I would recommend buying something that has a good feel (keyboard, mousepad, screen) to it as you'll probably be spending quite some time on it. If you're traveling a lot weight, battery life and robustness will be relevant to you as well. Specs above are what you would typically buy for GIS/data science and the Surface book 3 is on my short list as well: it is one of the best machines currently available. One recommendation to definitely consider is using two physical harddisks: one for OS, one for storage (massive difference). Good luck shopping!