Gigabyte U2442F-CF1 Gaming Ultrabook.

[donovands]

Hi folks,

I'm in the market for a new laptop to replace my beloved Gateway P-7908u. It has served me well but is simply too heavy (10lbs!!) to carry around on my frequent trips. I want portability but don't want to compromise greatly on gaming performance. I've had my eye on the development of Ultrabooks but nothing fit my budget of $1,500 with at least a 650m. I just checked today and Amazon has the new Gigabyte U2442F-CF1 for $1,199. It's got everything I'm looking for. i7 processor, 650m GPU, backlit keyboard, WiDi, 2 HDD bays, low weight and small form factor. The only thing I'd prefer is a higher res screen but at this price I'm not complaining. My question to you fine fellows is this: Is there anything as good or better than this in Ultrabooks for less than $1,500 or shall I go ahead and hit 'buy'?

Here's the link to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Ultrabook-U2442F-CF2-14-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00BTDBS6M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366736551&sr=8-2&keywords=u2442f#productDetails

Here's the product page on Gigabyte's website:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4399#kf

 

[Prostar Computer]

I'm quite interested in Gigabyte's progress in the laptop market. They make some quality desktop components and are really making a name for themselves.

You might want to peruse through sellers for user reviews on the laptop if you can find many, or even check out http://www.notebookcheck.com/ and/or http://www.notebookreview.com/

But considering an Asus ultrabook with dedicated grahpics (650M) is near $2000 I'd say consider the Gigabyte, definitely.

 

[donovands]

Yeah, I haven't been able to find anything that comes close in this price range. Not a single competitor with anything better than a 640m. So I'm going to pull the trigger and pick this bad boy up.

 

[Prostar Computer]

Let us know what you think! I've run into VERY few cases with their PCIe video cards and motherboards, so I'm hoping that - despite being new to the market - they'll deliver the same level of quality in their notebooks.

 

[yillbs]

Samsung series 7 chronos, it's the NP780, they have the 8870 and the 8770, the 8770 is comparable to the GT650, it's got a high res ( 1080p ), i7 quad, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD, and a bright screen, The gpu is only 1GB, but it's still a very decent card. IT gets EXCELLENT battery, and it's less then 6 pounds, it's like 5.3 i think, very very slim, and touchscreen.

 

[Prostar Computer]

The 8870M/8770M should actually be a bit better than the 650M. vRAM is less important than clocks though; 1 GB GDDR5 should be sufficient for nearly all modern games.

 

[yillbs]

That's kind of the impression i was under Prostar. I quite enjoy the 8770, i actually just started playing a FRee to play game called Artic combat, and i tried it on ma A6 with a 7880 or something like that from AMD, coudln't hardly play it on med, i put it on this ultrabook of sorts, and it plays it at 1080P with no skipping, great framerate, and just stunning graphics. It's a decent laptop, with decent specs, at a great price.

 

[JD88]

Have you considered the Lenovo Y400? It's not an Ultrabook, but it's relatively portable and has more power for a lot less money. It also weights less than the Gigabyte at 4.85 pounds vs. 6.8.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=59371952&category_id=6716C35E262487E9B548B6298FE58D3B

No SSD, but with the $500 you are saving, you could buy a really nice one and still pocket some serious cash.

 

[Prostar Computer]

That's kind of the impression i was under Prostar. I quite enjoy the 8770, i actually just started playing a FRee to play game called Artic combat, and i tried it on ma A6 with a 7880 or something like that from AMD, coudln't hardly play it on med, i put it on this ultrabook of sorts, and it plays it at 1080P with no skipping, great framerate, and just stunning graphics. It's a decent laptop, with decent specs, at a great price.

Looks fun! Reminds me of CS: Source, though it looks like you don't need to wait until your team wins or losses a match before you can respawn. Glad it runs smooth for you!

 

[donovands]

Well. I didn't pull the trigger. I noticed the the 650m in question is the DDR3 model, not the GDDR5, making it marginally better than a 640m. Looking at the NP780 now but can't seem to find any in-depth reviews, just tons of Youtube 'unboxing' junk. I see it in Bestbuy for 1,199 but Amazon (my preferred site as I live outside the US) lists it for $1,400.