Microsoft's first Surface-branded desktop PC now exists, and it is called the Surface Studio. Its cheapest model costs $2,999, with its highest-end model costing $4,199, and pre-orders kicked off today, October 26.

The PC, announced at Microsoft's Windows Creator Edition event, includes a 28" display with 13.5 million pixels at a 4500x3000 resolution; that's roughly 63 percent denser than a "4K" screen at 3840x2160 resolution. The 3:2 ratio screen is also an astonishing 12.5mm thick, and it can slide up and down on the device's hinge so that users can nearly flatten its orientation for the sake of drawing. Microsoft says the screen's counter-hinge will hold the screen in rigid orientation at any angle.

A new add-on device will ship alongside Surface Studio, dubbed Surface Dial. Placing the dial onto the screen lets artists immediately manipulate selections like color and other filters in graphic design apps. Microsoft describes the device as a companion to Surface Pen users, and if users don't place the Dial onto the screen, a UI circle can appear on the screen. However, it will also work as a more analog rewind-and-forward tool. At the event, this capability was shown off with pen strokes appearing gradually on a document for dramatic event.

Based on demos, the Surface Dial doesn't appear to offer its own buttons. Instead, once a Surface device senses that the Dial is on its screen, an app can bring up a new wheel UI beneath wherever it senses the Dial's placement. The device will be compatible with most current Surface devices, including Pro 3, Pro 4, and all Book models. The Surface Dial will retail for $99, and its pre-orders begin today, October 26. (For a limited time, Surface Studio orders will come with a free Dial, while the Studio's box will include a Surface Pen and the new Surface Mouse and Surface Keyboard devices. That's not to be confused with the new Surface Ergonomic Keyboard, which can be pre-ordered today for $129.99.)

Here are the Surface Studio specs we know so far, for the system's costliest option: an integrated 270W PSU, 2TB "rapid" hard drive (meaning, hopefully, an SSD portion in a "hybrid" configuration, but that is not yet confirmed), 32GB RAM, a quad-core Skylake CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M GPU with 4GB of VRAM, an integrated "2.1 surround" speaker system, a rear-facing 10MP camera, and a Windows Hello-compatible front-facing 5MP camera. All of this connects to a user's wall with a single power cable. For a lower cost, shoppers can opt to choose an i5 CPU, a GTX 965M GPU with 2GB of VRAM, a smaller 1TB "rapid" hard drive, and less RAM (either 8GB or 16GB).

Should you opt for the highest-end spec listed above, you'll pay well above $3,000. As in, $4,199. (A middle-range option, if you can call it that at this price point, can be yours for $3,499.) In the meantime, all Surface Studio systems will include four USB 3.0 slots, a full-sized SD card reader, an Ethernet jack, a Mini DisplayPort-out, 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, and a headphone jack.

In his demonstration of the device, Panos Panay, Microsoft’s head of Windows hardware, held up a piece of paper to demonstrate "true scale" resolution density. Holding that paper up to the screen would offer like-for-like comparability. He also showed off live color gamut switching, with a single button tap switching the display between sRGB and DCI-P3, which visual designers will certainly appreciate.