Surface Laptop Ultra Review: $2,599 Start, 128GB Memory Option
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra, built on Nvidia's RTX Spark chip, starts at $2,599 and offers up to 128GB of unified memory. A published review praises the design and AI potential but questions the price for gamers and creators.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra, the most powerful Surface yet, starts at $2,599 and is built around Nvidia's new RTX Spark chip, according to a published surface laptop ultra review. The 15-inch notebook can carry up to 128GB of unified memory, a spec aimed at people who run AI models on their own machine.
The reviewer's verdict is mixed. The hardware and design earn praise, while the price limits who should buy it.
Price and configurations
The base model costs $2,599 and comes with 24GB of RAM. The price climbs quickly for anyone who wants more memory. The top RTX Spark configuration costs $3,700 and ships with 32GB of RAM.
The entry model has 18 CPU cores and 5,120 GPU cores. The most powerful version has up to 20 CPU cores and 6,144 GPU cores.
Apple is also pushing prices up, the review notes. Its new touchscreen MacBook Pros with PROLED screens start at $2,899.
What the chip does
RTX Spark is an Arm-based system-on-a-chip. Like Apple Silicon and Qualcomm's recent Snapdragon X chips, it uses unified memory that the CPU and GPU share. That gives it more memory bandwidth than a typical Intel or AMD Windows PC, where RAM, processor and graphics chip sit apart on the motherboard.
Direct access to large amounts of RAM lets the laptop hold big AI models locally. Microsoft and Nvidia are pitching that as a major step for PCs.
For games, the review says the chip performs like an RTX 5070 laptop GPU. That suits 1440p play. Nvidia's DLSS upscaling and frame generation should also help at 4K and other higher resolutions.
Design
The Surface Laptop Ultra skips the convertible features of Microsoft's other Surfaces. It looks like a sleek, all-metal business laptop. The 15-inch screen uses a tall 3:2 aspect ratio rather than a widescreen shape.
The base is slightly segmented, similar to the Surface Laptop Studio. That makes room for cooling vents and downward-firing speakers. The reviewer calls the screen super-bright and says the device "screams quality."
Arm software trade-offs
The Arm processor can run more efficiently than Intel and AMD's x86-64 chips. But older Windows software and drivers must be emulated, which can cause bugs, especially in niche apps and thinly supported third-party drivers.
The review says this was a major problem in Microsoft's early Windows on Arm devices, including the original Surface with Windows RT and the Surface Pro X. It adds that Microsoft's emulation for x86-64 software has improved dramatically.
Who should buy it
The reviewer expects AI enthusiasts who have waited for capable Windows machines to buy one regardless of cost. Most gamers and content creators, the review argues, would be better off saving $1,000 and buying a capable gaming laptop. Many RTX 5070 gaming notebooks start well below the Surface's price.
The review also criticizes PC makers for releasing pricier computers while AI-driven memory price hikes already hurt buyers, calling the trend "some sort of cosmic capitalist joke."
