It’s time for Microsoft to make an Xbox or Surface laptop

I’ve waited years for Microsoft to make a gaming laptop, and the new Surface Laptop Studio still misses the mark. Whether it’s an Xbox laptop or a Surface, Microsoft has never quite managed to create something truly designed for gaming on the go. The Surface Book, Surface Pro, and Surface Laptop all serve different types of creators, but none are really aimed at gamers.

It sounds like a missed opportunity, especially when Microsoft calls Windows 11 “the best Windows ever for gaming,” and the gaming laptop market has grown increasingly lucrative in recent years. Barely a month goes by without a slim and cool gaming laptop being announced, and the line between laptops and gaming laptops is increasingly blurred thanks to advancements in chip design and cooling.

Microsoft never marketed the Surface Book as a gaming laptop, but the Surface Laptop Studio comes as close as Microsoft has never embraced PC gaming on a Surface. “Improve your PC games,” Microsoft says on its Surface Laptop Studio product page, adding that the device allows you to “play the latest games with graphics that rival reality.” Microsoft also markets the device to people who play Xbox Game Pass for PC games on the go.

Image: Microsoft

I was hoping that the Surface Laptop Studio, the successor to the Surface Book, could capitalize on the interest in gaming laptops. Unfortunately, Microsoft chose one of the weaker Nvidia GPUs available today, the RTX 3050 Ti. It may offer 60fps gameplay in some modern games at 1080p, but it won’t come close to hitting the 120fps needed to use the 120Hz panel without seriously lowering the game’s settings.

I wish Microsoft had gone one step further and added options for an RTX 3070 or RTX 3080. The Surface Laptop Studio supports up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage, and it ships with Intel processors. 11th Gen Core H, so it’s more than capable of gaming with the right GPU. It even supports Thunderbolt 4, so you can buy an eGPU and plug it in to play, but you really shouldn’t. have to do so to get the best performance on the go.

Microsoft has been on the cusp of putting a good GPU in the Surface Book for years, but the company has always been reluctant to use a full-featured gaming laptop. First there was the Surface Book with its GeForce 940M, then the Surface Book with a performance base that upgraded the GPU to a GeForce 965M. Neither was suitable for gaming, but the Surface Book 2 delivered a GTX 1060 on the 15-inch version, which was capable of running a variety of games if you were willing to lower the settings.

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

However, the Surface Book 2 was never really designed for gaming. During my review, I noticed some performance issues due to throttling and power issues to keep the device fully charged. Microsoft upgraded to a GTX 1660Ti Max-Q on the Surface Book 3 and fixed the charging issues, but there were still issues with the dGPU randomly disconnecting.

However, Microsoft has always struggled to really embrace the PC gaming platform in general. While most people use Windows for PC games, it’s Valve’s Steam that they interact with, not the Microsoft Store or Microsoft’s Xbox apps. Microsoft’s many PC game failures (let’s not talk about games for Windows Live) contributed to a lack of focus, and the company’s UWP experience for Xbox Game Studios titles was nothing but a shambles. head for installations, updates and even while playing.

So it’s hardly surprising that Microsoft is reluctant to embrace PC gaming with its own hardware, even though it does a great DirectX job behind the scenes to improve PC gaming performance and the underlying APIs for PC gaming. developers.

Image: Microsoft

PC gaming is now in a moment of transformation for gaming on the go. There have been a few options for Nintendo Switch-type devices, and Valve’s Steam Deck has propelled the idea into mainstream audiences. Miniature PC is powered by Linux, and if successful it could help break Windows addiction for PC gaming. Maybe Microsoft is even thinking of its own Xbox handheld, as the AMD components Valve uses inside the Steam Deck are also available for competitors to build their own mobile gaming PCs.

Either way, I just wish Microsoft would take PC gaming more seriously both on Windows and with its Xbox / Surface hardware. Gaming laptops are no longer bulky and garish, and I’d love to see what Microsoft could produce if it really focused on PC gaming on the go.