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With a starting price of $2,599, this is not a budget alternative to Apple silicon. This is bleeding-edge hardware, and you’re going to be paying a premium for it. Depending on your selected processor and memory options, MSRP can reach as high as $5,899. Prospective buyers should note that the lower-specced 24GB unified memory model ships with Windows 11 Home, while the rest of the fleet arrives with Windows 11 Pro. I received the 64GB model for testing, and I think that would probably be the sweet spot for a lot of users to align cost and performance.
I really have to wonder if 24GB is enough to go around when we know that Windows 11 is memory-hungry on its own. When you have to assign a significant portion of that 24GB of unified memory to VRAM for gaming, does performance suffer? An audience question inside the Surface Laptop Ultra review information session asked about the usefulness of the base model, and didn’t get much back other than a vague “useful for smaller models locally” answer. Microsoft may have a more definitive answer to that question a few months from now when software and drivers catch up with hardware.
So has the Microsoft and Nvidia team-up created the ultimate all-in-one laptop? Or is this the industry once again putting the hardware hype cart before the finished-software horse?
Surface Laptop Ultra specs
| Specs at a glance: Surface Laptop Ultra | ||
| Base config | As reviewed | |
| Screen | 3:2, 15-inch mini-LED touchscreen; 3270×2180 (262 PPI) up to 120 Hz dynamic | 3:2, 15-inch mini-LED touchscreen; 3270×2180 (262 PPI) up to 120 Hz dynamic |
| OS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Pro |
| CPU | NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X (5120-core GPU, 18-core CPU) | NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X (6144-core GPU, 20-core CPU) (4.00 GHz) |
| RAM | 24GB LPDDR5x unified memory | 64GB LPDDR5x unified memory |
| GPU | Blackwell RTX GPU | Blackwell RTX GPU |
| Storage | 512GB SSD | 1TB SSD |
| Networking | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth Core 5.4 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth Core 5.4 |
| Ports | 2 x USB-C/USB4, 1 x USB-C/USB4 w/ Mag Connect, 1 x USB-A 3.1, 1 x HDMI 2.1b, SD Card Reader, 3.5mm Headphone Jack | 2 x USB-C/USB4, 1 x USB-C/USB4 w/ Mag Connect, 1 x USB-A 3.1, 1 x HDMI 2.1b, SD Card Reader, 3.5mm Headphone Jack |
| Size | 12.95×9.40×0.71 inches | 12.95×9.40×0.71 inches |
| Weight | 4.41 lbs (2.0 kg) | 4.41 lbs (2.0 kg) |
| MSRP | $2,599.99 | $4,299.99 |
| Additional features | 1080p front-facing webcam | 1080p front-facing webcam |
Tidy internals of the Surface Laptop Ultra. Microsoft promises the laptop is “built with serviceability in mind.”
Tidy internals of the Surface Laptop Ultra. Microsoft promises the laptop is “built with serviceability in mind.”
Display
The 15-inch mini-LED display might not be enough to get folks to run to the Ultra on its own, but it’s a compelling reason to add it to the list. The 3270×2180 native resolution looks simply stunning whether you’re watching a 4K video, playing games, or just staring at a desktop spreadsheet. I preferred the Enhanced color profile, but Vivid and sRGB modes looked fantastic as well.
Not the easiest to photograph, but the screen is stunning in person.
Not the easiest to photograph, but the screen is stunning in person.
Blacks stayed deep against bright, vivid subjects without any sort of visible blooming. I wish I could say the same for my TV. While I can’t quantify how it stacks side by side with the latest MacBook Pro Retina display, I can say that this is a damn nice screen. Viewing angles are superb, colors are punchy, and the 2,000-nit peak brightness kept things legible even in a room flooded with natural sunlight. My only gripe is that in bright rooms, there is glare to contend with. The glossy glass looks fantastic at lower light levels but can act a bit mirror-like in direct sunlight. It hindered my ability to photograph the screen more than it did my ability to use the computer. Still, if you’re looking for a matte-screen laptop, you might want to keep that in mind.
