After a year of its debut the successful Surface Book gets a hardware refresh. However, the refresh that Microsoft is introducing doesn’t significantly altered the original design. In fact, most of the line is not getting any new hardware, instead, the company is only upgrading the hardware for the top-tier models.
If you’re looking forward for the Surface Book 2, you’ll have to wait a lot longer, because this is just about slightly improving what’s on the market today.
The new Surface Book with Performance Base sports the same sixth-generation Intel Core i7 processor; same set of ports (no USB Type-C); and the same 13.5-inch PixelSense display with 3000 x 2000 pixels of resolution.
The only upgrade that Microsoft is making is adding the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M that includes 2GB of GDDR5 memory, bringing up to twice the graphics from the previous model.
And the battery capacity has been increased to deliver up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, which translates into four more hours compared to the original model.
Surface Book with Performance Base
| Tech Specs | |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 Pro |
| Dimensions | Surface Book: 12.30” x 9.14” x 0.51 - 0.90” (312.3mm x 232.1mm x 13.0 - 22.8mm) Surface Book with Performance Base: 12.30” x 9.14” x 0.59 - 0.90” (312.3mm x 232.1mm x 14.9 - 22.8mm) |
| Weight | Surface Book: Starting at 3.34 lbs (1,516 g) including keyboard Surface Book with Performance Base: 3.68 lbs (1,647 g) including keyboard |
| Exterior | Casing: Magnesium Color: Silver Physical buttons: Volume, Power |
| Storage | Solid-state drive (SSD) PCIe 3.0: 128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB |
| Display | Screen: 13.5-inch PixelSense Display Resolution: 3000x2000 (267 ppi) Contrast ratio: 1800:1 Aspect ratio: 3:2 100 percent sRGB color, individually calibrated Touch: 10-point multitouch |
| Processor | 6th Generation 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-6300U processor with Intel HD graphics 520 6th Generation 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-6600U processor with Intel HD graphics 520 |
| Graphics | Surface Book: Core i5: Intel HD graphics 520 Core i5 & Core i7: NVIDIA GeForce dGPU with 1GB GDDR5 memory Surface Book with Performance Base: Core i7: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GDDR5 memory |
| Memory | 8GB 16GB |
| Keyboard & Trackpad | Full-size, integrated backlit keyboard with 1.6mm key travel Precision trackpad with glass laminated trackpad (7,350 sq. mm) Five-finger contact recognition with full Windows 10 support Subpixel resolution |
| Security | TPM chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in |
| Pen | Surface Pen 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity Magnetic storage |
| Network | 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible Bluetooth 4.0 LE wireless technology |
| Battery | Surface Book: Up to 12 hours of video playback Surface Book with Performance Base: Up to 16 hours of video playback |
| Cameras | Windows Hello face-authentication camera (front-facing) 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera, with 1080p HD camera 5.0MP front-facing 1080p HD camera |
| Audio | Dual microphones, front- and rear-facing Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby audio |
| Ports | Two full-size USB 3.0 Full-size SD™ card reader (SDXC compatible) Two Surface Connect ports Headset jack Mini DisplayPort Compatible with Surface Dial Off-Screen Interaction |
| Sensors | Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Hall effect |
| Power Supply | 36W power supply with USB charging port 65W power supply with USB charging port (discrete GPU SKU) |
| In the box | Surface Book Surface Pen Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents |
| Pricing | Surface Book: 128GB 6th Generation Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM $1,499 256GB 6th Generation Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM $1,699 256GB 6th Generation Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $1,899 512GB 6th Generation Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM $1,999 256GB 6th Generation Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $2,099 512GB 6th Generation Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $2,699 1TB 6th Generation Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $3,199 Surface Book with Performance Base: 256GB 6th Generation Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $2,399 512GB 6th Generation Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $2,799 1TB 6th Generation Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Processor $3,299 |
Although these might seem like minor changes, adding the powerful processor (even though, it’s not a Kadylake), upgrading the graphics, and adding more battery forced Microsoft to modify the base of the Surface Book to fit the new hardware.
While the Surface Book features impressive new graphics chip, keep in mind that Microsoft is not advertising the new Windows 10 laptop as a gaming device. Sure, you can play some lightweight gaming, but for the money you’ll be spending, there are better alternatives.
You can even get new gaming laptops with other Nvidia processors with virtual reality support to use the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.
The Surface Book with Performance Base is slightly thicker, heavier, and pricing is $100 more than the original model. However, if you’re looking for the top-of-the-line device with unmatched performance this is what you want to get.
- Surface Book with Performance Base | See at Microsoft Store
- Surface Book | See at Microsoft Store
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].