Microsoft unveils Surface PCs built on Nvidia's RTX Spark chip
At an event in San Francisco, Microsoft revealed the Surface Laptop Ultra and the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, both designed to run AI models locally. They ship with a revamped Windows 11 that adds a new feature for sandboxing AI agents.
Microsoft on Wednesday disclosed the specifications and pricing of new devices based on Nvidia's RTX Spark chip, at an event held in San Francisco during the city's Tech Week. Nvidia said in June that it had reached agreements with Microsoft and other PC makers to develop AI- and agent-ready Windows PCs, but few details about the machines were available then.
Prices and models
The Surface Laptop Ultra comes in two base versions: one starting at $2,600 and a model with a more powerful chip starting at $3,700. Options with more memory and storage push the price as high as $5,900. Microsoft says the top configuration is already out of stock.
The company also showed the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a workstation starting at $6,000. It comes with Microsoft developer tools including VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, WSL and PowerShell 7.
Running AI locally
Both devices are meant to run AI models on the device itself, free of charge, using the CPU, GPU, unified memory and additional hardware changes such as improved cooling. They run a revamped version of Windows 11 that includes a feature called "Execution Containers," which makes it easier to sandbox AI agents. CEO Satya Nadella said at the event that the feature will be available to all Windows 11 users.
Nadella argued that over the past three to four years it has become clear that a model alone does little. According to him, orchestration is needed, along with memory outside the model and a layer that combines multiple models with context, memory and the action space. He said Microsoft is enabling this not only for its own apps but for anyone's agent.
Target audience
The devices are clearly aimed at developers. Microsoft is offering up to $1,000 off for customers who trade in a MacBook Pro, since Macs have become popular with developers and AI agent enthusiasts, particularly in Silicon Valley. The company also promises that the powerful graphics processing makes the PCs suitable for content creation, video processing and gaming.
Dell also announced details on Wednesday for its previously announced XPS 16 Creator Edition. It is available for preorder now, with delivery later in October at Best Buy, priced at $3,800.
