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Best ultrabook for college?

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  • 25-08-2016 1:26am
    #1
    malnurtured
    Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭


    Need recommendations. 800ish budget. Needs to be at least 256GB ideally.

    Attempted to buy an i7 HP Envy 13 for 800 quid in PC world but it was out of stock when the guy went to look.

    Tempted to go for the ASUS UX305CA from Amazon but I'm concerned that the M3/5 core is a bit weak, especially seeing as I almost bought an i7 for that price.

    I'd love to get the XPS 13 but it seems to be ridiculously overpriced over here compared to the US price and 1,000+ is too much to pay unfortunately.

    Anything I'm missing or is the UX305CA the best bet?

    Cheers!


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    #2
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    It all depends on what you are going to be doing with the laptop tbh, if you needed an i7 then clearly an M processor will not do. But if you're only hoping to cover the basics on this laptop then you would probably be okay with the core M processor.


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    #3
    malnurtured
    Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭malnurtured


    I suppose I don't need an i7 really, but it was more for futureproofing than anything else that I was looking for one (especially at the same price).

    Is a core M3 good enough to handle lots of tabs open at the same time, that sort of stuff? I won't really be gaming (at least not heavily) and no editing, but I was worried when I found out how little power an M3 chip actually has.

    I have an i3 in my current laptop and it can barely handle google chrome, but that's probably down to the age of the laptop more than anything.


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    #4
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    malnurtured wrote: »
    I suppose I don't need an i7 really, but it was more for futureproofing than anything else that I was looking for one (especially at the same price).

    Is a core M3 good enough to handle lots of tabs open at the same time, that sort of stuff? I won't really be gaming (at least not heavily) and no editing, but I was worried when I found out how little power an M3 chip actually has.

    I have an i3 in my current laptop and it can barely handle google chrome, but that's probably down to the age of the laptop more than anything.

    You mentioned the word gaming? What do you mean here? This laptop is not suited for gaming. It is an ultra light, ultra portable laptop with efficiency and long battery life in mind. The M processor will be perfect for browsing, (even with 100 tabs), watching videos, music, documents etc. This will not be a machine to play CoD on however.


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    #5
    malnurtured
    Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭malnurtured


    Alanstrainor wrote: »
    You mentioned the word gaming? What do you mean here? This laptop is not suited for gaming. It is an ultra light, ultra portable laptop with efficiency and long battery life in mind. The M processor will be perfect for browsing, (even with 100 tabs), watching videos, music, documents etc. This will not be a machine to play CoD on however.

    Gaming in the lightest possible sense - i.e. not full 3D gaming. Stuff like the older Civilization games most likely.

    I ended up going for the UX305CA off amazon, 256GB SSD, core M3, Intel HD 515 (I think) gpu and 8GB ram. I figured that would be good for browsing and at least for the older games I mentioned. Obviously CoD is out of the question with integrated graphics, but would I be right in saying it can at least run primitive strategy games without too much effort?


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    #6
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    malnurtured wrote: »
    Gaming in the lightest possible sense - i.e. not full 3D gaming. Stuff like the older Civilization games most likely.

    I ended up going for the UX305CA off amazon, 256GB SSD, core M3, Intel HD 515 (I think) gpu and 8GB ram. I figured that would be good for browsing and at least for the older games I mentioned. Obviously CoD is out of the question with integrated graphics, but would I be right in saying it can at least run primitive strategy games without too much effort?

    Yep, you'll be grand, I would wager you might be able to play older CoD games on lowish settings too. It's a lovely machine, I'd consider it myself if I was looking to upgrade! Enjoy it!


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    #7
    malnurtured
    Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭malnurtured


    Alanstrainor wrote: »
    Yep, you'll be grand, I would wager you might be able to play older CoD games on lowish settings too. It's a lovely machine, I'd consider it myself if I was looking to upgrade! Enjoy it!

    Cheers for the help. I was hoping to get the XPS 13 for ages but unfortunately the price is still quite outrageous over here. After a good deal of research it seems to me like the UX305CA is the best ultrabook in the 800ish price range. Should do me for my degree (I'm assuming Pharmacy degrees don't require highly specced laptops) anyway. Thanks again!


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