Microsoft releases new Nvidia-chip AI PCs with revamped Windows 11

Microsoft unveiled its new Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box in San Francisco, showcasing hardware built around Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip. The Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $2,600 for the base model and $3,700 for a more powerful version, with high-end configurations reaching $5,900. The Surface RTX Spark Dev Box starts at $6,000 and includes developer tools like VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, WSL, and PowerShell 7.

Dell also announced its Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition PC for $3,800, available for pre-order ahead of an October delivery at Best Buy. The new machines feature custom hardware modifications—including a central processing unit, graphics processing unit, unified memory, and enhanced cooling—designed to run artificial intelligence models locally and for free.

They run a revamped version of Windows 11 featuring “Execution Containers,” a tool Microsoft says safely sandboxes artificial intelligence agents. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that the platform helps orchestrate multiple models, context, memory, and actions for developers. Targeting developers, Microsoft is offering a trade-in discount of up to $1,000 for users trading in a MacBook Pro.

While built for developers, the company notes the devices can also handle gaming, video processing, and content creation.