Full-size SDXC card reader (UHS-II) Headphone jack (3.5mm) Two Surface Connect ports (1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base) |
| Connectivity | Intel Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax Bluetooth 5.0 Xbox Wireless |
| Camera | 5MP Front-facing 1080P 8.0MP Rear-facing AF 1080P |
| Biometrics | IR camera |
| Battery | 70WHr Up to 17.5 hours |
| Charger | 65W (Core i5) 102W (Core i7) |
| Dimensions | 343 mm x 251 mm x 15-23 mm (L x W x D) 13.5 in x 9.87 in x 0.57 to 0.90 in |
| Weight | Total: 1,905 g (4.20 lbs) Tablet: 817 g (1.80 lbs) |
The 15-inch Surface Book 3 sees a large jump in power compared to its predecessor. It comes with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 processors and has an option for an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q. If you opt for the commercial version of the 15-inch Surface Book 3, you can get NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 graphics.
Those Quadro graphics should allow professionals with demanding workloads to get work done, including engineering work, editing graphics, and using auto-CAD.
| Category | Surface Book 3 15-inch |
|---|---|
| Processor | 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 |
| RAM | 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB LPDDR4x |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB |
| Display size | 15 inches Touch |
| Display resolution | 3240 x 2160 3:2 aspect 260 PPI |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Plus GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (Max-Q) NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 |
| Ports | Two USB Type-A 3.1 (Gen1) One USB Type-C w/ video, power in/out and USB 3.1 (Gen1) data Full-size SDXC card reader (UHS-II) Headphone jack (3.5mm) Two Surface Connect ports (1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base) |
| Connectivity | Intel Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax Bluetooth 5.0 Xbox Wireless |
| Camera | 5MP Front-facing 1080P 8.0MP Rear-facing AF 1080P |
| Biometrics | IR camera |
| Battery | 80WHr Up to 17.5 hours |
| Charger | 127W |
| Dimensions | 343 mm x 251 mm x 15-23 mm (L x W x D) 13.5 in x 9.87 in x 0.57 to 0.90 in |
| Weight | i5 total: 1,533g (3.38lbs) i7 total: 1,642g (3.62lbs) Tablet: 719g (1.59lbs) |
The Surface Book 3 will be available on May 21 starting at $1,599. At first, it will be available in the U.S. and Canada. Over the following weeks, it will roll out to more countries. We break down the pricing of every single variant and put the Surface Book 3 head-to-head against its predecessor in our post covering the Surface Book 3's announcement.
Power on the go
The refreshed Surface Book 3 for 2020 gets new Intel 10th Gen processors, more powerful GTX graphics, and much better Wi-Fi, SSD, and RAM options making this one powerful 2-in-1 convertible PC.
