Rumors suggest that the Surface Laptop 3 will be revealed at Microsoft's media event in New York on October 2. The much anticipated 3 is rumored to be available in six versions, with rumors that the AMD Ryzen processor may power the laptop.
AMD's Ryzen would significantly boost the processing power of the Surface Laptop by offering eight-core processing. If the laptop is available with the AMD Ryzen and 16GB of RAM as some reports suggest, the model could sell for as much as $2,400, with other estimates suggesting that the price will be closer to $2,000.
Microsoft has yet to confirm the rumors, so everything is speculation at this point.
AMD Ryzen processors for laptops, featuring an eight-core processor, are not currently available, so if the rumors are true, it's likely that the processor will not include integrated graphics. Intel has done something similar, offering the Intel Core i9 processors with discrete graphics and eight-core capability.
AMD's mobile processors currently have four-core options only, so an addition of an eight-core mobile processor would allow AMD to better compete with Intel in the mobile market.
The Surface Book 2 also had a similar discrete graphics card, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that the 3 will follow the same discrete graphics option.
Additional versions of the Surface Book 3 may include the AMD Ryzen 5 3550OU and AMD Ryzen 7 3750OU processors with 8GB RAM options. A six-core processor is also being rumored with 12GB of RAM.
The best time to purchase a laptop is not when it's first released. Microsoft first released the Surface Book 2 with the cheapest model being $1,499, but the company announced the lower-powered version just three months later. The price of the original also had the price drop by $300, so it may be a good time to purchase a Surface Book 2 if you don't need the power of the Surface Book 3.
Amazon also had a Surface Book 2 Early Prime Day deal, which discounted the product by $415. Amazon was selling the model for $1,084 when it normally sells for $1,500. If you plan on buying the Surface Book 3 or any other laptop, Prime Day is a great time to buy and starts in July. Black Friday is another great time of year where retailers will all be dropping their prices to compete for consumer business toward the end of the year.
