Looking for PC replacement for MacBookAir

Trojan

I love the form factor of my 1st Gen (1,1) MBA, but the HDD has died yet again. (One option I'm considering is replacing the HDD with a Runcore SSD)

Alternatively, I'm looking at what else is out there - I'm particularly interested in something more powerful, but coming in at similar size and weight. I've looked briefly at the Asus U36JC-RX197X and the Dell Adamo which looks like it's been EOL'd and replaced by the Dell 15z.

Any thoughts as to the 2 linked machines, or any other suggestions?

Voodu Child

Samsung 9-series are MBA rivals, but carry the same kind of price tag. What is your budget?

There's going to be a lot of these types of laptop's later in the year, Intel were pushing what they call the 'ultrabook' form-factor at Cumputex. Apparently they are giving heavy incentives for manufacturers to make them. Asus already showed the UX21.

The Dell 15z definitely isn't a replacement for the Adamo. Maybe if they do a 13" version. You can still pick up the Adamo, I think saveonlaptops still have some for £450. The spec is fairly dated at this stage though.

Trojan

Thanks for the suggestion. My budget depends on the spec, ranging from 400-900 preferably (the Adamo at that price is tempting - is it good value there?)

I could go to €1300 (ex VAT) if the spec is seriously, seriously hardcore (e.g. gaming equivalent).

I will be doing some video stuff on it (rendering MP4 etc) - not a lot, but nice if the setup can handle that while I'm on the road.

I'd prefer higher spec components from the previous generation (e.g. decent HDD seek/throughput etc) rather than cheaper newer stuff.

Voodu Child

Trojan wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestion. My budget depends on the spec, ranging from 400-900 preferably (the Adamo at that price is tempting - is it good value there?)

Well you'll get a faster laptop than the Adamo for the money. That is the nature of all super-thin laptops. So whether it is value for money depends why you want it. It is certainly a lot cheaper than when it came out, and it is a very slim laptop if that's what you're looking for.

I could go to €1300 (ex VAT) if the spec is seriously, seriously hardcore (e.g. gaming equivalent).

When you say you're looking for a Macbook Air equivalent, I assume you are looking for something super-thin and light, in the 11"-13" range. That's pretty much the opposite of a hardcore gaming laptop unfortunately. I mean, you can buy tonnes of power for €1300 but you won't fit it in an envelope MBA-style :pac:

Dman001

Does it have to be a PC OP?? The Apple Refurbished Store have the current generation Macbook Air starting at €830. I believe the Macbook Pros are decent-ish gaming laptops, and are quite light weight and portable in comparison to most Windows Laptops.

€500 would get you a 13" Netbook with AMD APU. They give a good performance (by a Netbook's standard), and are capable of very light gaming. But have a great battery life and very portable.

mcw92

I heard that the new Macbook Air is set to be updated soon so id wait until that comes out be considering buying a Mac.

Dman001

mcw92 wrote: »

I heard that the new Macbook Air is set to be updated soon so id wait until that comes out be considering buying a Mac.

Very true, we could see updates as soon as tomorrow.

Trojan

Hey all, thanks for the feedback.

I don't mind Mac or PC, but I'm going to run Windows on it - which you can see I did with my MBA no problem.

Voodu Child wrote: »

Well you'll get a faster laptop than the Adamo for the money. That is the nature of all super-thin laptops. So whether it is value for money depends why you want it. It is certainly a lot cheaper than when it came out, and it is a very slim laptop if that's what you're looking for.

Let me clarify my order of priorities, should have done that in first post:

Size (i.e. thin-ness, I do want a 13" screen)
Reliability
Cost
Power (Speed)

Voodu Child wrote: »

When you say you're looking for a Macbook Air equivalent, I assume you are looking for something super-thin and light, in the 11"-13" range. That's pretty much the opposite of a hardcore gaming laptop unfortunately. I mean, you can buy tonnes of power for €1300 but you won't fit it in an envelope MBA-style :pac:

Absolutely, I'm well aware of that, and I guess saying "gaming spec" might be pushing the envelope a bit too much. The usual trade-off here is Cost, Power, Size - pick any two. But I'm happy to go for something awesome, that is small, but PC-based and thus 60-70% of the cost of an Apple.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Has anyone got other suggested laptop models apart from those listed above?

spideog7

I'm looking for something similar with priorities along the same lines. I haven't seen anything other than what you've listed. The Asus UX21 does look really nice and the rumour is that HP will be releasing their's before Asus (which is due in September) so maybe worth holding off a month or so, that's my plan.

The ones you listed are close but don't really compare. There is also the Eee PC X101 but it's more a netbook so it doesn't really compare in terms of power, but it's very thin and very cheap.

Trojan

I think what I'll do for the moment is buy the SDD for the Mac and keep using it until October or even January if it lasts, should have a decent range on the market by then.