Microsoft Surface Book 13.5″ 2-in-1 Laptop with 6th Gen Intel Core, Nvidia Graphics

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Microsoft has released their first laptop – the Microsoft Surface Book. It’s actually a 2-in-1 notebook with a detachable keyboard.

The Surface Book has a 13.5-inch “PixelSense” display with touch and digitizer pen input support, ultra-sharp 3000 x 2000-pixel resolution, and 3:2 aspect ratio which is better for editing documents and other productivity tasks than the common movie-centric 16:9.

Inside its magnesium alloy chassis, or more precisely inside the tablet portion, the Microsoft Surface Book packs the 6th Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, 8 or 16 Gigabytes of RAM, 128, 256, or 512 Gigabytes of solid state drive storage or upcoming 1 Terabyte SSD option, front 5MP and rear 8MP cameras, stereo speakers, 802.11AC Wi-Fi adapter, Bluetooth, TPM security chip, and a battery providing up to 12 hours of video playback on a single charge. Besides backlit keyboard and glass trackpad, the dock includes the optional Nvidia GeForce dedicated video card. Since the dedicated GPU is in the keyboard base, you won’t be able to utilize it if the screen is detached, in the so called “clipboard” mode. The good thing is that you can convert the device to a tablet without the keyboard base being detached, by connecting the screen to the base facing backward and folding it.

Microsoft Surface Book CR9-00001, SX3-00001, CQ9-00001, CR9-00001

At the time of this writing, there’s no info on the exact processor and video card SKUs. We’ll update this post as soon as we find them out.

Selection of ports and slots includes two USB 3.0 connectors, mini DisplayPort video out, and an SD card reader, all located on the keyboard dock, as well as a combo audio jack on the tablet part.

The laptop measures 0.9” in profile and has a weight starting at 3.3 pounds, while the tablet part only is 0.3” thick and starts at 1.6 pounds.

Microsoft’s Surface Book runs Windows 10 Pro OS and has a base price of $1,499. Here’s a breakdown of configurations which are currently available for pre-order:

CR9-00001: Intel Core i5 / 128GB SSD / 8GB RAM / integrated graphics – $1,499
Uknown SKU: Intel Core i5 / 256GB SSD / 8GB RAM / integrated graphics – $1,699
SX3-00001: Intel Core i5 / 256GB SSD / 8GB RAM / Nvidia dedicated GPU – $1,899
CQ9-00001: Intel Core i7 / 256GB SSD / 8GB RAM / Nvidia dedicated GPU – $2,099
CR9-00001: Intel Core i7 / 512GB SSD / 16GB RAM / Nvidia dedicated GPU – $2,699

The digitizer pen is included in the price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVfOe5mFbAE

Specifications of the Microsoft Surface Book

Here are the specs of the Microsoft Surface Book with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand Microsoft
Screen Size 13.5-inch

This is a small display size, typical for ultraportable laptops. There are however laptops with even smaller screens, with diagonals of 12.5" or less.
Screen Resolution 3000x2000 pixels

This resolution provides an excellent picture sharpness and a lot of space on the display for the user interface and apps. It's noticeably better than the popular Full HD and almost as good as Ultra HD 4K.
Touchscreen Finger multi-touch input

The screen supports finger touch input, including multi-touch gestures.

Active digitizer pen input

The screen supports active digitizer pen input, besides the common finger multi-touch input. In comparison to simple capacitive pens you can use on any touchscreen, active digitizer pen input provides advanced features like pressure sensitivity. Check with the laptop seller whether the active pen is included in the package.
Other Display Specs IPS type

Displays based on IPS technology provide much wider viewing angles than the budget-class TN screens.
System Memory (RAM) Size 8GB RAM

The 8GB RAM size is the standard one in 2023. It provides comfortable multi-tasking for the most home and office users.

16GB RAM

16GB and greater RAM sizes are recommended for heavy multitasking, gaming, and specialized programs that require a lot of RAM.
Data Storage 128GB SSD

128GB is a relatively small storage space. However, it is usable if you don't store a lot of large files like movies and don't install a lot of programs.

256GB SSD

256GB is a decent capacity. If you tend to download and store a lot of large files like movies and install many programs, 512GB or more is a better choice.

512GB SSD

512GB storage capacity is recommended if you store a lot of large files and install many programs.

1000GB (1TB) SSD

1TB is an excellent storage capacity. The sizes above 512GB, including 1TB, are recommended for those who store a lot of large files.
DVD Optical Drive None
Keyboard & Input Backlit keyboard without dedicated number pad

The keyboard has backlit keys for easier typing in the dark. There's no separate numeric pad you can typically find on the right side of the keyboard on many laptop models.

Touchpad with click buttons built into the surface

The left and right click buttons are built into the surface of the touchpad, as opposed to separate physical buttons.

Touchscreen

Active digitizer pen
Speakers & Audio Stereo speakers

As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers.

Combo microphone and headphones audio jack

This laptop has the ordinary 3.5mm combo audio jack that supports both headphone output and microphone input simultaneously.
Camera Front + rear

Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This device additionally has a rear camera.
Wi-Fi Wireless 802.11AC

The 802.11AC is the previous-generation wireless networking standard. It's also known as Wi-Fi 5. 802.11AC is succeeded by 802.11AX Wi-Fi 6 with data transfer speed and multi-device connectivity improvements.
Ethernet Network Port No

This laptop has no Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE) No
Bluetooth Yes

This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
USB Ports 2 x USB 3.0

A pair of full-size USB ports.
Video Output Ports 1 x mini DisplayPort

DisplayPort is a digital video output port. It is not as widely used as HDMI. The laptop has a compact "mini" version of DisplayPort on its side.
Media Card Reader SD card reader

The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Other Features Detachable keyboard included

Stylus pen
Battery "Up to 12 hours of video playback"
Weight 3.3 pounds
Height 0.9"
Width 12.3"
Depth 9.1"
Windows Version Windows 10 Pro

Windows 10 Pro version adds some business-specific features in comparison to the standard Windows Home. Windows 10 Pro upgradeable to the latest Windows 11 Pro for free.
Warranty 1-year

A typical laptop warranty.

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