The Surface Book 2 – Microsoft’s powerful 2-in-1 tablet and laptop hybrid – was a great machine back in the day, but that day was now two years ago and it feels a touch long in the tooth. Especially as it still goes for a pretty penny, even with recent discounts taken into account.
But it looks like a follow up may not be too far away, according to leaked 3DMark benchmarks shared by Twitter user _rogame.
Another config with :
i7-1065G7
GTX 1650 Max Q pic.twitter.com/K4LOPqmJOR— _rogame (@_rogame) January 29, 2020
Related: Surface Book 3
This could all be a big hoax, of course, but instinctively it feels right. Although the words “Surface Book” don’t appear anywhere in the listings, there are two big clues. Firstly, the fact that Microsoft is listed as the vendor, and secondly the pairing of a dedicated GPU and a lower powered mobile processor is very much the calling card of the Surface Book range.
The benchmarks show a couple of configurations of the Surface Book 3, with the Intel Core i7-1065G7 paired with both the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q and the GTX 1650 Max-Q.
That Ice Lake chip might not be the only one in use, with _rogame posting leak with an unspecified processor, which could yet be a TigerLake:
Don't rule out TigerLake for Surfacebook 3 just yet
GB4 Compute ( TGL-U + GTX 1660 Ti) : https://t.co/rhASw0tme4
Also a new 3dmark entry for a Microsoft Device with a 2.3GHz intel CPU using the same 26.20.100.7807 drivers as the last TGL GB5 run : https://t.co/wHK9IQX1Lw pic.twitter.com/WQ7VTKEI43
— _rogame (@_rogame) January 30, 2020
There’s no timeline for the release as yet, but you would imagine some time this year if we’re at the point where benchmarks are emerging. Prices are likely to be extremely high, but the Surface Book series does offer something unique, even if it’s not to everybody’s tastes (or budget).
Related: Best tablets
As Alastair wrote in our review of the Surface Book 2: “If you’re a power user for whom money is no object, you’ll struggle to do better than the Surface Book. Featuring a super-swish design, cutting-edge hardware and a pleasingly bloatware-free Windows install, it’s hard to fault the Surface Book 2 for most tasks.”
It’s likely the Surface Book 3 will follow suit, whenever it sees the light of day.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
