Microsoft updates the Surface Book with double the graphic performance

This morning’s big Microsoft event is all about the software, but, as anticipated, the company also had a few hardware surprises up their brightly colored sleeves. After all, you’re going to need some devices specially tailored to the new Windows 10 Creators Update, what the company is modestly referring to as, “the world’s largest collaborative software project.”

With the new Surface Book i7, there's no limit to what your laptop can do. #MicrosoftEvent pic.twitter.com/FhkCPkiDym

— Microsoft Surface (@surface) October 26, 2016

A year after launching the Surface Book, the company is back with a new version of the hybrid device, with a newfound focus on gamers, courtesy of some seriously ramped-up internal specs. Due out mid-next month, the Surface Book i7 features 2X the graphic performance of the last version of the device (3X more than the 13-inch MacBook, the company happily adds).

That’s 1.9 teraflops of graphic performance, according to the company, coupled with an improved (and likely much needed) cooling system. Also impressive is the stated 16 hours of battery life (30 percent more, according to the company’s numbers). All of that is jammed into the same form factor as the last version.

What the company calls “pound for pound the best laptop on the market” is up for pre-order as of today, priced at $2,399 — significantly pricier, the company noted, than the entry-level Surface device currently priced at $899.