Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Today, I learned that the charger for the Surface Book outputs a much high amperage than the Surface Pro 3. 

• The Surface Pro 3 power supply/brick operates at 12V & 2.53A = 30.36W
• The Surface Book power supply/brick operates at 12V & 4A = 48W

This is a big deal:  Despite looking nearly identical to another – including the connector to the Surface itself – the rate of charge is dramatically higher using the Surface Book charger because of the higher wattage outputted. 

There’s a couple ways to tell which power supply is which if you own both:

1. The Surface Book’s power characteristics (Output: 12V & 4A) are listed on the power supply in tiny, tiny print.  If you’re old like me, this can be hard to read
2. The Surface Book power supply has a holographic sticker on there that reads “Windows”.  The Surface Pro 3’s power supply has a stick that reads “Windows 8”.

Bottom line: If you’re gonna grab a power supply to take on the road, the Surface Book’s 4A power supply is the one you’re gonna wanna take.