Hajra Naz
Back in June, Nvidia announced a major partnership. It had secured agreements with Microsoft and several other PC makers. Together, they would develop AI- and agent-ready PCs for Windows. These machines run on Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip. Details on the machines were scarce at the time.
On Wednesday, Microsoft revealed more. The event took place in San Francisco during the city’s Tech Week. Microsoft shared the specs and price for its new Surface Laptop Ultra. The PC comes in two base models. One starts at $2,600. Another has a more powerful chip and starts at $3,700. Prices climb from there with options for more memory and storage. The top price reaches $5,900. Microsoft says the highest-end device is already out of stock.
Microsoft also revealed a new workstation powered by the RTX Spark chip. It’s called the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box. It starts at $6,000. It comes equipped with Microsoft developer tools. That includes VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, WSL, and PowerShell 7.
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The pitch for both machines is simple. They’re designed to run AI models locally, on the device itself. That also means running them for free. The CPU, GPU, and unified memory make this possible. Other hardware changes help too, like superior cooling.
These machines also run a revamped version of Windows 11. It includes a feature called “Execution Containers.” According to Microsoft, this makes it easier to sandbox AI agents. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the event that all Windows 11 users will get this feature.
Nadella explained the thinking behind it. “One of the things we realized in the last 3-4 years is that just having a model doesn’t do much for anything. You really do need to orchestrate, and you need to have memory outside of the model. You need to have this harnessed layer that is able to take multiple models plus context, plus memory, and the action space.”
He added that Microsoft is enabling this for more than its own apps. It’s meant for “apps for anyone’s agent.” In his words, “That’s what the Windows platform is all about going forward.”
These devices clearly target developers. Microsoft is even offering up to $1,000 off for people who trade in a MacBook Pro. Macs have become a popular choice for developers and AI agent enthusiasts. That’s especially true in Silicon Valley.
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Still, these Surface PCs aren’t only for developers. Their powerful graphics processing makes other uses possible. Microsoft promises they can handle content creation, video processing, and gaming too.
Microsoft wasn’t the only PC company with news on Wednesday. Dell also announced details for its Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition. It had previously announced this PC. It runs on Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip too. It’s available for preorder now, with delivery later in October. You can order it at Best Buy. It’s priced at $3,800.
