Microsoft’s new Surface Book 3 is here, with an update that keeps the design largely the same as the previous model but overhauls the internal specs up to the top standards of what you’d expect from a 2020 laptop.
The new laptops — once again, available in 13.5-inch and 15-inch sizes — promise improvements of up to 50 percent compared to their predecessors, with options for discrete Nvidia GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics cards on the 13-inch model, and the GTX 1660Ti on the 15-inch. (Enterprise customers will also have the option of the Quadro RTX 3000.)
The processors have also been upgraded to Intel’s 10th Gen Ice Lake chips for better performance and battery optimization. The new Surface Book 3 models also can charge faster and offer the option to configure with up to 32GB of RAM for more demanding users.
Of course, specs aren’t the whole story with any laptop, but the Surface Book 3 lineup certain seems to have plenty to offer. If you want a better picture of how it measures up, we’ve compiled some charts comparing the new hardware to other top 13-inch and 15-inch laptops — including Apple’s newly refreshed MacBook Pro lineup — below.
Surface Book 3 (13.5-inch) comparison
| Category | Surface Book 3 (base configuration) | Surface Book 3 (top configuartion) | MacBook Pro (base configuration) | MacBook Pro (top configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (base configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (top configuration) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Surface Book 3 (base configuration) | Surface Book 3 (top configuartion) | MacBook Pro (base configuration) | MacBook Pro (top configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (base configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (top configuration) |
| Starting price | $2,299 | $3,399 | $2,399 | $2,799 | $1,100 | $1,899.99 |
| OS | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | macOS Catalina | macOS Catalina | Windows 10 | Windows 10 |
| Display | 15-inch (3240 x 2160,) | 15-inch (3240 x 2160) | 16‑inch (3072 x1920) Retina display | 16‑inch (3072 x1920) Retina display | 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) | 15.6 (3840 x 2160) OLED |
| Pixels per inch | 260 ppi | 260 ppi | 226 ppi | 226 ppi | 141 ppi | 282 ppi |
| Refresh rate | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 | 16:10 | 16:10 | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Dimensions | 13.5 x 9.87 inches | 13.5 x 9.87 inches | 14.09 x 9.68 inches | 14.09 x 9.68 inches | 14.06 x 9.07 inches | 14.06 x 9.07 inches |
| Thickness | 0.90 inches | 0.90 inches | 0.64 inches | 0.64 inches | 0.66 inches | 0.66 inches |
| Weight | 1,905g | 1,905g | 1,406g | 1,406g | 1,800g | 2,000g |
| Battery capacity | Claims up to 17.5 hours | Claims up to 17.5 hours | 58.2 watt hours | 58 watt hours | 56 watt hours | 97 watt hours |
| Processor | 1.2 GHz 10th-Gen quad-core Intel Core i5-1035G7 | 1.3 GHz 10th-Gen quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 | 2.6GHz 6‑core 9th-Gen Intel Core i7 | 2.3GHz 8‑core 9th-Gen Intel Core i9 | 2.4GHz 4-core 9th-Gen Intel Core i5-9300H | 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-9750H |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q with 6GB DDR6 memory |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q with 6GB DDR6 memory |
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 with 4GB GDDR5 memory |
| RAM | 16GB | 32GB | 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory | 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory | 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory | 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory |
| Storage | 256GB | 2TB | 512GB SSD | 1TB SSD | 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD | 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Ports | Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, One USB-C, two Surface Connect ports, SDXC card reader | Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, One USB-C, two Surface Connect ports, SDXC card reader | Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports | Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports | One HDMI, 1 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C, two USB-A 3.1, SD card reader | One HDMI, 1 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C, two USB-A 3.1, SD card reader |
| Rear cameras | Single 1080p lens | Single 1080p lens | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Front cameras | Single 1080p lens | Single 1080p lens | 720p | 720p | 720p | 720p |
| Biometrics | Windows Hello | Windows Hello | Touch ID | Touch ID | Fingerprint reader | Fingerprint reader |
| Power Adapter | 127W | 127W | 96W USB-C | 96W USB-C | 130W | 130W |
| Colors | Silver | Silver | Space gray, silver | Space gray, silver | Silver | Silver |
| Wi-Fi 6 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| 3.5mm headphone jack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Surface Book 3 15-inch comparison
| Category | Surface Book 3 (base configuration) | Surface Book 3 (top configuartion) | MacBook Pro (base configuration) | MacBook Pro (top configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (base configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (top configuration) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Surface Book 3 (base configuration) | Surface Book 3 (top configuartion) | MacBook Pro (base configuration) | MacBook Pro (top configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (base configuration) | Dell XPS 15 (top configuration) |
| Starting price | $2,299 | $3,399 | $2,399 | $2,799 | $1,100 | $1,899.99 |
| OS | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | macOS Catalina | macOS Catalina | Windows 10 | Windows 10 |
| Display | 15-inch (3240 x 2160,) | 15-inch (3240 x 2160) | 16‑inch (3072 x1920) Retina display | 16‑inch (3072 x1920) Retina display | 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) | 15.6 (3840 x 2160) OLED |
| Pixels per inch | 260 ppi | 260 ppi | 226 ppi | 226 ppi | 141 ppi | 282 ppi |
| Refresh rate | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz | Up to 60Hz |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 | 16:10 | 16:10 | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Dimensions | 13.5 x 9.87 inches | 13.5 x 9.87 inches | 14.09 x 9.68 inches | 14.09 x 9.68 inches | 14.06 x 9.07 inches | 14.06 x 9.07 inches |
| Thickness | 0.90 inches | 0.90 inches | 0.64 inches | 0.64 inches | 0.66 inches | 0.66 inches |
| Weight | 1,905g | 1,905g | 1,406g | 1,406g | 1,800g | 2,000g |
| Battery capacity | Claims up to 17.5 hours | Claims up to 17.5 hours | 58.2 watt hours | 58 watt hours | 56 watt hours | 97 watt hours |
| Processor | 1.2 GHz 10th-Gen quad-core Intel Core i5-1035G7 | 1.3 GHz 10th-Gen quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 | 2.6GHz 6‑core 9th-Gen Intel Core i7 | 2.3GHz 8‑core 9th-Gen Intel Core i9 | 2.4GHz 4-core 9th-Gen Intel Core i5-9300H | 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-9750H |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q with 6GB DDR6 memory |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q with 6GB DDR6 memory |
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 with 4GB GDDR5 memory |
| RAM | 16GB | 32GB | 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory | 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory | 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory | 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory |
| Storage | 256GB | 2TB | 512GB SSD | 1TB SSD | 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD | 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Ports | Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, One USB-C, two Surface Connect ports, SDXC card reader | Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, One USB-C, two Surface Connect ports, SDXC card reader | Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports | Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports | One HDMI, 1 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C, two USB-A 3.1, SD card reader | One HDMI, 1 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C, two USB-A 3.1, SD card reader |
| Rear cameras | Single 1080p lens | Single 1080p lens | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Front cameras | Single 1080p lens | Single 1080p lens | 720p | 720p | 720p | 720p |
| Biometrics | Windows Hello | Windows Hello | Touch ID | Touch ID | Fingerprint reader | Fingerprint reader |
| Power Adapter | 127W | 127W | 96W USB-C | 96W USB-C | 130W | 130W |
| Colors | Silver | Silver | Space gray, silver | Space gray, silver | Silver | Silver |
| Wi-Fi 6 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| 3.5mm headphone jack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
