Ultrabooks

[IntelEnthusiast]

I am looking to buy myself a new Ultrabook. I am looking for thin, light, instant on and long battery life. I know that there are a bunch of new Ultrabooks coming out soon but of the ones the market right now which ones do you like the best? And why?

Asus Zenbook UX31

Toshiba Z835

Hp Folio 13

Acer Aspire S3

Dell XPS 13

Lenovo Ideapad u300

Or some other?



Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[djscribbles]

I was planning on getting one for my wife, as her laptops heavy, old, and has about 10mins of battery life now. So I'd like to see what people think of these.

I'm also curious if people think ivy-bridge ultrabooks are worth waiting for (and how long that wait is going to be).

 

[Chainzsaw]

Hello IntelEnthusiest,

I'm not too sure why you would ask us, you seem to be very knowledgeable yourself!

However if your in the market for an Ultrabook...what I would consider first if I were you is screen resolution. A lot of the Ultrabooks come with 1366x768 which is quite low these days. You might have issues displaying web pages correctly. IMO this is even low for a modern laptop.

I don't think it's out yet, however what about the Gigabyte U2442 Ultrabook?

14" 1600x900 Resolution
Geforce 640 discrete
Thunderbolt I/O <--apparently first Ultrabook with this feature, IMO nice.
2x USB 3
HDMI + DSUB
.11n wireless + Bluetooth 4.0
Apparently its made of both aluminum and plastic.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

The big thing about the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors when it comes to laptops is going to be some better battery life, the Intel HD 4000 graphics (DirectX 11) and a small improvement to the IPC. For most people the graphics is the key if you are looking to do any gaming you are going to want the Intel HD 4000 or better in graphics.

I have been planning for a new laptop for over at year now and I recently sold my old one so I am really looking forward to getting a new one.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Pinhedd]

The big thing about the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors when it comes to laptops is going to be some better battery life, the Intel HD 4000 graphics (DirectX 11) and a small improvement to the IPC. For most people the graphics is the key if you are looking to do any gaming you are going to want the Intel HD 4000 or better in graphics.

I have been planning for a new laptop for over at year now and I recently sold my old one so I am really looking forward to getting a new one.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

Did you just answer your own question?

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Hello IntelEnthusiest,

I'm not too sure why you would ask us, you seem to be very knowledgeable yourself!

Thanks, but I just know the processors well but haven't had a chance to put hands on with any except to walk into a Bestbuy and pick them up. I was hoping that some of you would have experience with them. When it comes to laptops there are so many things that play into them. I really dont get to play with laptops so I am sure you guys have me beat by miles in the knowledge of them.

So I am looking for things like brand xyz's track pad is bad or there is no way to remove some of the bloatware that comes on this laptop.


Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[daship]

I want Samsung 9 series.

 

[Warmacblu]

I've got a Zenbook and I love it. Ivy Bridge won't offer much of an upgrade and will be even more expensive because they will probably try and pair it with Windows 8 and possibly the ability to turn into a tablet nonsense.

 

[daship]

http/www.samsung.com/us/computer/series-9-notebooks

 

[Pinhedd]

Ah I see. If you're looking for an actual Laptop for both work and play an Ultrabook is probably not what you are looking for. Ultrabooks and other Netbooks are fine for using on the go but their ultra mobility makes them somewhat uncomfortable and undesirable to use for every day tasks.

I have an Asus Eee PC that I bought because I was looking for a lightweight companion product to my 17 inch hulk of a mobile workstation (Alienware M17x R3). Despite the obvious attractiveness of it being compact, lightweight and having a long battery life I rarely ever use it. Obvious turn offs being the low screen resolution and tiny keyboard, neither are ideal for any practical work. The keyboard actually hurt my wrists to use, this is a flaw of the ultra-compact formfactor shared by all netbooks.

If size, weight and battery life aren't determining factors for you then I would actually consider getting a full scale laptop instead as I personally believe that netbooks in general are just a well marketed novelty with little practical use. If they are determining factors and you have a compelling need which justifies getting a netbook/ultrabook I would recommend the Dell XPS 13 or Asus Zenbook UX31. I would avoid HP/Acer/Toshiba because I've never been a fan of their construction.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

I won't be gaming on it this is for travel, work, school and some writing. If I want to game I have systems at home and work that I can use for gaming. My last laptop was a Toshiba Satellite E105 14" with a Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8400 and I loved it but want something more modern. The most demanding game I put on this was Plants vs. Zombies.

I hate carrying around a heavy laptop and then trying to find a place to plug it into just so I can take notes in class or to work on a project when I have an idea pop up.

The Asus Zenbook UX31 looks great is it as good as it looks?


Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[djscribbles]

If I want to game I have systems at home and work that I can use for gaming.

There is one piece of this sentence that makes me very jealous...

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

There is one piece of this sentence that makes me very jealous...

I just wish that I got to play as much as I would like. I have had Skyrim and a couple other games on the system I have under desk right now and I don't think I have able to play more than about 15 minutes in total at work. Home is a little better but between school, work and taking care of the house I am lucky if I can get a chance to run a Operation with my guild in Swtor once a week.

Well I ordered the Asus Zenbook UX31 and should have it tomorrow.


Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Chainzsaw]

Very nice. I took a look at the specs of the zenbook, pretty sweet.

Nice resolution as well.

 

[jaguarskx]

Well I ordered the Asus Zenbook UX31 and should have it tomorrow.


Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

Or you could have waited for AMD's Ultrathin laptops using their upcoming Trinity APU. I'm sure it would make for an interesting conversion piece at work.




As you probably seen me mention in the CPU sub-forum... I'll wait for Haswell to come out before buying a new laptop / ultrabook.

 

[Chainzsaw]

Or you could have waited for AMD's Ultrathin laptops using their upcoming Trinity APU. I'm sure it would make for an interesting conversion piece at work.




As you probably seen me mention in the CPU sub-forum... I'll wait for Haswell to come out before buying a new laptop / ultrabook.

 

[djscribbles]

I'm a bit curious how the Zenbook turned out for you Christian


Also wondering if anyone has any opinions on Lenovo's ultrabook offerings (or lenovo in general), I just learned that my wife can get huge discounts on them, but I've never personally used one.

 

[chulex67]

Well I got an Mackbook Air for about 7 months, viewing angles are great, Sound no so great, nice screen, the mouse pad is the best i have ever tried, lots of apps, Small HDD 64gb for me, Overall A 8.


Here is what i dont like about Ultrabooks.

In my case my son trowed a toy car to my screen... breaking it.., not totally, just a ugly spot in the left. So, i started looking for a Screen Replacement.... My Laptop was 950 usd when i got it. To fix the Screen I need to pay 550 Usd In the apple store.

I suggest you to research about this matter Not only the MBA screen is hard to change, you need to change all the top piece , and its the same for the Acer,Asus,Toshiba. They use the same case Dont know if its the same screen.

If You decide to go ultrabook get the bigger serenes, people who bought the 13 inch Mackbook Air , dont have this problem and they change their screen for 198 usd.