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So I'm looking for an ultrabook since my netbook(s) decided to die. I bought them for the weight mainly. I don't game much any more but being able to run, say, Civ 5 would be good. Even though I'm looking at ultrabooks price is still important to me. And time. I need it basically within a month or so. From what I'm reading the main ones I like the look of (The new Acer S7 and ASUS Zenbook Infinity) aren't being released any time soon. If my requirements are weight, nice enough screen and faster than a netbook while having not-horrific battery life, is it a terrible idea to get a Zenbook Prime (UX31A probably)? It seems to fit all my needs including battery life (I'm living with about 3 hours right now). It was basically between the UX31A (Non touch), Acer S7 and Macbook Air 13". I can't seem to easily get any others for a reasonable price or ease here in Australia. The 1920x1080 IPS panel is more than nice for me. Any reasons apart from "wait for Haswell"? I don't really want to wait too long as I need it more now than shiny and new. Hell, when I bought my netbooks they were a fair bit behind but they did the job well.
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Jun 5, 2013 10:33
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I just found out that the ASUS Zenbook UX31LA exists and is everything I want. I don't care about Gorilla Glass lids or anything, I just want a nice screen and good battery. Hopefully it'll come out early July and they have a low-spec model. If it's supposed to be coming in at the outgoing prices what are the odds of an AU$1600 one? Around that is what I'd be able to stomach. I really don't want to pay AU$1800-2000 for i7s and stuff I'm not going to use.
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Jun 13, 2013 12:58
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Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new laptop. A little history. My last computer gear purchases were five years ago (For my desktop) and four years ago for my netbooks. Even despite the age I wasn't really thinking about replacing them because I don't really play cutting edge games or anything that requires massive performance any more. However I was getting a bit fed up with my netbook performance. Specifically they were ASUS Eee PC 1000HA and 1005HA. But they did the trick (I only used one, the other was a family spare) and more importantly got good battery life. However, they're both basically dead. The 1000 has some sort of mainboard power issue and the 1005 has a keyboard that only sometimes works (No "C", "." or CTRL keys for example) and wireless that likes to drop out. I was thinking about getting them repaired but they'd cost basically as much as I paid for them originally. So I'm looking for a new laptop because I figure I might as well upgrade. Originally I was hoping to just grab a new Eee PC but it looks like they've been out of production for a while. My requirements are basically: - Light, as I'll be carrying it around all day and I am a sissy girly man who gets sore shoulders easily. - SSD, because I'd like to just be able to hit power on and get to work for once. - Good battery life. I'm going to be using it away from reliable power for a good five or more hours occasionally so more battery life is better. - Pretty because I'm vain (Not a set-in-stone requirement) - AU$1400 or less. I could possibly stretch to AU$1500 if I really needed it. These requirements lead me to think that I'm looking at an ultrabook, probably 13.3" because of the extra battery. I was originally going to grab a Zenbook (After playing with a bunch of laptops) but then I head about the Haswell refresh and I figured 50% extra life would be a nice boon. Problem is that there seem to be two Haswell laptops. The Sony VAIO Pro 13 or the MacBook Air. I really don't want to switch to Mac because as nice as it is, after using one for a day or so I just don't want to go and relearn a whole system, especially when I'll be jumping back to Windows machines all the time. And the Sony has mixed reviews. 6.5-9 hours battery sounds great but I've heard eh things about support and drivers. Ideally I'll just wait for the UX31LA to come out but I've heard absolutely nothing about that release date. I don't want a super high-res Infinity. But the issue is university is starting up very soon and it looks like nothing new is coming out. I could probably hold out with my half-working netbook until some time next month but honestly the sooner the better. Sorry for the wall of words. Short version is: Will good ultrabooks (Specifically the new Zenbook) be out soon next month or should I just get a Sony VAIO Pro 13? Thanks guys.
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Jul 12, 2013 05:57
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If anyone is like me and has been waiting for news of the new Zenbook (Who hasn't been?!) apparently there's reviews trickling in from Norwegian and Swedish sites that claim performance is largely the same (Except for slightly faster drive tests due to them testing the top model with RAID) but expect about 7-8 hours regular use time and around ten idle. Not MacBook Air good, but pretty dang good I'd say, considering the 1080p screen and whatnot. Notebookcheck has links to a review translated. Now I hope the base i5 model is released in a reasonable timeframe. And for around the same cost.
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Aug 16, 2013 12:54
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Srebrenica Surprise posted:I bought an overpriced Atom netbook during their peak (~$500) thinking the build quality and battery life would be generally superior to the EEE stuff coming out, and unwilling to buy a Best Buy 15" craptop as I had gone through school with a huge, clunky piece of poo poo. Despite the resolution, it was a great machine, light, 6hr battery life, fast enough for me with 2GB ram in Win7, could play 720p video with CoreAVC, and could surprisingly play some 3D games at lowest settings. Wonderful near-full size keyboard, too. Despite this, the hinges and frame broke which affected the LCD cable, and either the DC jack or charger went out soon after - surprisingly, I think I got about three years out of it. I've learned from that that I'm willing to lower my standards on raw power in favor of portability and durability and so it was a good mistake to make, in the long run. I did the same thing. I bought a Eee 1005HA when they came out and that thing has been my reliable little laptop for a good five years now. Going from that to any laptop is a performance increase but one thing I refuse to give up is good battery life. Five hours isn't much compared to new Haswell machines but damned if I'm going backwards. So I'm sitting and waiting for the next slew of ultrabooks. I'm only in the market for a new laptop because my Eee has a borked keyboard and trackpad, and it'd cost more to replace than it's worth.
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Aug 28, 2013 09:19
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Hey guys, what's the opinion on the ASUS Transformer T100 (64GB version)? My current laptop is an ASUS Eee 1005HA. So 10", 1GB RAM, old, single core generation Atom CPU. I run Windows 7 on it and the only reason I'm looking to replace it is because the keyboard is half dead and it'd cost about 50% of what I paid for the unit new. Unfortunately, it seems netbooks are dead and the closest thing I can find is the T100. I want a Windows based laptop, with priorities as: Small, good battery life, SSD preferably. My Eee has a 120GB HDD. I think excluding Windows I've used about 10GB? I use Office (Which comes bundled with the T100), Spotify and browsing with Firefox usually. But I do occasionally run other software that requires Windows and I'd like to sometimes play old school games. I'd be using it as a laptop 95% of the time. I can pick one up for like AU$500 too, so it's about the same price as netbooks used to be. Speed is not really an issue, but an SSD to get things rolling would be nice. Opinions?
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Mar 14, 2014 09:53
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Well poo poo, I was hoping not to post here but it looks like my laptop died. I've been running a Sony Vaio VPCS113FG for ages and it's done well considering it was free. Before that I had an ASUS EeePC, the old one with the really lovely Atom first runs. Anyway, my Vaio seems to have poo poo the bed as it now gets 2-4 hours battery life at best, and more importantly the wrieless has just died. It recognises it but refuses to turn on and the results I've found after many hour of searching were basically "yeah the wlan card sucks it just dies like that". Not so helpful. And I did a factory reset and now it installs Windows but won't boot into it. Fantastic. I could probably fix it with some ghetto fix but at this stage I'm kind of done. I was saving money for a trip but at this stage I'm just about to go back to university and a lack of a laptop is going to kill. My priorities are (In rough preference): 1. Battery life 2. Lightness 3. 1080p IPS screen minimum, preferably around 13" 4. Price 5. CPU should be i5 at least 6. SSD 7. Backlit keyboard 8. >4GB RAM 9. Ability to do some audio editing My upper budget is around AUD$2000. The main contenders are the new Dell XPS 13, ASUS Zenbook UX303UA and Apple MacBook Air. What I need to do: - Lots of web browsing, document editing and general office/student stuff - Audio editing. I use Reaper for recording and I can really load up on VSTs - Go for a long time without needing a recharge. This is why I'm looking at Ultrabook style laptops. I really do need a 6-7 hour minimum. - Light gaming if possible The ASUS comes with 4GB of RAM but is user upgradeable to a total of 12GB, and it hits in pretty much every other regard including having a 256GB SSD. The Dell is super nice but for 8GB RAM, which I'd need as it's not upgradeable, it's on the high end of the spectrum at about AUD$2k. The MacBook Air I can get a student discount and brings the 8GB config to around AUD$1600, on par with the ASUS. The only problem with the Air is that I run a Windows only network at home and work and everywhere right now. Most of my files are on DropBox so that's not a worry and I know I can get Office for Mac. I know I can also get Reaper for Mac but my VSTs by and large won't work which is a bummer. I'd be sacrificing the tools I use in Windows for the Macness and I'm not sold, not because I don't like OSX but just because I don't know how jarring the transition will be. I also miss out on games by and large. The front runner is the ASUS at the moment. Good screen, upgradeable RAM if 4GB doesn't cut it, i5, 256GB SSD, good battery life (I've been reading 7-9 hours for general browsing and YouTube watching). Is this a decent option for my budget or am I overlooking something? *cough*Lenovo*cough* Sorry for the huge post guys!
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Feb 8, 2016 05:00
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Hadlock posted:Oh, $1AUD = $0.60 USD right? I was about to recommend a $1900 USD Samsung Series 9. Haha yeah, I saw the Samsung and wish I could afford it. I'm not a huge fan of ThinkPads. Not sure why but I guess I don't like the design/layout. Hotswappable batteries are nice but I'd rather just one battery that holds a long charge. The ASUS I quoted is the UX303UA which is apparently the upgraded version of the 305? The 305 lacks backlit keys and all that while the 303 has them. Apparently the 303 goes back to being an Air competitor. Or am I reading it wrong? XPS is definitely on the cards. Just gotta find out whether I can afford the extra $400 for 8GB of RAM.
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Feb 8, 2016 05:29
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I did read about the UX305FA being slimmer and lighter, but it uses a Core M CPU and has no backlit keyboard, which is weirdly a deal breaker for me. Around here there's only a $200 differrence between the new 303UA (Not the old LA, the UA has Skylake) and the 305FA. The Dell is still a top contender though, I just need to get to a store that has display models to try.
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Feb 8, 2016 07:40
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Haha, guys, guys, I appreciate the recommendations. I'm definitely looking at most likely getting the XPS. But, here's the thing. You guys hate the 305. I get that. That's why I chose to specifically say I'm not getting the 305. I'm not. The 305 was never on the table. Like, at all. I was looking at the 303UA which is a different beast entirely. I have no idea why you guys latched on to the 305 in the first place because until it was brought up by someone else I hadn't even mentioned. Yes, I'm pretty much settled on the XPS. But if you guys can explain why the 303UA is bad too I'd like to hear about it beause all the reviews I read were basically "It's much, much better than the 305".
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Feb 8, 2016 08:38
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The issue with the XPS 15 is that in our wacky moon money (Australian) it starts at around $2000. Bit out of the $1500 range the guy wanted to spend. I ultimately dismissed the XPS 13 for me purely because absolutely nowhere was budging on the price and for the specs I wanted I was looking at AU$1800 which was simply too much. Basically, Australian rates suck.
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Mar 20, 2016 04:11
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No kidding. The fastest internet I can get where I live is 100Mbps down and 50 up. Apparently that's where it starts in America? This poo poo is ridiculous. Also just to update I unfortunately had to not get the XPS 13 as mentioned before. I was really keen on it but I needed more than 128GB for space and that alone jumped the price up way out of my budget. Which sucked. So I went for the ASUS (UA guys, the Skylake one). Spec wise it's the same. The screen isn't infinty edge'd but it's still 1080p like the XPS was. It was the best candidate in my price range, so that's what I went for. I'll hopefully have it in a week or two and will gladly do a little review here if people are interested.
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Mar 20, 2016 04:56
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Mu Zeta posted:What, all I hear about is how Australia/NZ sucks for internet. Is that also uncapped? That is crazy high. Wasn't just the storage that tipped it. The ASUS has a Skylake i5, 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. I'm getting it for under AU$1500. The XPS 13 here starts at $1700 for i5/128/4GB, which is above what I worked out I could really afford. I do a bunch of audio stuff with loads of hungry, hungry VSTs, which chews through 4GB pretty quickly, so I wanted the extra RAM too. Sadly the RAM and SSD upgrade are packaged together, meaning to get 8GB of RAM I need to pay $2k. Just the whole package is way more expensive for the same specs. The trackpad is nicer (Though the UA has a way better pad than the older ones) on the Dell, and the screen is hella pretty, but I couldn't justify paying >$200 for worse specs, or >$500 for the same specs. Edit: Yeah, my internet is uncapped thankfully. I'm on 50/20Mbps with unlimited. I pay around AU$100/month. Is that decent compared to America?
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Mar 20, 2016 09:47
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Truga posted:Can confirm asus ultrabooks own, though. As an anecdote on this, I posted a while back (Beginning of the year) asking about ultrabooks. Long story short, couldn't afford an XPS13 with the money I had but I could get the Zenbook UX303UA. It's been brilliant. Solid build, touchscreen works (Although I barely use it), screen quality is good, and an i5 Skylake CPU and all that it's been brilliant. In terms of battery life I get at least 7 hours, averaging around 10 and sometimes a bit more if I'm easy on it. Basically, ASUS ultrabooks rock. Edit: I don't have Type-C though, the only real downfall of the thing.
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Jun 28, 2016 10:55
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 11:44 |
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ASUS has a new Zenbook. It looks spiffy, but a marginal processor upgrade, retains a 1080p screen (Non-touch) and loses all but a USB-C connector (Not Thunderbolt either!) and the end result is I am quite happy to stick with my UX303UA. I love the design of a Zenbook but man, if you're gonna mimic a Macbook you should probably at least improve on it. For the money they want the build quality and design is top notch, but it really needs high end hardware too, in regards to screen and IO. Thunderbolt 3, and a 1440p screen would actually make this a high tier ultraportable. I get that a higher resolution screen would impact battery life but 1080p is starting to feel a bit long in the tooth, even on smaller screens. ASUS, so close, yet just off. It's a good piece of kit from the looks, but nothing makes me go, "Man, I wish I had held off for this new Zenbook instead of the one I have."
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Sep 29, 2016 07:01
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