Hi Megan. I might be able to give some insight as I am a graphic design college student, owner of the original Surface Pro and have had the SP3 256gb i7 model now for a week. I LOVE my original Surface Pro--it had made this Apple fanboy a believer in Microsoft again. I bought it in January and used it for a full semester as my sole desktop, laptop, and tablet. But, I have to say, if you have the means, the Surface Pro 3 is rocking my world.
First of all, I fully agree that if you haven't had the opportunity to go to a Microsoft store or Best Buy to get a hands on feel for the new SP3, do that as soon as you can. The form factor itself sold me, but that could be different for you. It is amazing that even though it only dropped a quarter pound in weight, how much better this feels in tablet mode.
Secondly, everything is faster than my SP1. As it should be since I spent $800 more than I paid for my SP1. That being said, I was always pretty happy with my SP1 speed and performance. For a real world example, I always think that the microsoftstore.com website is very slow to load. (kinda funny, actually) Pages that will take 6-7 seconds to load on my SP1 will load at 4-5 seconds on the SP3. So, it's only a second or 2 faster, but I do appreciate it. At the end of a productive day on the computer, those seconds will mean minutes added to your workflow and life.
Next, and a HUGE thing for us as college students, is the new pen and how it works with One Note. It is a joy. Really. The accuracy even without any calibration is so amazing. I sincerely plan on doing ALL of my note taking for the next 2 years on the SP3. The actual feel of the stylus on screen feels much more natural, the accuracy is amazing, and the 3:2 aspect makes portrait mode actually feel like a real notepad. My notes are then synced automatically to One Drive and viewable on all my devices. Unbelievable. It's like a dream. The note taking advantage alone is enough for me to recommend this over the original. Granted, you can still do all these things on the SP1. It's just not as easy and doesn't feel nearly as "right" as it does on the SP3.
The trackpad on the new Type Cover is a nice improvement. The stylus itself is a huge improvement. The power connector used to drive me crazy on my SP1 and the new one is SOOOO improved. Likewise, the kickstand is a monumental improvement to the SP1. The display itself is even more gorgeous than the SP1 and the new aspect ratio and size make everything better. Truly.
A few negatives: The SP3 can get hot during highly intensive CPU usages. This has only happened during update and application installation, but it is worth noting. My SP1 definitely got warm too, but would say the SP3 does get warmer. Also, I have experienced some issues with WIFI upon waking from standby (as can be noted by many users in many threads) but have worked around that by shutting down instead of going into standby. This is also something that MS will be addressing with further updates. Another thing, even though the stylus is a big improvement, I am already noticing the nib of the pen to be wearing with just a weeks worth of play. This has also been noted in many other threads. Today, through the online chat, MS support is sending me a replacement bag with 3 nibs.
Overall, I LOVE my SP3. Go and play with one. The SP1 was great and as I said I did indeed love it, too. But, as I've stated in other threads, the SP3 is one sexy little beast.