surface pro 3
Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is seen during an event in New York, May 20, 2014. Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Black Friday is almost here, and retailers have unveiled their biggest offerings. Those looking to get a Microsoft Surface are in luck, as there are big savings to be had on products in the company's 2-in-1 hybrid laptop/tablet line.

It's worth looking at the older Surface Pro models, even though the Pro 4 and Surface Book are on stores' shelves now. The Pro 3 is still a fine machine by today's standards, and every Surface model supports Microsoft excellent pen capabilities. It may not be as fast as the newer models or even as speedy, but it satisfies the need for a 2-in-1 hybrid.

Another option to bear in mind is the Surface 3. Compared with the Surface Pro 3, the Surface 3 is smaller, lighter and cheaper. It's not exactly the same design, lacking the highly adjustable stand of its bigger brother, but it's still a good machine.

Also note that Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users have until July of next year to quality for a free Windows 10 upgrade online. This means any older machines with either of those two operating-system versions can be easily upgraded to the latest OS. Windows 10 has the same system requirements as Windows 8, which gives users a benchmark of what to expect in terms of performance.

Best Buy

A very impressive deal is available at Best Buy. The retail chain is offering the Surface Pro 3 at $300 off the previous price. It is also offering the Surface 3 at $100 off.

Costco

Available at Costco is the 128-gigabyte Surface Pro 3 with the Intel Core i5, Office 365 Personal and Windows 10, as part of a bundle with Type Cover and pen, for just $899. That's a $250 reduction from the original asking price. The Surface 3 is available with $100 off the asking price, meaning a budget-conscious consumer may find the Surface 3 to be the better bet.

Microsoft

The company is offering $200 off the Surface Pro 3 and $150 off the Surface 3. That's an impressive saving on the Pro 3 and could work out to be the best deal, depending on the configuration. The Surface 3 will include the Type Cover, which normally retails for $129.99.