Microsoft Surface Book i7 Release Date, Specs, Price & Updates: ‘Double The Power For Double The Performance’

Microsoft's latest Surface Book i7 is going to have double the juice with twice the GPU performance than the predecessor. It was announced yesterday at the Microsoft Surface Event 2016.

The objective for the Book i7 was straightforward. As per Microsoft exec, Panos Panay, "We took the Core i7, and then we gave it more." He also regarded it as the "ultimate laptop."

Microsoft Surface Book i7 Design:

Microsoft added in 1.9 teraflops of GPU to the new laptop which according to Panay is already considered one of the highest rated laptops in terms of customer satisfaction. But, there are little changes in the design of the device. You get a fully-detachable and reversible screen so that the laptop can be converted into a tablet when needed. The screen also supports touch or pen just like the previous Surface Book. The laptop also retains the Fulcrum Hinge which was rumored to be removed before the announcement.

Microsoft Surface Book i7 Specs and Features:

The most prominent upgrade in the new Microsoft Surface Book i7 is the GPU. The previous model had a "GeForce" GPU with no details on the model number for the unit. And, this speculated it to be GeForce GT 940 by most chip specialists.

But this time, Microsoft provides complete details on the GPU used in the Surface Book i7, which is a GeForce GTX 965M supported by 2GB of GDDR5. That is a formidable graphics performance upgrade which has not been witnessed in laptop which has a screen less than 15 inches. But, this might not be impressive for all.

GTX 965M might be great at performance, but it is not the latest in the series. It is still a produced on an outdated 28nm process. And, this does not stand any chance against NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti. The only reason why the Surface Book i7 could be a hit is because NVIDIA does not have a laptop version yet.

Nonetheless, adding in double the GPU performance power does make it more impressive than the previous Surface Book. The company even had to add in a hyperbolic fan to the laptop for keeping it cool. While the design is said to be same, it still looks a little bigger to the eyes compared to the old Surface Book.

Microsoft Surface Book i7 Got Bigger In Performance As Well As In size:

Comparing it to the previous model, we found that the Book i7 has got bigger in size. This is because of the addition of an extra fan that takes more space in the model. This is likely make the laptop heavier than the previous model.

Surface Book i7 Ports: A Disappointment?

Some fans might not find this likeable but the Surface Book i7 ports are the same as before. These include, a Mini DisplayPort, analog audio, and magnetic charging connector on the right side. The left side comprises of an SD card reader and 2 USB Type A ports. We do not get a Thunderbolt 3 or USB Type C ports on the laptop.

It feels nice to see that the new Microsoft Surface Book i7 has been pumped up with more GPU power. But, little changes to the design and ports might not be liked by all. Moreover, the price tag of $2,399 might not be everyone's cup of tea. Microsoft looks forward to ship the device starting November 10, 2016.