Microsoft first unveiled its all-in-one Surface Studio PC almost two years ago at a press event in New York City. Today, Microsoft is returning to New York to unveil the second generation of the Surface Studio. The Surface Studio 2 has the same 28-inch display as the original, but Microsoft has tweaked the display and boosted the internals to make this the “fastest Surface ever.”
The new display is 38 percent brighter than the previous model, and it has 22 percent more contrast. All of this is powered by 13.5 million pixels on the Surface Studio 2 display and support for 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity on the Surface Pen. Microsoft is also supporting tilt functionality on the Surface Pen with the Surface Studio 2.
Inside, there’s 50 percent more graphics power, thanks to a new Nvidia chip based on the Pascal architecture. This should make it a lot more capable of video rendering and even gaming. Like the original, there’s built-in Xbox Wireless support for connecting any Xbox One controller and the device can be paired with the company’s neat paint palette-style Surface Dial for digital animation, photo editing, and illustration work.
Microsoft is overhauling the specs elsewhere, too. There’s a 2TB SSD inside, instead of the slower hybrid drive on the original Surface Studio. That should immediately make this machine far faster and more capable, but Microsoft has strangely decided to stick with a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 processor inside. While the GPU and storage will be a lot faster, the processor won’t be as fast as you can get on other all-in-one PCs in 2018.
Microsoft isn’t revealing exactly when this new Surface Studio 2 will launch, only that it’s “coming soon” alongside the company’s new Surface Headphones. The base model comes with an Intel Kaby Lake-based i7 processor and 16GB RAM, and the price will start at $3,499.
Comments
This is the sweetest desktop PC I have ever seen, far more desirable than an iMac
By thedawn on 10.02.18 4:59pm
If you use/like/need Windows. I love the design of this PC but my workflow is macOS heavy. The lack of USB-C/TB3 is pretty unacceptable tho.
By GuyThink on 10.02.18 5:12pm
As a mac user shouldnt you be cool with using dongles to do all that?
By GNTsquid on 10.02.18 5:32pm
Dongles can’t add what isn’t there. You need an internal Thunderbolt controller for Thunderbolt. Those aren’t cheap, but definitely should have been included in a $3,500 machine. Also, Microsoft’s Surface connector to USB C dongle is absolutely ridiculous.
By Suchir on 10.02.18 5:49pm
what dongle isnt ridiculous?
By GNTsquid on 10.03.18 3:38pm
The USB C to HDMI, USB A, and USB C I always keep in my bag is nice.
By Suchir on 10.03.18 5:42pm
no its still stupid.
By GNTsquid on 10.03.18 6:40pm
ok thanks ill throw it away now
By Suchir on 10.03.18 11:30pm
.dupe post
By GNTsquid on 10.03.18 3:39pm
I don’t need a dongle for USB-C/TB3. It’s my only option. You can’t affix a dongle onto these devices to give it TB3, however, I can pretty much get any I/O my heart desires with USB-C.
By GuyThink on 10.02.18 6:29pm
It has a USB-C port on the back. Unsure about whether it is TB3 or not.
By Fourth&Goal on 10.03.18 8:28am
I’m hoping the October mac event impresses me, though it’s unlikely to become their version of this.
By tipoo on 10.02.18 5:16pm
But, it makes the 5K iMac look cheap!!! Apple… cheap… wow.
Surface studio 2: $3500 to $4800, lol. And please don’t compare it to the iMac Pro, that thing is a power beast.
By BigVern on 10.03.18 9:11am
Super curious about the new Nvidia chip. The base is too small for a RTX 2080/70 chip. So what is in there?
By mschauk on 10.02.18 4:59pm
NVIDIA’s next-generation Pascal graphics
By thedawn on 10.02.18 5:01pm
Pascal is 1000 series, next gen is RTX.. although the pascal/1000 series for this size is all there really is atm so it’s likely a 1050ti or 1060 Max Q.
By EleMenTfiNi on 10.02.18 5:08pm
Wouldn’t surprise me if it a custom chip Nvidia created for Surface Studio
By thedawn on 10.02.18 5:15pm
I hope so and maybe be comparable to a 1080. If it turns out to be a 1050Ti or a 1060 Max Q, I’d be disappointed considering how much the Studio 2 is going to cost and the fact that the SurfaceBook 2 is already sporting a 1060.
By LogainAblar on 10.02.18 5:17pm
They said 50% faster than the last one, which maxed out at a GTX 980M. If they mean the maximum then I believe it could get there at least with a Max-W 1080, but if they meant the base 965 GPU then no. Or they could mean there’s two new GPUs and both are 50% faster, then yeah again lol.
By tipoo on 10.02.18 5:29pm
Windows Central is reporting that it’s a GTX 1070. Dunno if they’re right…
By TheStrange on 10.02.18 5:31pm
Sounds about right, 1070 or else max-q 1080.
By tipoo on 10.02.18 5:35pm
It’s a 1060 on the base model and a 1070 on the maxed out version, not sure if it is Max-Q or not but those are both very capable CPU’s and certainly outperform the standard iMac counterpart.
By EleMenTfiNi on 10.03.18 6:50pm
Depends who you’re asking. There seems to be two architectures sharing the market right now: Turing and Volta.
By NukedKaltak on 10.02.18 5:47pm
Pascal is 1000 series, next gen is RTX.. although the pascal/1000 series for this size is all there really is atm so it’s likely a 1050ti or 1060 Max Q.
By EleMenTfiNi on 10.02.18 5:08pm
On Microsoft lists the GTX 1060 and 1070 as the GPU options. These must be custom modules built into the board. They are not Max Q, or at least MS’s does not list these as Max Q on its own tech specs. I’m super curious how these are cooled now. And super interested to know if they perform to spec or if they are super throttled.
By mschauk on 10.02.18 7:26pm