Last Updated on 09/28/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
The Surface Laptop 3 might be powered by an 8-Core AMD processor that would churn through RAW files with ease.
Cameras have become much more powerful in the last couple of years, and as a result of this, they create much larger RAW files than they used to. This is a good thing: it means that the images captured are packed with detail that would not be there otherwise. The downside to this is that you need more powerful computers to process these images efficiently. Fortunately, computers are also becoming much more potent. Microsoft may be readying an AMD powered Surface Laptop 3 that will handle huge RAW files without breaking much of a sweat.
A recent post on Digital Trends suggests that an 8-Core AMD powered Surface Laptop 3 may well be in the works. This processor has not yet officially been announced but that doesn’t mean it’s all hogwash. The report goes on to claim that the processor will not feature integrated graphics. This means that the Surface Laptop 3 would have to feature a dedicated GPU along the lines of AMD’s new RX 5700 line. These two components would make this one seriously powerful computer.
The two new chips, according to WinFuture, will be mobile-friendly Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 variants. While AMD computers are generally cheaper than Intel-powered ones, you might want to save up some extra pennies. The new Surface Laptop 3 models might set you back a bit. A 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 with the new 8-Core Ryzen, 16GB of RAM and dedicated graphics could set you back in upwards of $2,400. Another model of a 15 inch Surface Laptop 3 might feature less potent quad-core AMD Ryzen 5 chips with 8GB of RAM. These will reportedly sell for around $1,000.
So what does all of this really mean? Well, it’s no surprise to me that Microsft may well go with processors from AMD. The Ryzen chips have been shown to perform much better than Intel chips while using multi-threaded applications like Lightroom, Photoshop, and Capture One Pro 12. Even the less powerful AMD chips will still burn through RAW files with ease. I personally use a Ryzen 3 2600 in my PC, and it never breaks a sweat while pushing and pulling around 200mb files from a Fujifilm GFX100. An 8-Core version will easily handle any RAW files and 4K video.
With all of this performance in a laptop from the Surface line, you can begin to see why the Surface Laptop 3 might be the ultimate creator’s platform. Microsoft has been working hard over the years to win creators back from Apple. By introducing unique features into their products that make them hotrods for creation, Microsoft Surface devices have become quite desirable. If these powerful processors and dedicated GPU driven Surfaces exist, Apple had better watch out.
If you’re on the lookout for a laptop that will be an excellent choice for media creation, you might want to see what Microsoft unveils on October 2nd. This is when they will be holding their media event in New York City. As you can imagine, there are some pretty steep discounts available on Surface Laptop 2 models right now too. Head on over to Adorama to save up to $300 off of one.