With plans to launch its new line of Surface Book laptops on Monday, Microsoft earlier this week announced a model intended to lure gamers that comes in at a surprisingly lower-end price.
The new model will come with a Nvidia GeForce graphics chip, according to CNET, instead of the built-in graphic system that is integrated in the Intel processor. Until now, the GeForce graphics were only available in higher-end Surface Book models.
The Surface Book compensates for the higher-end graphics with less storage on the model. In place of the 256 GB of built-in storage on other high end models, the version with the GeForce graphics card comes with 128 GB, and 8 GB of RAM. The laptop will sell for $1,699, the same price buyers would pay for a Surface Book upgraded to a 256 GB hard drive without the graphic card.
The Surface Book continues Microsoft’s evolution from its software roots to a company known for its innovative machines. The new models use a touch screen display, a detachable keyboard and other new features.
Microsoft also this week announced it would offer a top-end Surface Book with 1 TB of storage on Monday, although that model may not be available for shipping until January.