Cheap ultrabook?

Tesco TripleChicken

Looking for something light and easy to carry for college. Chromebooks aren't an option and I'd rather not get second hand.
Is there any cheap Ultrabooks [EDIT: Slimline/lightweight laptops] (or laptops that are lightweight) ? I can't find any.
Budget ~ €300-€500 max
The hardware isn't an issue since I won't be doing anything too intensive on it

COYVB

Ultrabooks are, by definition, quite highly specced devices. You seem to be looking for just a slimline laptop more than anything else though, correct?

Tesco TripleChicken

COYVB wrote: »

Ultrabooks are, by definition, quite highly specced devices. You seem to be looking for just a slimline laptop more than anything else though, correct?

Yeah, I thought ultrabooks were just light laptops (like macbooks) since they all seem to have a slimline lightweight design.

Just looking for a slimline laptop

Kavrocks

Tesco TripleChicken wrote: »

Yeah, I thought ultrabooks were just light laptops (like macbooks) since they all seem to have a slimline lightweight design.

Ultrabook is a specification for a class of high-end subnotebooks which are designed to feature reduced bulk without compromising battery life.

legrand

sample Acer from Komplett stock below. At this price range you are looking a i3 cpu/ 4gb ram - kinda slow (on bootup/shutdown especially). You can go to the Laptop section and filter by criteria on the left side pane.

http://www.komplett.ie/product/zkb-01lap/80030509/acer-aspire-e5-471-356p/details.aspx

FSL

If you just want to use it for note taking and browsing then consider a tablet with a bluetooth keyboard.

My daughter uses a Nexus and a lightweight keyboard in college and transfers the notes to her laptop. She finds the Nexus much easier to carry around.

Viscosity1

I bought an Acer Aspire V5-572 from Dabs.ie in the past few days for e370. Its not particularly powerful but it is very slim and light.

macjohn

I asked a similar question (with an even lower budget) over in this thread - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=92474616

I got this reply which would have sorted my needs, albeit with a wait

savemejebus wrote: »

Can you wait until November? If it is really only something small, light and only for email and word then perhaps the HP Stream would work for you. It's gonna be like an updated netbook and is launching at $200 for 11" and $230 for 13".

http://liliputing.com/2014/09/hp-unveils-new-stream-laptops-199.html

However I did a little bit of further online searching and found that:

macjohn wrote: »

Looks great for the dollar price. However this crowd ( http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/hp-stream-11-6/ )
reckons it will be priced at sterling £179 for the 11" and £199 for the 13"
so it could be expensive by the time it gets to us in euros!!!

Would it be normal for technology to be that much dearer in sterling than dollars?
the 13" at $230 is around €184
the 13" at £199 is around €254

seems excessive?

So this price isnt as attractive as first seems and looks like the 13" not making it to UK shores until late December.
It does look like a lovely size machine though

Have you got something OP?
I was considering some refurbs but they are all a bit chunky compared to the stream or chromebook.

RossieMan

of course the price isn't going to be the same here as in the US. It never is. You can definitely add at least €50 onto the price for over here.

Tesco TripleChicken

The laptop will be used for word,excell, matlab, possibly some 3d modelling, videos email etc.
Not familar with matlab so not sure what kind of specs are needed for it.
My current laptop (hp g6 pavillion)would be perfect but its too bulky, heats up quite a bit, and could use a new battery (6gb ram, i5, win 7 64bit, 1-2 hrs depending on usage)

Re US v EU prices, we will be charged a lot more than US. Ps4 is $399 but €399 too so we end up paying a lot more than america.

macjohn

RossieMan wrote: »

of course the price isn't going to be the same here as in the US. It never is. You can definitely add at least €50 onto the price for over here.

Ah ya, I know it isn't going to be the same. That is fine
My point was it looks like it is going to €70 more expensive in the UK than US and that is before it gets to Ireland so rather than €50 could be close to double that which seems like a lot on a machine that started out at a cheaper $200 (€184)

Tesco TripleChicken

macjohn wrote: »

I asked a similar question (with an even lower budget) over in this thread - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=92474616

I got this reply which would have sorted my needs, albeit with a wait



However I did a little bit of further online searching and found that:




So this price isnt as attractive as first seems and looks like the 13" not making it to UK shores until late December.
It does look like a lovely size machine though

Have you got something OP?
I was considering some refurbs but they are all a bit chunky compared to the stream or chromebook.

Not sure if something like that would suit my needs, a bit too weak.
Struggling to find anything decent, lightweight and cheap so I might just stick with my current laptop until the January sales (got a good deal on my current laptop a few years ago, still beats most laptops in specs in the same price range.)

Simi

Tesco TripleChicken wrote: »

Not sure if something like that would suit my needs, a bit too weak.
Struggling to find anything decent, lightweight and cheap so I might just stick with my current laptop until the January sales (got a good deal on my current laptop a few years ago, still beats most laptops in specs in the same price range.)

Broadwell based laptops should start appearing by then, leading to discounts on this year's stock. So waiting is probably your best bet.

Bepolite

I've an i3 (sandy-bridge) 4Gb 'Ultrabook' basically a Acer Walmart mac rip off and the thing is great. The screen resolution is my only bug bear but I think the thing cost be about €400. It even came with a small SSD - which is the only thing that's going to affect boot times.

Keep looking you'll find something - check out a few review sites and Amazon.

EDIT: Cheaper and older model of this.

Tesco TripleChicken

Bepolite wrote: »

I've an i3 (sandy-bridge) 4Gb 'Ultrabook' basically a Acer Walmart mac rip off and the thing is great. The screen resolution is my only bug bear but I think the thing cost be about €400. It even came with a small SSD - which is the only thing that's going to affect boot times.

Keep looking you'll find something - check out a few review sites and Amazon.

EDIT: Cheaper and older model of this.

Looks good, where/when did you get it? Price is a bit high so might wait a while and hope for a good deal on it

Bepolite

Tesco TripleChicken wrote: »

Looks good, where/when did you get it? Price is a bit high so might wait a while and hope for a good deal on it

I got mine from the states the point above about it being cheaper is well made but you will find models by Samsung, Acer and ASUS in your price range.

Tesco TripleChicken

Does anyone know anything about these? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Ultrabook-i7-3517U-Aluminum-Windows/dp/B00M4DXM9W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_computers_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=17JEKTWCWFB2GDMY1ZCM

There's no reviews and can't find anything on google about it

Simi

Tesco TripleChicken wrote: »

Does anyone know anything about these? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Ultrabook-i7-3517U-Aluminum-Windows/dp/B00M4DXM9W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_computers_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=17JEKTWCWFB2GDMY1ZCM

There's no reviews and can't find anything on google about it

I'd be very wary of buying anything that shady. You're basically hoping you get what's listed on the page in a reasonably solid build. You have little to no recourse if anything goes wrong or you don't get what you paid for.