Microsoft Could Arm Next Surface Go With Alder Lake-N SoC

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Alder Lake E-cores could power the next generation of affordable Surface tablets

Surface Go 3
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Rumors suggest that Microsoft will launch a next-generation Surface Go tablet later this year, and that device could be powered by Intel's new "Atom-inspired" Alder Lake-N CPU architecture. If true, this will give the next-gen Surface Go a significant performance boost over the outgoing Surface Go 3, which comes with much older 14nm Amber Lake CPUs.

The new rumors suggest that the next Surface Go 3 will be powered by the Intel Processor N200, a quad-core, four-threaded CPU with a 3.7GHz boost clock and 6W TDP. This chip is one of Intel's latest Alder Lake-N SoCs, featuring its highly efficient but surprisingly quick Gracemount CPU cores. These are the same cores found in Intel's Alder Lake and Raptor Lake desktop/mobile CPUs, where they are known as efficiency cores.

Despite their purpose, the Gracemount core is surprisingly powerful for its size and power consumption. Intel says Gracemount is just as fast as its 6th Generation CPUs built on the Skylake architecture in 2015, which is quick considering these chips consume around 6W (depending on clock speed and core count). For reference, a Skylake chip like a Core i5-6600K can still run basic workloads without a hitch and can still play modern games with modern GPUs as long as you aren't expecting sky-high frame rates.

This should give the next generation Surface Go very usable CPU performance, as it will be a noteworthy upgrade over the current generation's two options of either a Pentium Gold 6500Y or Core i3-10100Y. The N200 also features a modern integrated graphics chip running on Intel's Xe-LP architecture supporting AV1 encode/decode and 8K 60p playback. This will make the next Surface Go an excellent video-watching device (whether or not you're watching from the tablet screen or plugging into a 4K TV).

The only CPU choice rumored to be in the works for the new Surface Go is the Intel Processor N200. But we could see even more powerful CPUs in the official model since the current generation tablet has a Core i3 option. If Microsoft goes with a second, more powerful CPU option, we could see Core i3-N300 or Core i3-N305 being used, offering eight cores instead of four and a slightly higher clock speed. The N305, in particular, more than doubles the power rating of the N200, going from 6W to 15W.

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft is planning to launch the new Surface Go tablet this fall, supposedly, there was also going to be an ARM version that would release at the same time, but it has been postponed for unknown reasons.

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Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    But would you really recommend it over an iPad?
    Reply
  • Yargnit
    Unless you're already on the apple ecosystem I'd consider it at least. The iPad will give you a more stream-lined and refined user experience for sure, but the Surface Go is a full PC that operates like any other windows desktop or laptop, just smaller. You never have to worry about finding the app or mobile version of a program because it just runs the same software your main PC does. No dealing with the crappy mobile version of websites, or trying to force the desktop version to load, because again it pulls up the full desktop version on its own. If you want to watch Netflix or Hulu or whatever, just go to the website like on your PC. If you want to play and (older or simpleish of course) game, download steam and install it.

    The detachable keyboard Is pretty decent for the size, and because its windows any bluetooth (or usb) keyboard/mouse just work naturally if you need a more laptop experience. And windows 10/11 work just fine on a tablet sized experience still. The size is also amazing for when you want to travel, but still be able to take the full windows PC experience with you.

    Is it for everyone's needs? No. An iPad is still a more refined tablet only experience. But if you're more of a techy/power user and want a tablet, I'd at least consider one. I have the very 1st Surface Go and I LOVE the thing. I use it as a tablet when on the couch all the time, either holding it or with the kickstand (which is VERY sturdy). I probably have used it a couple hours a day on average nearly every single day since I got it the day it came out. (5 years ago?) And I'd never replace it with anything but a newer one. It's still going strong and 100% sufficient power wise for web and videos and stuff, but this upgrade would mean I could play significantly newer games on it when I travel. (or have it play the same games cooler, it does get quite warm running a game since its passively cooled only)

    I am VERY interested to see the performance of this new one.
    Reply
  • NeoMorpheus
    Well, looks like someone at MS received a nice bribe incentive from Intel…
    Reply
  • usertests
    It's a great buy if it's cheap. Also Gracemont, not Gracemount.
    Reply
  • Li Ken-un
    NeoMorpheus said:
    Well, looks like someone at MS received a nice bribe incentive from Intel…
    Finding AMD Ryzen laptops with enough diversity of configurations is hard for almost any mainstream laptop manufacturer you can shop with. It’s pretty much Intel this, Intel that in all the usual places a consumer might look.

    Frame.work was one of the few that I found to offer a satisfactory level of options/customization around their AMD Ryzen offerings.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    Yargnit said:
    Unless you're already on the apple ecosystem I'd consider it at least. The iPad will give you a more stream-lined and refined user experience for sure, but the Surface Go is a full PC that operates like any other windows desktop or laptop, just smaller. You never have to worry about finding the app or mobile version of a program because it just runs the same software your main PC does. No dealing with the crappy mobile version of websites, or trying to force the desktop version to load, because again it pulls up the full desktop version on its own. If you want to watch Netflix or Hulu or whatever, just go to the website like on your PC. If you want to play and (older or simpleish of course) game, download steam and install it.

    The detachable keyboard Is pretty decent for the size, and because its windows any bluetooth (or usb) keyboard/mouse just work naturally if you need a more laptop experience. And windows 10/11 work just fine on a tablet sized experience still. The size is also amazing for when you want to travel, but still be able to take the full windows PC experience with you.

    Is it for everyone's needs? No. An iPad is still a more refined tablet only experience. But if you're more of a techy/power user and want a tablet, I'd at least consider one. I have the very 1st Surface Go and I LOVE the thing. I use it as a tablet when on the couch all the time, either holding it or with the kickstand (which is VERY sturdy). I probably have used it a couple hours a day on average nearly every single day since I got it the day it came out. (5 years ago?) And I'd never replace it with anything but a newer one. It's still going strong and 100% sufficient power wise for web and videos and stuff, but this upgrade would mean I could play significantly newer games on it when I travel. (or have it play the same games cooler, it does get quite warm running a game since its passively cooled only)

    I am VERY interested to see the performance of this new one.

    But you're also talking about, right now, a dual core Intel Core i3-10100Y, 128GB storage, 8GB RAM, and 10.5" 1920x1280 screen for Windows 11 for $629 in the Go 3. The 2022 iPad Pro with an 8 core M2, 128GB storage, 8GB RAM, and 11" 2388 x 1668 screen is $749. And while the Surface Go 3 managed 2.5 stars in Tom's review, the iPad Pro is 4.5 stars. Also, while the Surface Go lasted under 7 hours in the battery test, the iPad lasted over 10.5 hours.

    There's no way I'd recommend someone get a Surface Go 3 over an iPad M2 right now, and unless the Go 4 brings some substantial improvements to the table without a substantial increase in price, I don't see me recommending that either.

    Note: I don't own any Apple products.
    Reply
  • suryasans
    I'm not surprised if Qualcomm is gone from any Microsoft Surface in the future. There were so many disappointing Microsoft projects that collaborated with Qualcomm in the past
    Reply
  • bit_user
    The new rumors suggest that the next Surface Go 3 will be powered by the Intel Processor N200, a quad-core, four-threaded CPU with a 3.7GHz boost clock and 6W TDP.
    Let's get one thing clear: these can use a lot more than 6 W. It'd be nice if Toms would actually test any Alder Lake-N boards or systems, instead of just regurgitating Intel's marketing copy.

    This review of the N100 measured peak consumption at 22 W - 23 W, which is okay for a mini-PC but would be a lot for such a small tablet:
    https://www.servethehome.com/fanless-intel-n200-firewall-and-virtualization-appliance-review/4/
    Furthermore, I think that was just with an all-core CPU workload and didn't stress the iGPU, since none of the tests on the previous page involved graphics.

    Intel says Gracemount is just as fast as its 6th Generation CPUs built on the Skylake architecture in 2015, which is quick considering these chips consume around 6W (depending on clock speed and core count). For reference, a Skylake chip like a Core i5-6600K can still run basic workloads without a hitch and can still play modern games with modern GPUs as long as you aren't expecting sky-high frame rates.
    Where did the i5-6600K comparison come from? In page 3 of the review I linked above, these CPUs perform almost identical to the i5-6500T, which is limited to a 35 W TDP, as opposed to the i5-6600K's 91 W TDP!! Even Intel didn't claim a quad-core Alder-N was equivalent to an i5-6600K! This was a rather reckless statement.

    Again, Toms: please test these CPUs! Then, hopefully you'll know better and can make properly-informed statements about them.
    Reply
  • usertests
    bit_user said:
    Where did the i5-6600K comparison come from? In page 3 of the review I linked above, these CPUs perform almost identical to the i5-6500T, which is limited to a 35 W TDP, as opposed to the i5-6600K's 91 W TDP!! Even Intel didn't claim a quad-core Alder-N was equivalent to an i5-6600K! This was a rather reckless statement.
    https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/2627vs2613vs5157vs2570vs5213/
    N100 might be around an i5-6600T, when it has better cooling. N305 could be more like a 6600K (ST). It's as if the IPC is almost exactly the same between Skylake and Gracemont, so you just look at the boost clocks. But the performance will vary wildly when comparing Alder Lake-N in a fanless tablet stuck at its 6W TDP, to a different one in a mini PC with a fan, allowed to use more power.

    I think running it at 6W only guarantees the base clock, which isn't specified for the N100, N200, or N300 (7W). We know the base clocks for the rest of ADL-N, which are all higher TDP with the exception of the irrelevant N50. It's like Intel is trying to hide what is likely a 1 GHz clock speed. Intel made a big show of adopting "base TDP" and "turbo TDP" for Alder Lake, but used the old tricks for Alder Lake-N.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alder_Lake#Alder_Lake-N
    Reply