Microsoft Surface Book GPU Details Uncovered By Crafty Store Visitors

We talked just yesterday about the various configurations that exist for Microsoft's Surface Book, including the mammoth $3,199 model that boasts 1TB of solid-state storage. Despite all we know about these offerings, though, there are some details both Microsoft and its component vendors are keeping mum on. Such as the GPU model included.

Well, thanks to a reddit user who spotted a Surface Book in store, and was able to get online and download some diagnostic tools, we now have that answered.

Right off the bat, we can tell that this is not a very high-end GPU, and that's something I doubt anyone will be surprised by. However, I was personally hoping to see something a bit better, given the minimum model to include this card costs $1,899.

Nonetheless, based on the fact that this particular GPU has 32 texture mapping units, and includes 384 CUDA cores, by the process of elimination, you may arrive at the GeForce 920M. Update 2:22PM:  However, that's not the case as NVIDIA's own blog post on the GPU notes it's definitely Maxwell architecture. 

Credit: Wikipedia

As the lowest-end model in NVIDIA's current line-up, it's not hard to surmise that this graphics engine is not going to deliver an enthusiast-level gaming experience but rather mainstream, "casual" gaming. It's likely to offer far more capabilities than the built-in integrated graphics core from Intel, but running games at 1080p with modest details might still prove to be a challenge. 

Until confirmed test results come out, it's hard to draw real conclusions here. All you need to know is, if you're in the market for a Surface Book, don't expect a barn burner when it comes to gaming but at least there is a discrete engine on board.