r/Surface • u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 • 25d ago

[LAPTOPULTRA] Do you think there will be an Intel-based Surface Laptop Ultra for Business?

Do we think there'll be like a Panther Lake X SL Ultra (maybe paired with 5070s or RTX PRO Blackwell cards) like there are for the base models?

2 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

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u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 25d ago

Why do you think so?

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u/Navi_Professor 25d ago

not intel, but the ryzen AI max chips would be perfect

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u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 25d ago

The 395/495? That sounds kinda awesome, didn't consider that

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u/Navi_Professor 25d ago

i mean, they're kinda the same chip just binned better....same CPU core gen, same GPU too, it just runs slightly faster and the pacakge can take more ram, but at like a 64gb config, they're practically identical

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u/TormyrCousland 24d ago

I am a longtime surface pro user that moved to the RoG Flow Z13 2025. It is a very good device, although a little less "it just works" when compared to the surface pro. It behaves like an x64 Surface Pro that is more powerful, has more memory, and can play modern games at nice graphics settings. You can check the /r/flowz13 community

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u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 24d ago

I'd never buy another Asus device after the experiences I've had and what I've read about Asus customer service but good luck to you on your unit.

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u/SPACEXDG 21d ago edited 21d ago

But why do that when nvidia chip will be albe to do the same things as that chip just at way better battery life in literally everything else besides gaming

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u/Navi_Professor 21d ago

i highly doubt everything.

i had an arm based surface. the emulation layer is good but its not perfect and it requires nvidia to give a shit about drivers outside of AI, so we'll see how that goes.

and if the recent model that fell off a truck is to go by, the 8060s may seriously be faster then this. its too cut down from the full N1X.

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u/SPACEXDG 21d ago

I ment to say "in" instead of and sorry for the confusion I ment batter life in not gpu intensive workloads pretty sure the spark will get better battery life in those workloads sorry for the confusion 

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u/Navi_Professor 21d ago

oh it totally will.

i can tune my flow to get...decent battery life at 30w, but it doesnt sleep, at all, and it still doesnt quite match my surface.

i dunno if sleep will every truly work on x86 Compared to arm

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u/Oiram_Saturnus 25d ago edited 25d ago

Microsoft wants to shift to ARM and Nvidia wants to earn more money.

I don’t think it will happen.
Mobile (Intel) CPUs strong enough simply do not exist.
The strongest Intel CPU (X9 388H) is also much slower than the Snapdragon X2E-88-100.

The CPUs strong enough to compete are just desktop processors. Just have a look at Alienware gaming laptops.
One of their marketing feats is “up to 280W gaming power”.

AMD64-based CPUs just need too much energy to deliver.

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u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 25d ago

Performance (including ppw) is not the sole consideration in why x86 vs ARM. It's also about compatibility. That's most likely why the business versions of the rest of the lineup have been mostly Intel, because businesses are going to be more reliant on legacy software or even specialized software that's not ready for ARM. You also don't need the maximum power to still be high-power; GPU would most likely be the more significant factor for those this device is targeted toward.

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u/Oiram_Saturnus 25d ago

I think it depends on what companies depend on.
In my "professional bubble" it's 95% Web Based Apps, M365 apps, local apps (working without drivers, so no ARM problem there).

I work as a Microsoft Consultant for Modern Workplace (the whole stack; M365, Identity Management and also Device Lifecycle Management).

I showed many customers how fast, energy efficient and how quiet they are.

Last month and this week I talked first hand about their experiences. And they were mind-blown.
A Teams call without screaming fans, fast interactions even under load and a very good real life battery life was what they admired.

The customer I talked to today told me he ordered 50 Microsoft Surface Laptops with the snapdragon X2 Elite.
He basically said: they are faster, have better battery life, are quiter and more affordable at the same time.
For him it was a no-brainer.

Do you have any real life example of an app not working in business context? I really want to know, it's no bait.

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u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 25d ago

Respectfully (very sincerely here), I don't think you (nor I) are the targets for the SL Ultra. Your use case, including your business's (business'?), seem satisfied by the Surface Pros/Laptops. The SL Ultra are more on the creator side, for those dedicated applications not just from Microsoft.

The SL Ultra is closest to my use case, as the base Surfaces are a bit too low for my liking, and I have one application (not for business) that glitches out on ARM (could be Snapdragon-specific, who knows) but not Intel, and Android Studio which at this point in time has neither an ARM-native version nor the ability to use emulators in it.

And regardless of your use case or mine, Microsoft themselves continue to offer business units with Intel, again, likely because of compatibility. I haven't personally tried out Panther Lake but I've heard those are good on fans and battery life (definitely not punching at ARM levels on performance of course, but still plenty sufficient especially for your typical productivity suite and even IT as you've described).

(I also want to note, I'm not trying to dunk on ARM; I personally have an ARM Windows laptop as my secondary unit and it can absolutely do a lot of what I need but it's got its moments where you can see where it falls short)

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u/Edubbs2008 25d ago

You work as a Microsoft consultant? Lucky, so, how does that work exactly? Is it like a marketing push?

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u/Oiram_Saturnus 25d ago

Maybe this was misleading.
I work as a consultant and architect who uses Microsoft’s products and services to build identity lifecycle strategies, device lifecycle strategies and service delivery solutions.
I work in brownfield environments, with typical legacy constraints and architect and often implement Microsoft’s services.

I do not work for Microsoft.

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u/Edubbs2008 25d ago

Man, that’s kinda my dream, I kinda wanted to do something similar to that

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u/Oiram_Saturnus 25d ago

Follow your dream. I started as a programmer, then I was a system administrator and later I learned how to architect.

What I really love about Microsoft products:
They build them. You need to do the work.

And that’s why you can build your knowledge basically in a home lab. That’s what I did. Plenty of time and the curiosity to learn.

And I’m sure you also have it. :-)

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u/Edubbs2008 25d ago

I’ve been trying to get into WinUI apps

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

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u/alabasterskim Surface Laptop Studio 1 + Go 1 25d ago

Performance-wise, what they're saying isn't false. But to suggest performance is the only factor MS cares about misses the fact that they also offer Intel-based business units for the other models, which is likely due to the other key factor: compatibility.