Ultrabook for school use

Tim9800

Estimable
Sep 25, 2014
7
0
4,510
Hello community,

I am currently looking for a decent ultrabook, and I have ended on three options which are locally available to me (in Australia), and one alternative option. My base criteria are:

  • Priced around 1000 AUD
    13 inch screen size
    Weight 1.5kg or less
    No Macs
Here are my current options (in no particular order):

1. Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1
Price: $AUD 1299
Model: Inspiron 13-7359
CPU: i5-6200u
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB SSD
Link

2. Asus Zenbook
Price: $AUD 1299
Model: UX305UA-FC030R
CPU: i5-6200u
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB SSD
Link (Half way down the "Slim, Lightweight, Compact" Section)

3. Acer Aspire V13 (i5 OR i7)
Price: $AUD 849 OR $AUD 1299
Model: Aspire V3-372-587T OR Aspire V3-372-744Q
CPU: i5-6200u OR i7-6500u
RAM: 4GB OR 8GB
Storage: 256GB SSD
Link (Both models are again half way down the "Slim, Lightweight, Compact" Section)

4. (Alternative) Dell XPS 13 (2015)
Price: $USD 655.11 (Price + eBay shipping to Australia)
Price: $AUD 910 (At time of writing)
Model: XPS9343-2727SLV
CPU: i5-5200u
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 128GB SSD
Link

To be honest, I don't really like the Dell Inspiron 13 7000, because I don't see a use for the touch screen/convertability and it weighs in at around 1.7kg, but I included it in the line up because it has the best storage and RAM.

The Asus I like because of the alleged build quality and it being light weight (1.3kg). However it seems a tad bit expensive for just 128GB of storage

The Acer is in the middle of the road with enough storage and around 1.5kg

The XPS is currently my favourite in terms of aesthetics and weight (1.1kg), however, the downside is the low storage and RAM. Even though it uses last year's CPU, I didn't really see that as a problem because it is being sold under 1000 AUD (Huge tick from me)

Any advice/opinions will be greatly appreciated
 
Solution
Out of those the Dell Inspiron is the best choice.
I have one for general use and it has plenty of storage, and is very versatile.
If the touch screen is annoying you, you can just disable it in Device Manager under Human Interface Devices, but I found after a week or so of using it I found myself tapping on emails and swiping pages naturally.
Runs very smooth, with no hiccups so far after about a year of use.
If you do have any issues, then in addition the Dell Support Team is one of the best around.

Chugalug_

Estimable
Out of those the Dell Inspiron is the best choice.
I have one for general use and it has plenty of storage, and is very versatile.
If the touch screen is annoying you, you can just disable it in Device Manager under Human Interface Devices, but I found after a week or so of using it I found myself tapping on emails and swiping pages naturally.
Runs very smooth, with no hiccups so far after about a year of use.
If you do have any issues, then in addition the Dell Support Team is one of the best around.
 
Solution

dreamalittle

Commendable
Mar 26, 2016
5
0
1,510
dell build quality is the best out of that lineup and also as you noted it's the lightest of your choices which in my experience (10+ laptops) has a huge impact on how often you use it and transportation experience. 4 or 8gb of ram doesn't make a huge difference to most students, also the speed drop even if you are maxing out ram won't be too noticeable.
 

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