Production laptops and gaming laptops are different categories, but sometimes the line between the two blurs. Such is the case with Microsoft's new Surface Pro 3 laptop. Microsoft calls the Surface Pro 3 "the most powerful laptop ever," and while it remains a productivity-oriented outfit, it has optional gaming chops.

The Surface Book 2 that these new configurations replace also had some gaming options, but this time the discrete GPU option is based on Nvidia's latest generation Turing architecture. Buyers with the necessary funds can make the optional leap from integrated graphics to a GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 memory on the 13.5-inch model, and on the 15-inch model a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q GPU as standard equipment.

The Max-Q variant allows you to cram a high-end GPU into a thin and light form factor, which means giving up some performance in the end to keep things cooler. However, both discrete GPUs are far better suited for gaming than integrated graphics.

As such, Microsoft says that anyone who "loves gaming" will find that the 15-inch model has "enough power to play top Xbox Game Pass for PC titles at 1080p at a smooth 60 frames per second." In other words, Microsoft has gamers in mind. Developers can likewise opt for a model with a Quadro RTX 3000. [The Surface Book 2 also shipped with a discrete GPU option (Pascal-based), but the Surface Book 3 promises to be better suited for gaming. According to The Verge, the Surface Book 2 tested last year had an AC adapter For the Surface Book 3, Microsoft's Robert Saylor told the site that the charger has been upgraded from 102W to 127W to address that very issue. told the site.

"When you max out the power, it doesn't stop charging when you plug it in," Seiler explained. We've tested it. That's one of the key things we wanted to work on.

On the CPU front, the Surface Book 3 will upgrade to Intel's 10th generation Ice Lake processors (10nm), which include the four-core, eight-thread Core i5 1035G7 (1.2GHz to 3.7GHz, 6MB L3 cache) and Core i7 1065G7 (1.3GHz to 3.9GHz, 8MB L3 cache).

Buyers can also equip the Surface Book 3 with up to 32GB of RAM, double the previous amount, and what Microsoft claims is "the fastest SSD ever shipped." Microsoft has not provided performance figures, but we do know that it uses NVMe drives that shuttle data over a PCIe bus. Maximum capacities are 1TB for the 13.5" model and 2TB for the 15" model.

The caveat to all of this is pricing. Here's the breakdown:

$2,000 to get into the world of discrete GPUs, and a few hundred more if you want a larger model with the faster 1660 Ti.

Part of the premium price also extends to the displays: the 13.5" model has a 3000x2000 resolution, and the 15" model has a 3240x2160 resolution touchscreen panel with a high contrast ratio of 1600:1.

Other amenities include Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) connectivity, a 5MP front-facing camera and 8MP rear-facing camera, two USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port with power supply, 3.5mm headphone jack, full-sized SDXC card reader, and two proprietary Surface Connect ports.

These are sleek laptops, and with the Turing GPU option now available, the gaming perspective is legit. They are also an expensive proposition if gaming is your main (or only) objective.

Attractive gaming laptops based on AMD's Ryzen 4000 mobile series, like the Asus TUF Gaming A15 with a GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, are starting to sell for $1,300. Also, as mentioned in our summary of budget gaming laptops, MSI's GF63 Thin with GeForce GTX 1650 can be purchased for $699. At the high end, the $3000 MSI GE66 Raider will feature the RTX 2080 Super Max-Q, and the Surface Book will feature the GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q for the same price.

The Surface Book 3 will be available on May 21.