Microsoft Upgrades The Surface Pro 2’s CPU

Late last year, Microsoft revamped its Surface tablet line with the launch of the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. The Surface 2 received the biggest changes, but the Surface Pro 2 also received a sli...
Microsoft Upgrades The Surface Pro 2’s CPU
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  • Late last year, Microsoft revamped its Surface tablet line with the launch of the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. The Surface 2 received the biggest changes, but the Surface Pro 2 also received a slight bump in specs. It seems that Microsoft isn’t done with the slight bumps yet, however, as it has stealthily upgraded the Surface Pro 2.

    WinBeta reports that Surface Pro 2’s CPU has been upgraded from an Intel i5 4200U CPU to an Intel i5 4300U CPU. With the upgrade, Microsoft has bumped up the tablets effective clock speed from 1.6GHz to 1.9GHz. The bump should help wring a little more speed out of the tablets. As for graphics, Intel’s own embedded graphics hardware also saw a bump to 1.1 GHz from 1.0 GHz.

    So, was there any particular reason behind the upgrade? According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the company “routinely makes small changes to internal components over the lifetime of a product, based on numerous factors including supply chain partnerships, availability and value for our customers.”

    It would appear that the new components are appearing in both replacement Surface Pro 2 units and new units being sold at retail. The price has remained the same and Microsoft isn’t exactly advertising the fact that they switched out the CPU in its Surface Pro 2 for a better one.

    With the cat out of the bag now, some early adopters are going to feel cheated. That’s just the risk you run with buying consumer electronics at launch though. That being said, the 300MHz bump isn’t all that significant and a launch unit should perform almost on par with the newly upgraded units.

    Besides, Surface Pro 2 owners have bigger fish to fry when it comes to Microsoft’s handling of its Surface product line.

    Image via Microsoft

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