Ultrabook

blahblah06

Hi guys. ok going with pc specialist.

Ive configured my first laptop and came up with this. have i done anything wrong or does it seem ok?



Chassis & Display
UltraNote: 14" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768)



Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Dual Core Mobile Processor i7-3520M (2.90GHz) 4MB



Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)



Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 4000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB



Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)



DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
Ultra Slim 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)



Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)



Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack



Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-2230 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH



USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD


Battery
UltraNote Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)



Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor



Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)



Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD



Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE



Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM



Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)



Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Torqay

blahblah06 wrote: »

have i done anything wrong or does it seem ok?

Yes, that processor is VERY wrong.



Not only is the Core i7 3632QM £49 cheaper, it is also a helluva lot faster (at the same TDP specification)



And personally, I don't like platter hard disk drives in a laptop, SSD all the way, not only for the much better performance but also for the added robustness (no moving parts). The 120 GB Kingston SSD is cheaper than the 1 TB HDD you have picked, the 240 GB Intel SSD is on special offer. If it was me, I'd order with the basic 250 GB HDD and replace it with a 256 GB Samsung 830 Series SSD (160 yoyos at computeruniverse.net), one of the best SSDs available, second only to the new 840 Series.

Simi

+1 on the SSD. Just got my Optimus IV there yesterday & the first thing I had to do was open it up and (partially) quell the wicked vibrations coming from 7200rpm hard drive I put in it. At least I'll never make that mistake again! SSD's from here on out.

That also seems like an insane amount of ram to put in a thin and light. Gaming is pretty much out on the HD 4000, so unless you have some particular need for it?, 8gb is more that sufficient.

Oh and I read on the forums that the ultranote is getting a free battery upgrade on the 29th of this month. So hold off on ordering for a week.

Torqay

Simi wrote: »

That also seems like an insane amount of ram to put in a thin and light. Gaming is pretty much out on the HD 4000, so unless you have some particular need for it?, 8gb is more that sufficient.

Well spotted. And even if you really want 16 GB, order with 2 GB (the minimum) and buy an aftermarket upgrade. Price difference: £139/€170. You'll 16 GB kit (2x8) for less than a 100 yoyos elsewhere.

And a word to the processor again. While the Quad-core i7 is a tempting choice it might be somewhat of an overkill, unless you're heavily into image/video processing or 3D modelling. Otherwise, the Core i5 3210M is a good alternative and not much slower than the overpriced dual Core i7 3520:



You'll save a lot of money (£132/€162) and still get a powerful and balanced computer.

The following configuration costs £557/€689:



If you really need more disk space, then add £106 and get the Intel 240 GB SSD.

Torqay

Simi wrote: »

Just got my Optimus IV there yesterday & the first thing I had to do was open it up and (partially) quell the wicked vibrations coming from 7200rpm hard drive

You can't really compare the Optimus to the UltraNote, very different purpose. A 7,200 rpm drive causes more vibrations, it is noisier and will draw a lot more juice from the battery, which is of not much concern, you have a 45W max TDP CPU and a top class GPU so the Optimus won't last long on the battery anyway. The UltraNote, however, is all about mobility, so battery life is an important factor, and a solid state disk is likely to be more power efficient than a platter HDD (and still beats even the fastest spinning HDD under the sun by a country mile).

blahblah06

I just want to buy a proper laptop without having to upgrade.
I will hold out until I start seeing reviews I think

jamesccp

yeah hold till the reviews, i was lookin at it my self, i tought it was brushed Aluminum but its plastic with the brushed effect not a big deal but on the zen book and others its metal

Torqay

Rule of thumb, if you want good looks and aluminum alloy then the UltraBook is not for you. If you want performance and value for money, then look no further.

blahblah06

ok guys how about this set up. 800 pound can i do better or can i reduce it.??





Chassis & Display
UltraNote: 14" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768)


Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3632QM (2.20GHz) 6MB


Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)


Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 4000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB


Memory - Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (500MB/sR,450MB/sW) (Special)

Torqay

blahblah06 wrote: »

ok guys how about this set up. 800 pound can i do better or can i reduce it.??

The Kingston RAM costs slightly less than Samsung. I'll get £725 instead of £731 at this configuration.

oceanclub

I presume the Ultranotes have shipped/started to ship; hoping to see some reviews soon...

P>

cunnifferous

Yeah I want to order one soon, just got the €15 euro Windows 8 licence from bargain alerts as well so I've saved myself a few quid on the OS. Gonna get the quad core i7 with the money I've saved. Just waiting to make sure there's no ridiculous design faults etc. as its a new model.

machiavellianme

cunnifferous wrote: »

Yeah I want to order one soon, just got the €15 euro Windows 8 licence from bargain alerts as well so I've saved myself a few quid on the OS. Gonna get the quad core i7 with the money I've saved. Just waiting to make sure there's no ridiculous design faults etc. as its a new model.

I'm not sure I follow? Its the same price for windows 7 or windows 8 using the configurator? I thought those €15 licences were for upgrades only?

Torqay

machiavellianme wrote: »

I'm not sure I follow? Its the same price for windows 7 or windows 8 using the configurator? I thought those €15 licences were for upgrades only?

It is the same price, but you can still order Windows 7 (probably while stock lasts) and get a €15 upgrade for it.

Let's assume, machiavellianme has a Windows 7 license around, so he won't need the OS.

blahblah06

do people think the quadcore i7 is better then the i5

Torqay

blahblah06 wrote: »

do people think the quadcore i7 is better then the i5

Did you see my response #2 here?

Yes, the quad-core i7 is a lot more powerful than the dual-core i5. The question is, however, do you really need a Core i7. The i7 certainly has the edge when it comes to image/video editing or 3D modelling. But when you're doing regular stuff, i.e. surfing the web and using office applications, the difference is rather marginal and a Core i5 with 8 GB RAM will suffice for quite some time to come.

oceanclub

blahblah06 wrote: »

do people think the quadcore i7 is better then the i5

Based on CPU mark scores, there's a considerable difference between the high-end i7 and the others:

i3-3110m: 2684

i5-3210M: 3983

i5-3320M: 3887

i5-3360M: 4070

i7-3520M: 4618

i7-3632QM: 7011

There's about £90 difference between top and bottom. The sweet spot is probably in the middle, but I'm tempted to go for the i7 just for future-proofing and the occasional video-editing while travelling, etc.

P.

blahblah06

Sorry I just got confused lol

Torqay

oceanclub wrote: »

Based on CPU mark scores, there's a considerable difference between the high-end i7 and the others:

i3-3110m: 2684

i5-3210M: 3983

i5-3320M: 3887

i5-3360M: 4070

i7-3520M: 4618

i7-3632QM: 7011

There's about £90 difference between top and bottom. The sweet spot is probably in the middle, but I'm tempted to go for the i7 just for future-proofing and the occasional video-editing while travelling, etc.

P.

Actually, there's about £160 difference between the Core i3 3110M and the Core i7 3520M.

And no, there is no sweet spot, only two interesting options, the Core i5 3210M and the Core i7 3632 QM. Anything between is either too slow (the 3320M is slower than the 3210M, really?) or too expensive (the dual-core i7 3520M costs 50 Pound more than the quad-core i7 3632QM, ridiculous).

oceanclub

Torqay wrote: »

Actually, there's about £160 difference between the Core i3 3110M and the Core i7 3520M.

Yup, but as you noted later, the i7-3632QM is faster than the 3520M, even though the 3520M is more expensive (weird but true). It's £90 (to be precise, £107 inc. VAT) difference between the slowest, the Core i3 3110M and the fastest, i7-3632QM.

Anyway, I agree: the i7-3632QM looks like the one to choose!

P.

Torqay

The Core i7 3520M is a hugely unattractive choice. It ain't much faster than a Core i5 (~15%) at an extremely inflated price (it costs a lot more than its quad-core cousin). And it can't be about power efficiency either as they're all 35W max TDP processors.

cunnifferous

machiavellianme wrote: »

I'm not sure I follow? Its the same price for windows 7 or windows 8 using the configurator? I thought those €15 licences were for upgrades only?

Microsoft had an upgrade offer to windows 8 for €15 quid if you'd bought your pc in the last 2 months. But initially they didn't look for proof of purchase, you just had to enter a date in the last 2 months. It's supposed to be an upgrade version but your get a new product key and when you download the .iso file and burn it to a DVD, you can use it to boot on a blank disk drive (i.e a new pc). Several people have done it without much hassle over on the bargain alerts thread.