Earlier this week, Microsoft took the wraps off its Intel-based Surface Pro 3, which comes in five different configurations. The official spec sheet indicates that the 12-inch tablet device comes with a 4th generation Intel processor in three varients: i3, i5 and i7. The official spec sheet on Surface website doesn’t offer any extra detail about the chipsets.
Recently, ZDNet‘s Ed Bott uncovered some extra details about the processors which ship with the Surface Pro 3. He managed to get in touch with Microsoft engineers, and found that there are three low-power 4th generation Haswell processors, with two high-power ones.
“The Surface Pro 3 is currently available for pre-order with a total of five configurations, with three low-power 4th-generation Intel Core (Haswell) CPUs and a mix of memory/storage options. All configurations use solid-state storage and have MicroSD slots for expansion,” Bott says.
The first one is the base model which starts at $799, and features an i3-4020y processor clocked at 1.5GHz with with Intel HD4200 graphics. It also features 4GB of RAM and 64GB SSD as well as MicroSD card slot for expansion. This model is expected to ship by August, and is up for pre-orders at Microsoft Store and Best Buy.
The second one is the i5 model which was shown off at the Surface launch event. It comes with an i5-4300U chipset clocked at 1.9GHz and a Turbo boost of up to 2.9 GHz, with HD4400 graphics. For those of you who don’t know, it’s the same chipset used in the Surface Pro 2. There are two configurations available for this model: one with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, while the second one features 8GB of RAM and 256 GB storage. Both of these will be available in the US and Canada on June 20th and costs $999 and $1299, respectively.
This brings us to the to high-power configurations powered by the i7-4650U processor, clocked at 1.7 GHz with a maximum Turbo frequency of 3.3 GHz and HD5000 graphics. Both configurations offer 8GB of RAM, with the option to choose from 256GB or 512GB storage space. The 256GB version comes with a $1,549 price tag, while the high storage model costs $1,949. Both models are expected to arrive by 31st August.
Further reading: Microsoft, Surface, Surface Pro 3
