Microsoft Surface Book specs, features, price: Latest i7 starts at $2,399

Kristinova V. Justimbaste Friday, October 28, 2016

Promotional image for Microsoft Surface Book i7 | Microsoft

Microsoft recently unveiled an upgraded version of the Surface Book, which is now known as the Surface Book i7. The two-in-one notebook boasts a longer battery life, enhanced performance as well as a hefty price tag.

Microsoft's Surface Book i7 starts at $2,099. Is the latest upgrade worth that much?

The upgraded device is powered by an Intel Core i7 "Skylake" processor. It also has 8 GB worth of RAM and a 256 GB storage capacity. Some tech enthusiasts are not impressed with the upgrade since it still uses the previous device's processor instead of the latest Kaby Lake processor.

However, reports say that the biggest improvement to the Surface Book is its GPU. The upgraded version utilizes the Nvidia's GeForce GTX 965M GPU, which has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory. According to ZDNet, with the latest GPU, the Surface Book i7 can be able to produce 1.9 teraflops of graphics performance, which is twice the capacity of the previous unit.

The Surface Book i7 is equipped with a larger battery that lasts up to 16 hours on a single charge. The device's current battery life in laptop mode is 30 percent more than the original Surface Book. Microsoft has yet to confirm the Surface Book's battery life in tablet mode.

The GTX 965M won't be the latest GPU for long. Nvidia has already confirmed that they are developing the GeForce GTX 1050 and 1050i for desktop computers, as reported by PCMag. On the other hand, the manufacturer still hasn't announced the laptop version of the GTX 1050/1050.

Furthermore, the Surface Book i7 has a fan to keep the device cool. Since the upgraded laptop contains an extra fan, the i7's keyboard hump looks a bit thicker than the preceding unit. Moreover, the device is heavier than the original Surface Book. From 3.48 pounds, the upgraded Microsoft device now weighs 3.68 pounds.

Another shocking factor about the Surface Book i7 is its price. From $1,499, the laptop now costs $2,099. A 16G B RAM/512 GB i7 costs $2,699 and an even larger 16 GB RAM/1 TB unit costs $3,199.