Microsoft Surface Book 3 may be a content creation powerhouse

(Image credit: Future)

Microsoft is expected to launch the Surface Book 3 in a matter of weeks and a new leak suggests it will offer a major spec upgrade under the hood. 

The leak, courtesy of tipster Roland Quandt, all but confirms that the Surface Book 3 will feature Intel 10th-generation Comet Lake processors, with the 13-inch model and 15-inch variants set to pack Core i5-10210U and Core i7-10510U CPUs, respectively. 

Further, a 3DMark listing suggests that Microsoft will offer the Surface Book 3 with the GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q and GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q graphics, positioning the laptop as a specced-out machine aimed at content creators and professional users.

Quandt believes these Quadro GPUs will only make their way to the Surface Book 3 15, specifically SKUs with 32GB of RAM and at least 512GB of storage.

According to this latest leak from Quandt, the Surface Book 3 will be available from $1,699 (around £1,385, AU$3,318), which will get you a 13-inch i5 model sans dGPU with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Microsoft’s top-spec 15-inch Core i7 model with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage will set you back a hefty $3,399 (around £2,770, AU$6,640). The Surface Book 3 is widely expected to make its debut in May, alongside a revamped Surface Dock and the so-called Surface Go 2.

Many forms

The tipster also notes that Microsoft is planning more, as yet undisclosed variants of the Surface Book 3. Given last year’s Surface Laptop 3 was offered in both Intel and AMD versions, we wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft was also planning to add an Team Red variant to its Surface Book lineup.

Hardware leaker @_rogame recently discovered AMD Ryzen 4000 benchmark that showed the Zen 2 APU inside a mysterious Surface device, speculating that the device, which sports a custom Ryzen 7 CPU with integrated Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics, could be the incoming Surface Book 3.

This all means that the Surface Book 3 could be utilizing a wide range of different hardware so both casual and professional users can get a model that will be perfect for their actual needs. Whether you need the professional graphics power that a Quadro GPU offers or whether you just need something that can run Photoshop, these Surface Book 3 leaks suggest everyone will get what they need. 

Carly Page

Carly Page is a Freelance journalist, copywriter and editor specialising in Consumer/B2B technology. She has written for a range of titles including Computer Shopper, Expert Reviews, IT Pro, the Metro, PC Pro, TechRadar and Tes.