Back in June, Nvidia announced that it had signed a deal with Microsoft and a number of other PC manufacturers to develop AI and agent-enabled PCs for Windows based on RTX Spark chips, but there were few details about the machines at the time.
On Wednesday, at an event held during San Francisco Tech Week, Microsoft revealed specs and pricing for its new Surface Laptop Ultra. The PC comes in two basic models, one starting at $2,600 and one with a more powerful chip starting at $3,700. From there, the price increases as more memory and storage options are added, up to $5,900. (Microsoft says the top-of-the-line device is already out of stock.)
Microsoft also announced the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a new workstation powered by RTX Spark chips. Prices start at $6,000 and include Microsoft development tools such as VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, WSL, and PowerShell 7.
The pitch for these PCs and workstations is that they are designed to run AI models locally (and for free) on the device, with a CPU, GPU, unified memory, and other hardware modifications such as better cooling needed for processing.
Additionally, it runs an improved version of Windows 11 that includes a feature called “Running Containers.” The company says this makes it easier to sandbox AI agents. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the event that the feature is available to all Windows 11 users.
Nadella explained: “One of the things we’ve realized over the last three or four years is that just having a model doesn’t help you. You need to actually orchestrate it, and you need memory outside of the model. You need this leveraged layer that can bring in multiple models and context, memory, and action space.”
He added that Microsoft is making that possible “not just for our apps, but for any agent’s apps. That’s the goal going forward for the Windows platform.”
These devices are clearly aimed at developers, especially in Silicon Valley, where Macs have become a popular choice for developers and AI agent enthusiasts, so much so that Microsoft is offering up to $1,000 in discounts to those who trade in their MacBook Pros.
Still, with such powerful graphics processing, the company promises that these Surface PCs can also handle content creation, video processing, and gaming.
Microsoft wasn’t the only PC company to announce specifications for its new Nvidia-RTX Spark AI Windows PC on Wednesday. Dell also announced details for the previously announced Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition PC. It’s currently available for pre-order at Best Buy for delivery in late October, priced at $3,800.
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