Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra Starts at $2,599 With RTX Spark

Ever wondered what happens when Microsoft and NVIDIA cram a desktop-class GPU into a laptop? Meet the Surface Laptop Ultra, and it starts at US$2,599.

Announced on the morning of the 8th, Taiwan time, the Surface Laptop Ultra runs NVIDIA's RTX Spark superchip — the same NVIDIA GB10 Grace Blackwell silicon found in NVIDIA's earlier DGX Spark. The top configuration packs a GPU roughly equivalent in scale to a desktop GeForce RTX 5070, paired with a 20-core Arm CPU made of 10 Cortex-X925 cores plus 10 Cortex-A725 cores.

Microsoft claims some big numbers against Apple's M5 Pro MacBook Pro: 2.1x token performance, 4.3x faster image generation, and 6.2x faster video generation. The laptop measures 17.99 mm thick (19.16 mm with the feet) and weighs 2 kg, with a 15-inch mini-LED-backlit IPS display at a 3:2 aspect ratio and 3270 x 2180 resolution (262 PPI). It's also the world's first device with a magnetic USB-C charging connector.

Jensen Huang had a few words for the occasion, noting that NVIDIA was founded because of Windows and that AI agents are now coming to the platform. "Without Windows, there would be no GeForce," he said.

Pricing splits into two chip tiers, both branded RTX Spark N1X. The entry tier uses a 5120-core GPU and 18-core CPU, starting at US$2,599 with 24 GB unified memory and a 512GB SSD, and going up to US$2,999 for 1TB. The higher-performance tier steps up to a 6144-core GPU and 20-core CPU, with 32 GB/1TB at US$3,699, 48 GB/1TB at US$3,999, 64 GB/2TB at US$4,699, and a maxed-out 128 GB/1TB config at US$5,899.

Alongside it, Microsoft also revealed its first mini PC: the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box. It carries the 6144-core GPU and 20-core CPU RTX Spark N1X, 128 GB of unified memory, and a 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSD, wrapped in a chunky CNC aluminum chassis with a cross-hatch pattern and a 100W thermal design power. It's priced at US$5,999.

Both devices are up for pre-order right now. The Surface Laptop Ultra ships starting October 16, while the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box follows on November 24. So, does the magnetic USB-C alone sell you, or is that price tag a dealbreaker? Will you be picking one up?