Which model Surface Studio 2 has the NVIDIA GTX 1070?
Microsoft doesn't make it particularly clear
When it comes to shopping for a PC like the Surface Studio, there's every chance your whole reason for buying in the first place is because you have some intensive processes to complete, such as creative work, video editing, CAD programs, and such.
The Surface Studio 2 is a very good upgrade compared to its predecessor, but Microsoft hasn't ever been very good at making it clear which GPU comes in which version of the Surface Studio 2. That goes all the way back to the launch event, so don't worry, you're not on your own if you're confused by it all.
The top two models have a GTX 1070
Thankfully there's an easy answer to the question, and essentially you just want to avoid the base model. Microsoft currently only offers three specs of the Surface Studio 2, and the middle and top-end ones both have the GTX 1070 GPU inside them.
The downside to that is the lowest priced GTX 1070 model is $4,199, which is $700 more than the base model, which only costs $3,499.
The base model has a GTX 1060
The base model Surface Studio 2 is still very capable, with a 1TB SSD, the same Intel Core™ i7-7820HQ processor as the upgraded models, and 16GB of RAM. It also comes with an NVIDIA GTX 1060, which only sounds like it's one step below the GTX 1080, but the difference between the two are still pretty noticeable, whether you're gaming or doing something like rendering video.
You get an extra 2GB of video memory, for starters, which is quite a lot when your priority is running multiple programs at once or just memory-intensive programs. If you like to game, the GTX 1070 can easily play the latest titles at up to 1440p. The GTX 1060 is more suited to 1080p gaming.
You'll still be getting a great desktop that can handle memory-intensive tasks, but if you need the most that you can get out of this machine, you're going to want to skip the base model and go for either of the two other models with the GTX 1070. We recommend the second tier at $4,199, but if you want the 2TB SSD, you're going to be dishing out $4,799.
To get the GTX 1070 you're spending over $4,000
The Surface Studio is never meant to be "affordable," but to get the GTX 1070 inside you'll be breaking the $4,000 barrier and getting either of the two top models.
