Ultrabook emergency - well sort of :-)

BenEadir

Hi all,

My trusty Dell Vostro 3500 is on it's last legs (crashed totally twice already today) so I need to replace it ASAP. I've been hanging on to get something much lighter and the new range of ultra books seem the job.

This will be my daily work laptop which will be used all day (plugged into a nice big HD monitor via HDMI cable with wireless keyboard and mouse) and will also be used by itself for working from home and when I'm travelling which I've started to do a lot of, hence the need to reduce weight.

My basic requirement is:-

1. Must have a decent size screen +/- 15 inches. I find the 13 inch screens too small.
2. Must be a business centric machine, not interested in gaming but I do want it to be able to run Office type applications nice and fast.
3. Must have a long battery life.
4. Doesn't have to have a massive hard drive. I reckon a good SSD is all I really need. All my working doc's currently take up about 25GB and are constantly sync'd via Dropbox and after that I might keep another 25GB of media files (movies and TV box sets) to kill time when I'm on the road.
5. Must have the ability to buy add on accessories like spare charging cables (one for the office, one for the house and one for the road).
6. Must have a back lit keyboard - couldn't work without this any more.
7. Must have a decent keyboard - don't like those keyboards with very rubbery keys which have little travel/feel.
8. Would prefer a matt screen to a glossy screen. I find he glossy screens too hard to view in bright conditions.
9. Must be a branded machine, not from a PC Specialist builder. I know that will probably upset some but I want the comfort of a warranty from a big brand and I'd like the option of a 3 year service contract on it.

I invest in a new laptop every 3 years or so and because it is such an important tool for me I don't mind spending an extra few quid to get a high quality machine. Value for money is still important though!!

Would really appreciate any suggestions on what I should be buying.

Oh, nearly forgot. I assume Win 8 is the way to go OS wise but I'm open to staying with Win 7 if that is the right thing to do given my requirement is mostly business using MS Office etc.

Ben

Torqay

BenThere wrote: »

I don't mind spending an extra few quid to get a high quality machine.

Make that "a lot of extra quid" and get Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon. This baby's got it all, 14" 1600x900 matte display, SSD (128 or 256 GB), classy backlit keyboard, extended warranty packages, the works... pricing starts 1,300 yoyos.

BenEadir

That looks very good indeed Torqay, it came in at €1,985 when I priced in the 256GB SSD and 3 years service

OK, that sets the upper limit benchmark.

Anyone recommend something between €1,000 and say €1,500?

Ben

Torqay

The ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A ticks many boxes, gorgeous display (matte full HD 1920x1080), backlit keyboard, SSD, geat battery life... unfortunately it's only 13.3".

Torqay

The Dell Inspiron 15z, a 15" Ultrabook, has a backlit keyboard (and optional touch screen) but the eejits only offer sh*tty hybrid drives and 1366x768 resolution.

OK, the HDD can be remedied with an aftermarket SSD, but the display? That sure is a deal breaker for many... Seriously, what were they thinking?

BenEadir

Thanks Guys,

I thought there was going to be a wave of Ultrabooks hitting the market pre Xmas so I'm surprised at the relative lack of choice in the category I'm interested in i.e. 14-15 inch, business focused.

I might try and breath a bit more life into the Vostro 3500 and see what comes along in the new year, if it will last that long!!

Ben

Torqay

Oh, there is a great variety of Ultrabooks now but only very few that will tick most of your boxes, Carbon X1 is the only one I see matching your requirements, and even that isn't without flaws: the Battery life of ~6 hrs is nothing to write home about, at least not in Ultrabook-Land.

For some reason beyond my comprehension, most Ultrabooks come with glossy displays. Also, the bigger the screen, the higher the battery drain. Manufacturers still treat solid state disks as something ultra-exclusive and price them as such (a 128 GB SSD doesn't cost much more than a platter HDD today) or use sh*tty hybrid disks as a marketing spin ("Whoa, look at that, a solid state disk and storage space in abundance"!)

It's netbooks all over again. The first versions had 7 and 9 inch displays and a 4 or 8 GB SSD, they were rock-solid little travel companions. Soon enough people were complaining, too small, not enough disk space and lo and behold, the manufactures responded by entering a competition as to who is building the biggest dwarf. Now netbooks have 12" screens, double the size and weigh 50% more than their ancestors, But hey, you've asked for it!.

BenEadir

Hi all,

I'm going to go with the Lenovo X1 but would appreciate some input on the options I choose.

i5 Vs i7 for an extra €220?

128GB Vs 240GB SSD for an extra €175? (This is a business/travelling laptop not a family laptop so the only media content will be a few movies and/or TV series to pass the time on flights. Other than that I need 50GB space for documents + whatever the OS and MS Office + other usual programs will take up.

Keyboard - ThinkPad Precision Backlit Win8 Keyboard US English International with a Euro symbol or the standard UK English Keyboard? I'm tempted to go with the US layout if it has € symbol as I find the lack of one frustrating on standard "UK" keyboards but not at the cost of having the @ symbol over the #2 and other differneces I can hardly remember between the two layouts. I can't find a layout for the US keyboard so hoping someone here will give me a steer.

If I go with the i7, 240GB SSD and add on the other elements I need (MS Office Home and USB 3.0 Docking Port it comes to €2,400 inc VAT which is about €600 more than I was budgeting.

I could configure it with the i5 and 126GB SSD and save €400 but would that shorten the lifespan of the device and be a false economy?

C'mon IT guru's, help me make the right decision here.

Ben

Mr Benevolent

BenThere wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm going to go with the Lenovo X1 but would appreciate some input on the options I choose.

i5 Vs i7 for an extra €220?

128GB Vs 240GB SSD for an extra €175? (This is a business/travelling laptop not a family laptop so the only media content will be a few movies and/or TV series to pass the time on flights. Other than that I need 50GB space for documents + whatever the OS and MS Office + other usual programs will take up.

Keyboard - ThinkPad Precision Backlit Win8 Keyboard US English International with a Euro symbol or the standard UK English Keyboard? I'm tempted to go with the US layout if it has € symbol as I find the lack of one frustrating on standard "UK" keyboards but not at the cost of having the @ symbol over the #2 and other differneces I can hardly remember between the two layouts. I can't find a layout for the US keyboard so hoping someone here will give me a steer.

If I go with the i7, 240GB SSD and add on the other elements I need (MS Office Home and USB 3.0 Docking Port it comes to €2,400 inc VAT which is about €600 more than I was budgeting.

I could configure it with the i5 and 126GB SSD and save €400 but would that shorten the lifespan of the device and be a false economy?

C'mon IT guru's, help me make the right decision here.

Ben

The i7 isn't necessary for a business PC. Neither is the 240GB SSD if you don't put that much stuff on it.

freestyla

Torqay wrote: »

...But hey, you've asked for it!.

spot on. it's about us consumers also wanting more and more.

Torqay wrote: »

...sh*tty hybrid disks as a marketing spin ("Whoa, look at that, a solid state disk and storage space in abundance"!)

This one i don't get.
You have option of buying 500gb or 750gb hybrid for the price of 90gb SSD.. and performance wise you loose how much exactly? Home users doesn't loose absolutely anything except gain loads of storage.

Reliability was bad with the first gen hybrid when they came out but after that Seagate is improved firmwares whatnot so should last too.

Maybe you mean those netbook hybrids, they come with some mSATA solution? Idk much about netbooks but their hybrid solutions are more cramped and battery hungry?

freestyla

BenThere wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm going to go with the Lenovo X1 but would appreciate some input on the options I choose.

i5 Vs i7 for an extra €220?

128GB Vs 240GB SSD for an extra €175?
Ben

Sweet hardware

i5 can do 3 years easily for you. i7 would be better for likes of Autocad, movie editing etc heavy 3D stuff. Well i5 wouldn't have much problems neither.

128gb will do it for now. If you attach to the machine could throw in 256gb for probably cheaper the next year or later.

Good luck with purchase!

T-K-O

Do not upgrade the RAM or SSD with Lenovo there prices a little inflated. You can find cheaper upgrades online.

Trojan

Don't buy an Asus without playing with that exact model in a shop or elsewhere. I was shocked by the poor build quality of my U36.

128GB SSD should be fine. Look for battery life.

This thread is worth a read even if some of the models are moved on.

BenEadir

The dirty deed is done. €2,500 (inc VAT) for the i7 with 180GB SSD and USB 3.0 port replicator http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/ieweb/LenovoPortal/en_IE/builder.workflow:ItemDetails?fCode=/catalog/product_detail.jsp&GroupID=460&Code=0A33972&Name=false&from=builder&hide_menu_area=true&hide_ad_area=true#.UKy6LOTeRP4 and 3 years next business day tech support + accidential damage cover.

It's a lot of cash but it's the only machine which gives me the spec I want, particularly in terms of a 14" matte screen, SSD only HD and an excellent all day useable keyboard. Lot's of other machines out there for less but all compromised in one way or another by glossy screens, small screens, hybrid HD setup's, crap keyboards, poor battery perfomance etc.

The X1 itself probably cost €1,950 and the extended warranty, port replicator and extra power cable etc the additional €500.

Two weeks lead time BTW.

Also, if anyone is ordering you're better off calling their sales number 01 6535825 as they can give you more discount than the online ordering engine.

Fingers crossed I made a good decision :eek:

Ben

Freddy Smelly

hi ben.... what is actually causing the crashes on your existing laptop?

BenEadir

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

hi ben.... what is actually causing the crashes on your existing laptop?

Think it was overheating. It's happened a few times since. It's a Dell Vostro i5 M520 2.40GHz with 4GB RAM running Win 7 32 bit so it's worth keeping.

Once I have my nice new shiny X1 I will remove all my work apps and files, do a good overall clean up (defrag the HD, run Malware and CC Cleaner etc) and give it to my 12 year old son who is mad into Minecraft and wants to build a server so he and his mates can play in their own little Minecraft world!

Ben

Freddy Smelly

BenThere wrote: »

Think it was overheating. It's happened a few times since. It's a Dell Vostro i5 M520 2.40GHz with 4GB RAM running Win 7 32 bit so it's worth keeping.

Once I have my nice new shiny X1 I will remove all my work apps and files, do a good overall clean up (defrag the HD, run Malware and CC Cleaner etc) and give it to my 12 year old son who is mad into Minecraft and wants to build a server so he and his mates can play in their own little Minecraft world!

Ben

carefully open up the laptop and clean out any dust, remove the cpu heatsink and clean the cpu them apply a fresh layer of thermal paste then reattach the heatsink. repeat this step for the gpu heat sink.

you can buy thermal paste in any pc world shop for about a tenner

BenEadir

Thanks Freddy, that's good to know.

Cheers,

Ben