Microsoft has quietly refreshed the base model of its Surface Book 2 laptop. Consumers can now configure the 13.5-inch version of the Surface Book 2 convertible laptop with an 8th Generation Intel Core i5 processor.
The 13.5-inch Surface Book 2 is now available on the US Microsoft Store with an Intel Core i5-8350U quad-core processor with a maximum boost clock speed of 3.60 GHz for $1,499. Previously, the Surface Book 2 base model was available with a 7th Generation dual-core Core i5-7300U processor. For those looking to save a few bucks, the older version with a dual-core Core i5 processor is now available for $1,299.
Just like the Core i7-8650U available in the top-end configuration, the Core i5-8350U is part of the Kaby Lake Refresh family and is manufactured on an improved 14nm+ FinFET process. The processor has a 1.70 GHz base clock speed, 6MB of L3 cache, and a TDP rating of 15W. Apart from the newer processor, the base model does not have any other difference compared to the previous version. The base model still includes 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Thanks to the newer architecture and two additional cores, the Core i5-8350U version of the Surface Book 2 is worth the premium for more demanding users. While the single-core performance of the two processors is similar, the newer Core i5-8350U offers much better when it comes to multi-core performance.
