Surface Book 3 15” vs. Surface Book 2 13.5”: Full specs comparison

The following is a comprehensive comparison of the Surface Book 3 15” and Surface Book 2 13.5” specifications, including details on CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Surface Book 3 15” Pros

Reasons that Surface Book 3 15” is better than Surface Book 2 13.5”.

Significantly newer manufacturing

2020 vs. 2017

Supports larger memory

Surface Book 3 15” supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Book 2 13.5”. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Book 2 13.5”.

Max system memory size
Surface Book 3 15”
32 GB
Surface Book 2 13.5”
16 GB
Supports faster memory

Surface Book 3 15” supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Book 2 13.5”. It supports up to 3733MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Book 2 13.5”.

Memory type and speed
Surface Book 3 15” - LPDDR4X
3,733 MHz
Surface Book 2 13.5” - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz
11% larger display

Surface Book 3 15” has a 15-inch screen size 11% larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Book 2 13.5”.

Display size
Surface Book 3 15”
15-inch
Surface Book 2 13.5”
13.5-inch

Surface Book 2 13.5” Pros

Reasons that Surface Book 2 13.5” is better than Surface Book 3 15”.

About 20% lighter

Surface Book 2 13.5” weighed 3.38 pounds, 20% lighter than the 4.20 pounds Surface Book 3 15”.

WeightSurface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Pound
4.20 lbs.
3.38 lbs.
Kilogram
1.91 kg
1.53 kg

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Book 3 15” and Surface Book 2 13.5”.

Similar CPU performance

Both laptops has a similar multi-core CPU performance score.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Book 2 13.5” - Intel Core i7-8650U
3,879
Surface Book 3 15” - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Book 2 13.5” - Intel Core i5-8350U
2,982
Surface Book 2 13.5” - Intel Core i5-7300U
1,777

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Surface Book 3 15” Price
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,299.00
Microsoft Surface Book 3-15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7-32GB Memory - 512GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Book 3-15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7-32GB Memory - 512GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$1,373.64
Microsoft Surface Book 3 (SNK-00001) | 15in (3240 x 2160) Touch-Screen | Intel Core i7 Processor | 32GB RAM | 2TB SSD Storage | Windows 10 Pro | GeForce GTX 1660 GPU
Microsoft Surface Book 3 (SNK-00001) | 15in (3240 x 2160) Touch-Screen | Intel Core i7 Processor | 32GB RAM | 2TB SSD Storage | Windows 10 Pro | GeForce GTX 1660 GPU
By Microsoft
$2,999.99
Surface Book 2 13.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Book 13.5" 2-in-1 Touchscreen Tablet Laptop Computer Intel Core i5-6300U up to 3GHz 8GB RAM 128GB SSD Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Book 13.5" 2-in-1 Touchscreen Tablet Laptop Computer Intel Core i5-6300U up to 3GHz 8GB RAM 128GB SSD Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$271.00
Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - 13.5in (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - 13.5in (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$599.93
Microsoft Surface Book 2, 13.5"(3000x2000) Touchscreen Laptop, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, Intel Core i7-8650U 1.90 GHz to 4.20 GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro(Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Book 2, 13.5"(3000x2000) Touchscreen Laptop, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, Intel Core i7-8650U 1.90 GHz to 4.20 GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro(Renewed)
By Microsoft
$600.00

Availability

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Released20202017
Release Date
  • Introduced: May 6, 2020
  • Pre-ordered: May 6, 2020
  • Released: May 12, 2020
  • Introduced: October 17, 2017
  • Pre-ordered: November 9, 2017
  • Released: November 16, 2017
PricingFor Consumer
  • $2,299 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $2,799 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $2,999 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,399 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
For Commercial
  • $2,399 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $2,899 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,099 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,499 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,499 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | RTX 3000
  • $3,699 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | RTX 3000
Starting at 1,149$
Generations

Exterior

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Dimensions13.5” x 9.87” x 0.568-0.90” (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i5:
    12.3” x 9.1” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm).
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i7
    12.3” x 9.14” x 0.59”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 15 mm-23 mm).
Weight
  • Total: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g)
  • Tablet: 1.80 lbs (817 g)
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i5:
    • Total: 3.38 lbs (1,533 g)
    • Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g)
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i7
    • Total: 3.62 lbs (1,642 g)
    • Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g)
Colors
Platinum
Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel.
    • Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel.
    • Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Size15 Inches13.5 Inches
Info 
  • Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160 (7M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 260 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1600:1
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (6M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 267 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1600:1
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Ports

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Surface Book 3 15” Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Left (3)
  • 2 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
    UHS-II performance
Right (3)
  • 1 x power port
    Charging, Docking
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone, On the tablet
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x power port
    Charging, Docking, On the tablet
Surface Book 2 13.5” Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 2 x Full-size USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 2 x Surface Connect™
    1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base, both supports charging and docking.
  • 1 x Headset jack
  • 1 x Full-size SDXC card reader
    UHS-II Performance

Internal Specs

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U
    Intel® HD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Memory
16GB 32GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4x
8GB 16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q
    Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6, 192-bit, 1245 → 1425 MHz, 1536 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA® Quadro® RTX™ 3000 with Max-Q
    Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6,  192-bit, 765 → 1305 MHz, 1920 CUDA Cores, 240 Tensor Cores, 30 RT Cores, Real-time ray tracing, AI hardware acceleration, ODE, QNF,
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050
    Pascal Architecture, 2GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1354 → 1493 MHz, 640 CUDA Cores.
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
PCIe SSD
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
1 x M.2 2280 PCIe SSD

Connectivity

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
  • Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
More
  • Xbox Wireless built-in
-

Battery

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Size
  • Total: 90Wh
    Clipboard: 23Wh
    Base: 67Wh
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i5:
    Total: 69Wh
    Clipboard: 18Wh
    Base: 51Wh
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i7:
    Total: 75.3Wh
    Clipboard: 18Wh
    Base: 57.3Wh
Battery LifeUp to 17.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 17 hours of video playback
  • Up to 5 hours in tablet mode
Power Supply127W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (7W) charging port.
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i5:
    44W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port.
  • Surface Book with Intel Core i7
    100W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port.

Software

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update)
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trialMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®
    • Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones
    • Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones
  • Dual microphones
  • Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium
  • Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones
  • Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones

Misc

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box
  • Surface Book 3 15”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • Surface Book 2 13.5”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
WarrantyOne-year limited hardware warrantyOne-year limited hardware warranty
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.
Supports Surface Dial
Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.

Key Features

Surface Book 3 15”Surface Book 2 13.5”
At Glance
Released in Mid
2020
3:2 3.2K
15”
2160p 60Hz
Weight
4.20 lb
1.91 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i7-1065G7
4C/8T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,088
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,722
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Book 3 15” Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3000
6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in Late
2017
3:2 3K
13.5”
2000p 60Hz
Weight
3.38 lb
1.53 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-8650U
4C/8T, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,106
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,879
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 620
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Book 2 13.5” Ports
Nvidia GeForce
GTX 1050
4GB GDDR5

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