Reddit mentions of VAIO Z Canvas 12.3" Laptop (Core i7 Quad Core, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro)

I could be. My submission about the sale got 38 upvotes and 79 comments, several people saying they got one and they will post more info about their experiences.

The device is somewhat similar to the Surface, but bigger, faster and more expensive. With the sale and the current price drop on Amazon (non-affiliate link) the device is suddenly in my price range.

This is a comparison between the Transformer 3 Pro and the Surface Pro 4, the T3P is coming soon and is less expensive and more powerful than the SP4. The Vaio Z Canvas is currently on sale at almost 50% off on Amazon and it's more powerful than either of those devices, and it supports the SP4 Pen, so these are two interesting alternatives to the SP4. The Surface Book has support issues, the Spectre 360 has a less-than-great pen, and the Matebook is a little overpriced for a Core M machine.

I wouldn't recommend this MSI VR Ready GS43VR Phantom Pro because even though the price and specs are tempting it has below average quality for this price range and gets very hot under intensive work, so other than the Razer Blade I would recommend this slightly smaller VAIO Z Canvas because it comes with Intel Core i7 4770HQ Processor which is needed for your usage, 16 GB RAM which is more enough ram for smooth multi tasking, 512 GB SSD which is great for faster booting and and overall performance, 12.3-Inch Screen, very good build quality, battery life is good at 5 to 6 hours with medium usage, and it fits well inside your budget.