Microsoft opens pre-orders for its Nvidia-powered Surface Laptop Ultra

Microsoft has opened pre-orders for both the Surface Laptop Ultra and the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box.[1] Laptop Ultra pre-orders start at $2,599 through Microsoft.com and select retailers worldwide, with availability beginning Oct. 16.[1] The Dev Box is listed at $5,999 for pre-order exclusively through Microsoft.com in the United States, with shipments beginning in November.[1] Microsoft is also offering up to $1,000 cash back to customers who trade in an eligible MacBook Pro for the Laptop Ultra.[1] These details give buyers different price points, channels and expected delivery windows to weigh.

Microsoft says it partnered with Nvidia to optimize Windows for the RTX Spark Superchip and designed the Laptop Ultra around that platform.[1] The laptop combines an Nvidia Blackwell RTX GPU with up to 6,144 cores, a Grace CPU with up to 20 cores and up to 128GB of unified memory.[1] Microsoft says it can run AI models exceeding 120 billion parameters locally and deliver up to one petaflop of AI performance.[1] Microsoft describes the Laptop Ultra as its most powerful Surface Laptop, aimed at creative, technical and AI workloads.[1]

Microsoft says the two devices are intended to combine PC and cloud computing for AI workloads.[1] Developers using the Laptop Ultra can work with local models and GitHub Copilot for on-device agentic coding, agent prototyping, code review and testing larger models, according to Microsoft.[1] The Dev Box offers up to one petaflop of AI performance and 128GB of unified memory, and comes with tools including Visual Studio Code, Git, GitHub CLI, GitHub Copilot, WSL, Python and Node.[1] Microsoft says Execution Containers will contain agents, upcoming Windows features will use Entra to distinguish agent activity from user activity, and Agent 365 controls will extend to local agents.[1]

Reuters described Microsoft’s strategy as a bet that some workloads now handled in Azure data centers could move to high-powered Windows computers used in businesses and homes.[3] The pre-order announcement puts specific prices and dates behind that direction: a laptop starting at $2,599 and a desk-focused Dev Box listed at $5,999.[1] Microsoft says the Laptop Ultra is less than 18 millimeters thick and weighs under 4.5 pounds, and that its thermal architecture has up to 2.5 times the thermal power capacity of its current Surface Laptops.[1] For buyers, the decision is whether those local-AI capabilities fit their workloads and budget.