Microsoft opens Surface Laptop Ultra preorders at $2,599 with Nvidia RTX Spark

Microsoft opened preorders for the Surface Laptop Ultra on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at its Windows and Surface event in San Francisco, and the price came in lower than many people feared. The base model costs $2,599, the top configuration reaches $5,899, and shipments are expected to start Oct. 16. It is the first Surface built on Nvidia's new RTX Spark platform, and it arrives alongside a wave of RTX Spark laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Asus, MSI and HP.

The pitch is simple: a thin Windows laptop that can run serious AI models, edit video and play demanding games without leaning on the cloud. Whether that is worth thousands of dollars depends on what you do every day. Here is what was announced, what it costs and who should actually care.

What Microsoft announced on Oct. 7

The livestream started at 10 a.m. Pacific and covered three things: new hardware, the RTX Spark chip from Nvidia, and a long list of AI features coming to Windows 11.

On the hardware side, the headline was the Surface Laptop Ultra, which Microsoft first previewed at Computex earlier this year. According to Windows Central, preorders are live on Microsoft.com, and Microsoft describes the machine as a tool for creators, AI builders, scientists and engineers rather than everyday buyers.

Microsoft also showed a Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a compact desktop for developers priced at $5,999, and confirmed refreshed versions of the 12 inch Surface Pro and 13 inch Surface Laptop with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 chips and brighter screens. Prices for those two models were not shared in the coverage we reviewed.

Windows 12 did not appear. Everything shown ran on Windows 11.

Surface Laptop Ultra price and configurations

TweakTown, which listed the configurations from the Microsoft Store, counted eight versions. They split into two chip tiers:

• 18 core CPU with a 5,120 core GPU: $2,599 (24GB memory, 512GB SSD), $2,999 (24GB, 1TB) and $3,299 (32GB, 1TB).
• 20 core CPU with a 6,144 core GPU: $3,699 (32GB, 1TB), $3,999 (48GB, 1TB), $4,299 (64GB, 1TB), $4,699 (64GB, 2TB) and $5,899 (128GB, 1TB).

Two details stand out. First, the jump from 64GB to 128GB of memory adds $1,600, which is steep even by laptop standards. Second, you cannot combine the biggest memory option with the biggest drive. The 128GB model only comes with 1TB of storage, and the 2TB drive is only offered with 64GB.

Earlier leaks had suggested prices above $7,000, so the actual range landed well below the worst rumors. Windows Central's reviewer called the price high but more reasonable than expected for the target audience, and noted that rising memory and storage costs have pushed laptop prices up across the industry.

Key specs

Based on the event coverage from BGR and Windows Central, Microsoft says the Surface Laptop Ultra offers:

• Nvidia's RTX Spark chip, pairing an N1X processor with a Blackwell RTX graphics chip
• Up to 128GB of unified memory shared by the CPU and GPU
• Up to 1 petaflop of FP4 AI performance
• A 15 inch mini LED touchscreen that Microsoft calls its PixelSense Ultra display
• A body under 18mm thick and under 4.5 pounds
• 2.5 times the thermal capacity of existing Surface Laptops
• A breakaway magnetic USB-C charging port, which Microsoft says is a first for a laptop

The magnetic port is a small but practical touch. If someone trips over the cable, it should pop out instead of dragging the laptop off the table, the same idea Apple has used with MagSafe for years.

Microsoft also claims the laptop keeps nearly all of its performance on battery, according to BGR's live coverage. Independent battery and performance tests were not available at launch, so treat that as a company claim for now.

Why RTX Spark matters

RTX Spark is Nvidia's push into the Windows laptop processor market, a space long dominated by Intel and AMD and more recently challenged by Qualcomm. The idea is a single "superchip" with a large pool of shared memory, which matters a lot for running AI models locally.

Large AI models need a lot of memory. On a typical laptop, the graphics chip has its own small pool of memory, which limits how big a model you can load. With up to 128GB shared between processor and graphics, an RTX Spark machine can hold far larger models on the device itself. During the event, presenters said DeepSeek V4 Flash can run locally within 60GB of memory, and that Microsoft had cut the footprint of its own coding model by 80%.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang did not undersell it. "We reinvented the personal computer completely," he said on stage, according to BGR's live blog.

If you want a refresher on what these models and assistants can actually do, our guide to AI agents and where they still fail is a good starting point.

The other RTX Spark laptops

Microsoft is not the only one selling these machines. BGR reported that five partner laptops are available to preorder now and begin shipping Friday, Oct. 16:

• Lenovo Yoga 9n 2 in 1
• Asus ProArt P14
• Dell XPS 16
• MSI Prestige N16
• HP OmniBook Ultra 16

Pricing for those models was not part of the coverage we reviewed. Nvidia also said two RTX Spark desktops are coming later this year.

What changes in Windows

The software side may end up affecting more people than the hardware. Microsoft is calling its approach "Hybrid Intelligence," meaning Copilot decides whether a task runs on a local model or in the cloud. BGR reported that users can switch this behavior off.

With permission, Copilot will be able to read local files and take actions on your PC. In one demo, it searched a computer for tax documents, moved and renamed them, zipped them and drafted an email to an accountant. Microsoft also showed a redesigned Windows Search that can take screenshots, arrange windows and send texts from the search bar, due this fall.

On security, Microsoft said Defender will flag malicious prompts, agent activity will be kept separate from user activity, and businesses will be able to see which agents are running and restrict them. Those controls will matter, because an assistant that can move files around is also an assistant that can be tricked. Our look at how Google is reshaping its free Gemini tier shows how quickly the economics of cloud AI are shifting, which is part of why running models on your own hardware is getting attention.

Who should buy the Surface Laptop Ultra

For most people, the honest answer is nobody yet.

If you write documents, browse, stream and join video calls, a $1,000 laptop will serve you just as well. Our guide on how to choose a laptop without overpaying walks through what actually matters for typical use.

The Surface Laptop Ultra makes more sense if you:

• Run or test AI models locally and need lots of memory
• Edit high resolution video or do 3D work on the move
• Need a single portable machine for both creative work and development

Gamers should be careful. Windows Central advised against buying it as a dedicated gaming machine, even though its graphics chip supports ray tracing and DLSS. Microsoft and Nvidia said Call of Duty is coming to RTX Spark in 2027, which tells you game support is still being built out. If gaming on the go is your priority, our handheld gaming PC guide covers cheaper options.

Should you preorder?

There is little reason to rush. Reviews based on retail units should appear soon after Oct. 16. TweakTown noted that an early look at a pre-release Dev Box reported rough drivers, which is common with a brand new chip platform. Waiting a few weeks for real battery tests, app compatibility checks and thermal results is the sensible move, especially at these prices.

What to watch next

The next few weeks will show whether RTX Spark delivers on its promises. Watch for independent benchmarks against Apple's MacBook Pro, which is the obvious rival for this kind of buyer. Watch app compatibility too, since a new processor platform can trip up older Windows software. And watch how the Snapdragon X2 Surface models are priced, since they may be the better buy for most people.

For more coverage of new devices, visit our gadgets section.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Surface Laptop Ultra cost?

Prices start at $2,599 for the model with 24GB of memory and a 512GB drive. The most expensive version, with 128GB of memory, costs $5,899.

When does the Surface Laptop Ultra ship?

Preorders opened on Oct. 7, 2026, and shipments are expected to begin Oct. 16, according to Windows Central.

What is Nvidia RTX Spark?

RTX Spark is Nvidia's new chip platform for Windows PCs. It combines an N1X processor and a Blackwell graphics chip with a large pool of shared memory, which helps run AI models on the device.

Did Microsoft announce Windows 12?

No. Everything shown at the Oct. 7 event ran on Windows 11, with new AI features arriving through updates.