hi I want to get a laptop for college
my main priority is one with long battery life, and otherwise good portability
I don't mind if its big, as long as it isn't too heavy
I really don't care about hdd size because I'm going to use an external hdd for most of my stuff, infact an ssd would probably be best
I'd like it to be at least decently powerful, but I really don't need to do anything serious on it, the most i have to do is process and edit the 16mp photos from my d5100
and it must have at least one usb 3.0 port on it, because of my external hdd
anyway, I've been looking around a lot (especially at ivy bridge models since I hear its much better on the battery) and I've come up with a pretty large list
these are the ones that stand out to me, but I really want some other opinions:
[url]http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/NX.M3AAA.002[/url]
[url]http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP530U3C-A02US-specs[/url]
[url]http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP530U3C-A02US-specs[/url]
[url]http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP535U4C-A01US-specs[/url]
[url]http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=43752VU&category-id=1A728B307CF2BE9C09FF4876E3DCA17F[/url]
[url]http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-l321x/pd?refid=xps-13-l321x&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=1&~ck=dellSearch&isredir=true[/url]
i definitely don't want to go over $1000, and I'd like to keep it a good bit lower than that if possible
there should be a megathread for laptop buying like the headphone one
these threads pop up all the time and i hate adding to the pile but none of the other threads really fit my needs
its because most people who ask about laptops are trying to buy a sweet gaming laptop with $500 in birthday money
have you considered a macbook air? because they're pretty much the best laptops money can buy and they fit your description perfectly. apple refurbished ones go for like $800
The Macbook Air is pretty much the best ultrabook you can buy. The base 13 inch Air is faster and lighter with a higher res screen than the Acer, Smasung and Lenovo, and has a faster CPU and GPU than the Dell while still being lighter with a higher res screen. Try find someone who already goes to college and use their student discount to get one.
Macbook Air a good ultrabook? Have you seen the Gigabyte U2442 series?
Yes. All of them are heavier and thicker than a Macbook Air, and I cannot find any mention of battery life so I'm assuming the battery life is pretty awful for them too. It doesn't matter that they have a big GPU in them since OP is looking for a laptop with good battery life, and not for gaming.
[editline]15th July 2012[/editline]
Also looking at it, all of the U2442 "ultrabooks" are almost as thick as my full scale Macbook Pro
MacBook air is hands down the best ultrabook in the market right now.
The best is the sony vaio z. The $1500 price tag scared me away. Samsung, Asus, and Toshiba make really excellent ones aswell, and are cheaper than the air for the price.
A 11 inch air with 64gb ssd, costs $1000, where any other manufacturer you can get 13.3-15in screen, 128gb ssd, and the same battery life. I owned a samsung series 9, and I was able to get 7 hours on charge for school. This was internet surfing, note taking, etc.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36780799]The best is the sony vaio z. The $1500 price tag scared me away. [/QUOTE]
Completely agreed - guess we're lucky here in the UK that the Z is more or less the same price as a macbook air (both baseline)
[QUOTE=Darkimmortal;36780841]Completely agreed - guess we're lucky here in the UK that the Z is more or less the same price as a macbook air (both baseline)[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure what I think about the external graphics card thing you can buy. Other than that, great ultrabook.
[url]http://www.anandtech.com/show/4474/sony-updates-vaio-z-thinner-lighter-light-peak-and-external-gpu[/url]
I just got a Vaio Z, it's great. Weighs less than 2 kilos, super fast, never need to shut it down, mine's even got 2 graphics cards so I can play games within some limits. It's also really quiet. And it has usb3.
Take a look at the Asus Zenbook.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36780799]A 11 inch air with 64gb ssd, costs $1000, where any other manufacturer you can get 13.3-15in screen, 128gb ssd, and the same battery life. I owned a samsung series 9, and I was able to get 7 hours on charge for school. This was internet surfing, note taking, etc.[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind that the extra price is not just for the apple logo but for the OS as well, I'd much rather do all of my school work on OS X than on Windows/Linux
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36780799]The best is the sony vaio z. The $1500 price tag scared me away. Samsung, Asus, and Toshiba make really excellent ones aswell, and are cheaper than the air for the price.
A 11 inch air with 64gb ssd, costs $1000, where any other manufacturer you can get 13.3-15in screen, 128gb ssd, and the same battery life. I owned a samsung series 9, and I was able to get 7 hours on charge for school. This was internet surfing, note taking, etc.[/QUOTE]
this is a fundimental misunderstanding of why apple products are better and a very obvious sign you have never used a macbook air. in a checkbox comparison of raw numbers and features it seems to "fall behind" but the fact of the matter is that the build quality of macbooks is light years ahead of windows ultrabooks, the keyboard is top notch, and the touchpad is best in the industry by and by far, and the power management of osx just makes windows laptops look like trash. also - larger screen sizes make for larger laptops and a 15 inch laptop isnt an ultrabook. and don't go all "but well cm you see a laptop is an ultrabook if..." because the marketing label for ultrabooks is shit and not strict enough to define a product similar to a macbook air
dont buy crappy windows knockoff ultrabooks, buy a macbook air. they're still decent computers in their own right but they're obviously copying the mba and they dont even come close
[QUOTE=Cheesemonkey;36782463]this is a fundimental misunderstanding of why apple products are better and a very obvious sign you have never used a macbook air. in a checkbox comparison of raw numbers and features it seems to "fall behind" but the fact of the matter is that the build quality of macbooks is light years ahead of windows ultrabooks, the keyboard is top notch, and the touchpad is best in the industry by and by far, and the power management of osx just makes windows laptops look like trash. also - larger screen sizes make for larger laptops and a 15 inch laptop isnt an ultrabook. and don't go all "but well cm you see a laptop is an ultrabook if..." because the marketing label for ultrabooks is shit and not strict enough to define a product similar to a macbook air
dont buy crappy windows knockoff ultrabooks, buy a macbook air. they're still decent computers in their own right but they're obviously copying the mba and they dont even come close[/QUOTE]
You can try to not make blatantly obvious that you're a apple fanboy. There is nothing wrong with any of the windows ultrabooks I posted.
For one, you clearly have no experience in anything other than the air. The build quality is just as good, and screen size has nothing to do with making it an ultrabook or not. Just because Apple made the first ultrabook, doesn't mean it's the best. This is a common misconception with a lot of products today.
hi sorry I thought that facepunch wouldn't recommend a mac since its facepunch
but yeah I really don't want osx. too many of the programs I use don't work on osx, and I'd just much rather have windows.
ive been using osx for about 4 years now and I'm fed up with it
I also really don't care how thick the laptop is, as long as its not a monster
[editline]15th July 2012[/editline]
a lot of these recommendations are quite expensive, I was looking for something a little cheaper
for example I was also considering the HP Pavilion dm1/z which is like $500
or the acer timeline ultra m3 which is like $600
[QUOTE=Jo The Shmo;36783662]hi sorry I thought that facepunch wouldn't recommend a mac since its facepunch
but yeah I really don't want osx. too many of the programs I use don't work on osx, and I'd just much rather have windows.
ive been using osx for about 4 years now and I'm fed up with it
I also really don't care how thick the laptop is, as long as its not a monster
[editline]15th July 2012[/editline]
a lot of these recommendations are quite expensive, I was looking for something a little cheaper
for example I was also considering the HP Pavilion dm1/z which is like $500
or the acer timeline ultra m3 which is like $600[/QUOTE]
Well i was going off your $1000 budget, so you want 600 now?
[QUOTE=Cheesemonkey;36782463]this is a fundimental misunderstanding of why apple products are better and a very obvious sign you have never used a macbook air. in a checkbox comparison of raw numbers and features it seems to "fall behind" but the fact of the matter is that the build quality of macbooks is light years ahead of windows ultrabooks, the keyboard is top notch, and the touchpad is best in the industry by and by far, and the power management of osx just makes windows laptops look like trash. also - larger screen sizes make for larger laptops and a 15 inch laptop isnt an ultrabook. and don't go all "but well cm you see a laptop is an ultrabook if..." because the marketing label for ultrabooks is shit and not strict enough to define a product similar to a macbook air
dont buy crappy windows knockoff ultrabooks, buy a macbook air. they're still decent computers in their own right but they're obviously copying the mba and they dont even come close[/QUOTE]
It may be news to you that the Z was around way before the Air and is both lighter and better built. Its monitor also blows away anything Apple offer on any of their portables (retina included). Sony Vaios are good shit.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36783886]Well i was going off your $1000 budget, so you want 600 now?[/QUOTE]
i said at most $1000 but i'd rather lower
and I was recommended laptops that cost over $1000, which isn't very helpful
This is the laptop I'm buying for college, it's a pretty good value if you're fine with a 13.3" screen.
[URL]http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/839473-REG/ASUS_U36SG_DS51_U36SG_DS51_13_3_Notebook_Computer.html[/URL]
Avoid hp and cheap acers like the plague.
That is all i have to say
[url]http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/872798-REG/ASUS_UX32A_DB51_UX32A_DB51_Zenbook_13_3_Ultrabook.html[/url]
this is a little pricey but it looks quite good to me
and there are slightly cheaper alternatives
If I may I'd like to recommend one of the Acer TimelineX laptops. They're fairly thin, light, have great battery life, have USB 3.0 with power-off charging, and fall within your price range (Acer lists prices at between $429 and $780, so prices on actual shopping sites will vary somewhat.) No SSD unfortunately, but it's easy enough to pull apart and swap for. Does seem to come with a lot of bloatware though. The Acer-customized Windows media installs a lot of shit (drivers, bullshit useless applications) that slows down the install process quite a bit.
They're durable as all hell too; in the last month or so freshman year I accidentally pulled my 3830TG model off my top bunk, where it fell uninterrupted for around 6 feet before hitting the floor. I'm using it to post this. Apart from some superficial damage to the case it still runs like a dream.
Looked at the newer models offered by Acer and it seems they do have optical drives. Mine doesn't. So if you do decide to get one of these you might want to double-check to see if it's got one.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36782714]You can try to not make blatantly obvious that you're a apple fanboy. There is nothing wrong with any of the windows ultrabooks I posted.
For one, you clearly have no experience in anything other than the air. The build quality is just as good, and screen size has nothing to do with making it an ultrabook or not. Just because Apple made the first ultrabook, doesn't mean it's the best. This is a common misconception with a lot of products today.[/QUOTE]
Spoliers: If a manufacturer gets the same battery life from their 13 inch ultrabook as the 11 inch Air, that's pretty awful (the vast majority of the space in these machines is taken by the battery, so they are clearly not doing a very good job then if Apple can get another 2 hours of battery life from the same rough space.) Also, apparently that Samsung has a half broken trackpad (like every windows machine with a trackpad in the last 3 years).
I'm sure there are laptops that are lighter (the Vaio Z and the Samsung thing), that are faster, that have better battery life than a Macbook Air, that has a nicer keyboard to type on and is cheaper but there isn't an ultrabook that balances every spec as well as a MBA does.
[editline]16th July 2012[/editline]
Also OP, if you don't want people to recommend ultrabooks, don't show examples of ultrabooks as machines you are looking for
[QUOTE=Dr Egg;36794195]Spoliers: If a manufacturer gets the same battery life from their 13 inch ultrabook as the 11 inch Air, that's pretty awful (the vast majority of the space in these machines is taken by the battery, so they are clearly not doing a very good job then if Apple can get another 2 hours of battery life from the same rough space.) Also, apparently that Samsung has a half broken trackpad (like every windows machine with a trackpad in the last 3 years).
I'm sure there are laptops that are lighter (the Vaio Z and the Samsung thing), that are faster, that have better battery life than a Macbook Air, that has a nicer keyboard to type on and is cheaper but there isn't an ultrabook that balances every spec as well as a MBA does.
[editline]16th July 2012[/editline]
Also OP, if you don't want people to recommend ultrabooks, don't show examples of ultrabooks as machines you are looking for[/QUOTE]
Not trying to sound like a dick, but have you even used any of these ultrabooks or are you just reading reviews? I have personally owned a samsung series 9 and asus zenbook and they are just as good as the mba. They have none of these issues everyone keeps complaining about. I haven't used a mba for an extended period of time, but when I switched ultrabooks with my friend for a day, it was fine. I'm not an apple hater because they are apple, I am saying that there is nothing wrong with windows ultrabooks, and some are a better buy than the mba.
[QUOTE=Dr Egg;36794195](like every windows machine with a trackpad in the last 3 years).[/QUOTE]
What the FUCK does the operating system have to do with the bloody trackpad?
Seriously?
christ people the difference between a MBA and any other ultrabook is not light and day like you're making it out to be. sure the MBA is better in probably every regard but you make it out to be like Windows ultrabooks are made out of cardboard and use wet toilet paper as a trackpad.
[QUOTE=nikomo;36794599]What the FUCK does the operating system have to do with the bloody trackpad?
Seriously?[/QUOTE]
Windows laptop manufacturers use shitty hardware with shitty drivers.
[QUOTE=Dr Egg;36794195]Spoliers: If a manufacturer gets the same battery life from their 13 inch ultrabook as the 11 inch Air, that's pretty awful (the vast majority of the space in these machines is taken by the battery, so they are clearly not doing a very good job then if Apple can get another 2 hours of battery life from the same rough space.) Also, apparently that Samsung has a half broken trackpad (like every windows machine with a trackpad in the last 3 years).
I'm sure there are laptops that are lighter (the Vaio Z and the Samsung thing), that are faster, that have better battery life than a Macbook Air, that has a nicer keyboard to type on and is cheaper but there isn't an ultrabook that balances every spec as well as a MBA does.
[editline]16th July 2012[/editline]
Also OP, if you don't want people to recommend ultrabooks, don't show examples of ultrabooks as machines you are looking for[/QUOTE]
Apple has better hardware -> OS regulation so their battery life is going to be better. the battery life of Windows ultrabooks isn't going to be that bad.
[QUOTE=Protocol7;36794642]Windows laptop manufacturers use shitty hardware with shitty drivers.[/QUOTE]
I've found the latest Synaptics stuff to surpass any macbook I've used (in terms of point and click and scrolling/back/forward gestures, couldn't give a shit about anything beyond that), plus the SDK for it is extremely good - can do some amazing things with a little c++.
[QUOTE=Darkimmortal;36796344]I've found the latest Synaptics stuff to surpass any macbook I've used (in terms of point and click and scrolling/back/forward gestures, couldn't give a shit about anything beyond that), plus the SDK for it is extremely good - can do some amazing things with a little c++.[/QUOTE]
Nope, shitty hardware/software. Mac's best trackpad ever.
I'll agree that Macbooks have amazing trackpads, but the OP doesn't want one so we should move on and help him out.
[QUOTE=nikomo;36794599]What the FUCK does the operating system have to do with the bloody trackpad?
Seriously?[/QUOTE]
dogg, windows doesn't even support half of the multitouch and gesture features that osx has and what it does have is crappy. pls stop gettin upset about computors
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