Surface Laptop Ultra Costs $2,599.99 to $5,899.99

The Surface Laptop Ultra costs $2,599.99 with 24GB of memory and $5,899.99 with the full 128GB, on Microsoft’s US store, and memory is what moves the price. It is a 15-inch Windows laptop on Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip, built, in Microsoft’s words, for “creative, technical, and AI workloads”.

Pre-orders opened on 7 October. Microsoft says availability begins 16 October, but the store’s earliest delivery estimate for the 128GB model was 25 November when we read it on 8 October. Microsoft’s announcement gives the base model as $2,599 MSRP; the store charges $2,599.99.

Every configuration Microsoft lists

Chip (GPU / CPU cores)	Memory	Storage	Windows	Price
5120 / 18	24GB	512GB	Home	$2,599.99
5120 / 18	24GB	1TB	Home	$2,999.99
5120 / 18	32GB	1TB	Pro	$3,299.99
6144 / 20	32GB	1TB	Pro	$3,699.99
6144 / 20	48GB	1TB	Pro	$3,999.99
6144 / 20	64GB	1TB	Pro	$4,299.99
6144 / 20	64GB	2TB	Pro	$4,699.99
6144 / 20	128GB	1TB	Pro	$5,899.99

Microsoft Store US, read 8 October 2026. The 48GB and larger models are listed only in the Nightfall colour.

Read down the table and the steps are mostly $300 to $400: 1TB instead of 512GB is $400, the larger chip at 32GB is $400, and each memory step from 32GB to 64GB is $300. The jump from 64GB to 128GB is $1,600.

The 5120-core chip stops at 32GB here. Nvidia’s own spec table says that chip supports up to 64GB, so the limit is Microsoft’s choice of configurations.

What RTX Spark is, on paper

RTX Spark puts an Nvidia Blackwell RTX GPU and a Grace CPU on one package, sharing one pool of LPDDR5X memory. Nvidia announced it on 1 June; Nvidia’s spec table rates the two laptop versions at 45 to 80 W. Its spec table gives no memory-bandwidth figure.

The headline claims belong to Microsoft and Nvidia. Microsoft’s announcement says the laptop can “run AI models exceeding 120B parameters locally, with up to 1 petaflop of AI performance”, and its footnote says the petaflop is “theoretical FP4 performance … using the sparsity feature”. Nvidia’s own claim is “120-billion-parameter large language models with 1 million tokens context”. We have run neither.

Two details in Microsoft’s footnotes matter for anyone buying memory for a model. The GPU can address less than the total: the maximum is “less than the total” and depends on configuration and workload. And whether a model fits depends on more than its parameter count. Context takes memory too, which our guide to how much VRAM a local model needs works through.

The chip is Arm-based. Microsoft’s FAQ says apps not built for Arm run through Prism, Windows’ emulator, and tells buyers relying on “specialized hardware drivers, plug-ins, or older utilities” to check compatibility before buying.

The rest of the laptop

• Screen: 15-inch touchscreen, 3270 × 2180, up to 120Hz, 1,000 nits SDR and 2,000 nits peak HDR. Microsoft says it does not support pen input.
• Weight and thickness: 2.0 kg (4.41 lb), under 18 mm.
• Ports: three USB-C (USB4, 40 Gbps), one with a magnetic charging cable; HDMI 2.1b, USB-A, SD card reader, headphone jack.
• Storage: removable SSD, 512GB to 2TB.
• Rated battery: up to 12 hours of web use and 15 hours of local video, from Microsoft’s tests on preproduction units.

Microsoft’s own pages disagree on two of these. The store lists a 140W charger and the magnetic cable in the box, while the FAQ on the product page says the charger “is sold separately”. The same FAQ says battery details “will be shared closer to availability”, next to a spec panel that already gives them.

Against a 16-inch MacBook Pro, on paper

Microsoft picked this comparison itself: its blog claims 25% brighter peak HDR than the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) and offers up to $1,000 back on a MacBook Pro trade-in. On published specs:

	Surface Laptop Ultra	MacBook Pro 16-inch (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)
24GB, 1TB	$2,999.99 (5120-core GPU)	$2,999 (M5 Pro)
48GB, 1TB	$3,999.99 (6144-core GPU)	$3,599 (M5 Pro)
Most memory	128GB, $5,899.99	128GB, M5 Max only
Screen	15in, 3270 × 2180, touch	16.2in, 3456 × 2234
Peak HDR	2,000 nits	1,600 nits
Weight	2.0 kg	2.14 kg (M5 Pro)
Ports	3 × USB4, HDMI, USB-A, SD	3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe
Rated web battery	12 hours	17 hours (M5 Pro)

Microsoft Store US and Apple’s tech-specs page, both read 8 October 2026. Each maker rates battery life with its own test, so the battery row is not like for like.

At 24GB and 1TB the two are 99 cents apart. At 48GB the Surface is $400 more. Apple’s spec page gives no price for a 128GB MacBook Pro, so we leave that row without one. Apple publishes 307GB/s of memory bandwidth for the M5 Pro; Nvidia’s spec table has no equivalent figure, so the comparison that matters most for large models, capacity against bandwidth, cannot be made from published numbers yet.

Who a $2,599.99 Windows laptop is for

On paper, the case is CUDA plus memory in a Windows laptop. Microsoft names developers, creators and “AI builders”, and its FAQ itself says that if your day “is mostly browsing, streaming, productivity apps”, the regular Surface Laptop “may be the better fit”. That cheaper line is the one in our look at the 2026 Surface Pro 12 and Laptop 13.

• For a model too big for a graphics card, the configurations that matter are 64GB and 128GB, at $4,299.99 and $5,899.99. At 24GB and 48GB, the MacBook Pro table above shows Apple offering the same memory for the same price or less.
• For CUDA tools on the move, the base $2,599.99 model has the same CUDA platform with 24GB and the smaller GPU.
• For a desk, not a bag, the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box has the 6144-core chip, 128GB and 2TB for $5,999.99, $100 more than the 128GB laptop with twice the storage and no screen. The store’s earliest delivery for it was 24 November.

The Copilot+ name has not gone. Microsoft’s 7 October post never uses it, but the product page answers “Yes. Surface Laptop Ultra is a Copilot+ PC with an integrated NPU.” The store lists that NPU only as “NVIDIA NPU”, with no TOPS figure to set against the 40 TOPS Copilot+ threshold.

Questions people ask

How much is the Surface Laptop Ultra?

Microsoft’s US store lists it from $2,599.99 with 24GB of memory and 512GB of storage. 32GB starts at $3,299.99, 48GB at $3,999.99, 64GB at $4,299.99 and 128GB at $5,899.99, each with 1TB. Prices read 8 October 2026; Microsoft’s announcement gives the base model as $2,599 MSRP.

When does the Surface Laptop Ultra ship?

Pre-orders opened on 7 October, and Microsoft says availability begins 16 October. On 8 October the store’s earliest delivery estimate was 16 October for most configurations and 25 November for the 128GB model.

Is the Surface Laptop Ultra a Copilot+ PC?

Microsoft’s product page says yes: ‘Surface Laptop Ultra is a Copilot+ PC with an integrated NPU.’ Its 7 October announcement does not use the Copilot+ name, and the store lists an ‘NVIDIA NPU’ without a TOPS figure.

Can the Surface Laptop Ultra run a 120B model?

That is Microsoft’s and Nvidia’s claim, for configurations with up to 128GB of unified memory; we have not tested it. Microsoft notes the GPU can address less than the total memory, and the 1-petaflop figure is theoretical FP4 performance with sparsity.

Does the Surface Laptop Ultra come with a charger?

Microsoft’s store says so: its box list includes a Surface 140W USB-C Power Adapter and a Magnetic Connect cable. The FAQ on Microsoft’s product page says the charger is sold separately. Check the box contents on your order before buying a charger.

What is the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box?

A small desktop with the same 20-core, 6144-core-GPU RTX Spark chip, 128GB of memory and 2TB, for $5,999.99 on Microsoft’s US store. It is sold only on Microsoft.com in the US; the store’s earliest delivery estimate was 24 November.

What is the Surface Laptop Ultra battery life?

Microsoft’s store rates it at up to 15 hours of local video and 12 hours of web use, from its own tests on preproduction units. The FAQ on its product page still says battery details ‘will be shared closer to availability’.