当心了，英特尔！微软周三在旧金山举行的一场活动上，发布了首款搭载英伟达 RTX Spark 片上系统（SoC）的 Surface 笔记本电脑。Surface Laptop Ultra 是多款搭载 N1X 芯片的新型 Copilot+ PC 之一，微软表示该芯片旨在面向“开发者”，即日起开启预定，预计将于下周开始发货。这款机器可以说是搭载了一系列全新 AI 功能的载体，其中包括混合计算功能，可根据连接性、隐私、成本和复杂度等因素，将工作负载动态路由至本地设备或云端模型。
Look out, Intel! Microsoft released its first Surface notebook powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark system-on-chip (SoC) during an event in San Francisco on Wednesday. The Surface Laptop Ultra is one of several new Copilot+ PCs powered by the N1X chip that Microsoft says is aimed at "builders," which are available for preorder starting today and expected to begin shipping next week. The machine is arguably the vehicle for a slew of new AI features including hybrid compute functionality that dynamically routes workloads to on-device or cloud models depending on factors like connectivity, privacy, cost, and complexity.
这款采用铝合金外壳的系统在很大程度上延续了微软现有的设计理念。它配备了一块高分辨率的 15 英寸微型 LED 显示屏，峰值亮度可达 2,000 尼特，采用了微软标志性的 3:2 屏幕比例，以及标准的不带数字小键盘的键盘布局、触觉触控板，并提供了一系列接口，其中包括你在 MacBook Pro 上找不到的接口。在连接性方面，它配备了三个 USB-C 接口（其中一个带有磁吸功能，类似于 MagSafe）、一个标准尺寸的 HDMI 接口、一个 SD 卡读卡器，以及一个单独的 USB-A 接口——因为在经历了一个多十年之后，它仍然无法摆脱这种老化的接口。
The aluminum clad system largely keeps with Microsoft's existing design ethos. It features a high-res, 15-inch mini-LED display capable of reaching a peak brightness of 2,000 nits in Microsoft's signature 3:2 aspect ratio, a standard ten-keyless keyboard layout, haptic trackpad, and a slew of ports including one you won't find on a MacBook Pro. Connectivity includes three USB-C ports, including one equipped with magnets for MagSafe-like connectivity, full-size HDMI, an SD card reader, and a solitary USB-A port because after more than a decade still can't shake the aging connector.
但该笔记本最有趣的特点，可以说是内置了英伟达的 RTX Spark N1X SoC。正如我们今年早些时候报道的那样，这些芯片并非完全是新技术。N1X 在很大程度上基于英伟达现已推出一年的 GB10 平台，为了迎合定价，低端型号关闭了一部分 CPU 和 GPU 核心。这表明 Surface Laptop Ultra 将配备由联发科和 ARM 设计的 18 核或 20 核 CPU，以及基于英伟达 Blackwell 架构、拥有 5,120 到 6,144 个核心的 RTX GPU。
But arguably the notebook's most interesting feature is the inclusion of Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X SoC. As we reported earlier this year, these aren't exactly new chips. The N1X is based heavily on Nvidia's now year-old GB10 platform, with a few CPU and GPU cores fused off on lower end models to meet pricing. This tells us that the Surface Laptop Ultra should ship with either an 18- or 20-core CPU designed by MediaTek and Arm and an Nvidia Blackwell-based RTX GPU with between 5,120 and 6,144 cores.
在内存方面，微软表示该笔记本最高可配备 128 GB 内存，如果你能接受 1.6 比特的精度，这足以运行参数规模高达 2840 亿的大型语言模型。
In terms of memory, Microsoft says the notebook can be equipped with up to 128 GB of memory, enough to serve large language models up to 284 billion parameters in size, if you can live with just 1.6 bits of precision.
正如我们之前报道的，这款GPU性能相当强大，在4位精度下的理论峰值吞吐量可达1 petaFLOPS，不过在实际应用中，你几乎不可能看到它达到这一水平。英伟达的营销团队主要依靠对2:4稀疏性的支持来实现这一目标，因此理论上确实可以达到该数值。遗憾的是，如今人们关注的AI推理工作负载中，几乎没有哪一个真正利用了这项功能。
As we've previously covered, the GPU is a pretty potent one with a peak theoretical throughput of 1 petaFLOPS at 4-bit precision, not that you're likely ever to see that in many real world workloads. Nvidia's marketing team is leaning on support for 2:4 sparsity to hit that target, so it can theoretically achieve that figure. Unfortunately, almost none of the AI inference workloads anyone cares about these days actually take advantage of the functionality.
因此，该芯片的实际峰值性能更接近500 teraFLOPS，即便如此，它仍然优于AMD的Strix和Gorgon Halo等竞品芯片。如前所述，本地AI推理是这类硬件的重要卖点，不过微软也强调该GPU在传统创意设计和游戏工作负载方面的能力，声称在最新发布的《战争机器》中可实现60 FPS的帧率。我们推测，英伟达的DLSS AI超采样技术很可能在其中发挥了关键作用。
As a result, the chip's peak performance is actually closer to 500 teraFLOPS, which still gives it an edge over competing chips like AMD's Strix and Gorgon Halo processors. Local AI inference, as we mentioned earlier, is a major selling point for this class of hardware, though Microsoft was also keen to highlight the GPU's capabilities for more traditional creative and gaming workloads, claiming 60 FPS in the latest Gears of War release. We suspect that Nvidia's DLSS AI upscaling tech is probably doing the heavy lifting here.
为防止系统过热，微软表示Surface Laptop Ultra配备了升级后的散热系统，散热能力是以往Surface笔记本电脑的2.5倍。从我们看到的渲染图来看，额外的散热能力来自一个体积较大的蒸汽腔。Surface预计将于下周开始发货，基础配置为灰色版本，搭载较低端的18核N1X芯片、24 GB统一内存和512 GB用户可更换的SSD，起售价为2,599美元。
In order to keep the system from overheating, Microsoft says that the Surface Laptop Ultra features a beefed up cooling system with 2.5x more capacity than past Surface notebooks. From the renders we've seen, the extra cooling comes courtesy of a big fat vapor chamber. The Surface is expected to begin shipping next week at a starting price of $2,599 for the poverty-spec gray variant with the lower-end 18-core N1X, 24 GB of unified memory, and 512 GB user serviceable SSD.
若升级到20核芯片、128 GB内存和1 TB存储，价格将高达5,899美元——当然，这还要假设届时内存价格没有进一步上涨。除了Surface Laptop Ultra，微软还推出了一款基于N1X的迷你PC风格开发套件，售价为5,999美元。虽然价格并不便宜，但仍低于配置相似的DGX Spark，后者目前零售价为6,950美元，不过存储容量为4TB，而非2TB。
Jumping up to the 20-core chip, 128 GB of memory, and 1 TB of storage will set you back $5,899, and assuming memory prices haven't gone up even more by then. Alongside the Surface Laptop Ultra, Microsoft also announced a mini PC style development kit based on the N1X priced at $5,999. While by no means cheap, it's still cheaper than the similarly specced DGX Spark, which now retails for $6,950, albeit with 4TB of storage rather than 2TB.
DGX Spark 还运行着一个经过轻度修改的 Ubuntu 版本，对某些人来说，这可能值得支付溢价。如果你一心想要高内存配置，又不想等待 Surface Laptop Ultra 重新补货，那么联想、华硕、戴尔、微星和惠普都将在未来一周左右推出配置相似的系统。此外，如果英伟达不是你的菜，值得一提的是，AMD 也有自己经过 AI 调校的芯片，目前支持高达 192 GB 的统一内存，我们强烈怀疑这些芯片也将支持未来几个月将在 Windows 11 上推出的许多相同混合 AI 功能。®
The DGX Spark also runs a lightly modified version of Ubuntu, which might be worth the premium for some. If your heart is set on a high-memory config and you don't want to wait for the Surface Laptop Ultra to come back in stock, Lenovo, Asus, Dell, MSI, and HP all are launching similarly specced systems over the next week or so. And if Nvidia isn't your style, it's worth mentioning that AMD has its own AI-tuned chips, which now support up to 192 GB of unified memory, and we strongly suspect will support many of the same hybrid AI features rolling out to Windows 11 over the next few months. ®