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View Poll Results: which < $1,400, 13 inch ultrabook is best?
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Dell XPS 13
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0 |
0% |
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Samsung Series 9
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1 |
16.67% |
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Acer Aspire S7
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0 |
0% |
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ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A
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5 |
83.33% |
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02-07-2013, 07:57 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 3
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Best current ultrabook?
I am looking for a very portable laptop, budget < $1,400ish, company will be paying for its so spending a few hundred less isn't really a big concern.
I currently have a latest gen MacBook Air. 13 inch, 128GB, 4gb RAM. I love the hardware, but I've gradually grown a bit annoyed with the OS - and think that the Office suite (which I use a lot) just works better on Windows. So I want to go back to Windows I think, but want something in a similar form factor as the MBA. I need to buy something in the next week or so. choices I have highlighted:
Dell XP3 13 (new release with 1080p screen). about $1,400 gets me 8gb RAM, 256GB SSD, awesome screen, and decently thin/light form factor. the initial reviews I read said the touchpad and screen were the 2 weakpoints, but I think these have both been corrected. No touchscreen but not sure I care about this?
Samsung Series 9. best of breed in terms of light/thin. Weak touchpad - is this still wonky? Not a great keyboard? $1,300 only gets me 4gb RAM and 128GB SSD - not even sure where I can buy an upgraded one or how much this would cost?
ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A. Looks nice, but honestly figuring out specs and where to buy is confusing.
Acer Aspire S7. Great specs, but likely over my budget.
so...any votes? I would love 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. Touchscreen is nice, but I don't think I would use it much? and going over $1,400 is probably a tough sell. bad keyboard/touchpad would suck as I use it a decent amount without external keyboard/mouse. peripherals and slots I don't care so much about. I do love a good monitor and tons of pixels
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02-07-2013, 11:12 PM
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#2
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,005
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__________________
A. When it rains, !#$% happens.
B. Elmo dolls shouldn't start laughing by themselves at night...
C. People with OCD+ADD should not be making decisions to subordinates...
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02-07-2013, 11:15 PM
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#3
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Grand Nagus
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 72,918
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Quote:
Originally Posted by takeru
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That looks hawt, any idea on pricing?
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Congratulations alky winner of $600 Million Powerball !!!! 
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02-08-2013, 07:40 AM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 3
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I need something available now - plus I don't really want a combo device.
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02-08-2013, 08:10 AM
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#5
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RossMAN
That looks hawt, any idea on pricing?
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starting price is estimated to be around $1500.
__________________
A. When it rains, !#$% happens.
B. Elmo dolls shouldn't start laughing by themselves at night...
C. People with OCD+ADD should not be making decisions to subordinates...
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02-08-2013, 08:12 AM
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#6
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Moderator
Peripherals
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Posts: 22,454
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Lenovo Carbon X1. Current starting price = $1149.10.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...172DA2F965A301
__________________
Corky-G - Tucson, AZ
"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress." John Adams
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02-08-2013, 08:17 AM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 3
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the X1 looks nice, but looks a good bit more expensive than the XPS 13 for instance
I see $1,574 for 8 GB RAM, 180 GB SSD (downgrade from 256gb) , i7 (upgrade from i5) and a lower res monitor
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02-08-2013, 02:32 PM
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#8
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by corkyg
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non-touch screen. no ethernet port. no wwan.
update:
correction, there is one with touch, called "x1 carbon touch"... :p
http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/11/l...uch-announced/
__________________
A. When it rains, !#$% happens.
B. Elmo dolls shouldn't start laughing by themselves at night...
C. People with OCD+ADD should not be making decisions to subordinates...
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02-08-2013, 08:58 PM
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#9
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Moderator
Digital & Video Cameras
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 8,521
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You should add the Asus UX32VD
1920x1080 IPS display, upgradable RAM (up to 10GB), upgradeable SSD/HDD, nVidia 620M, Bang & Olufsen speakers
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02-09-2013, 07:38 AM
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#10
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Lifer
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 10,334
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interesting choices. in the market for an ultrabook as well and I'd like to see the helix
__________________
awesome. awesome to the max.
"The ready availability of drugs, violent video games, and outrageous rock music is a witch's brew which will eventually lead to tragedy."
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02-12-2013, 01:02 PM
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#11
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 7,546
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One model that seems to be pretty under-rated is the Lenovo Thinkpad Twist (s230u). I have one and like it for what it is ("convertible" Ultrabook). It seems to tick the boxes you are looking for:
- Ultraportable @ ~3.4lbs
- 12.5" IPS Touchscreen (1366x768 res though, but has gorilla glass)
- 4GB to 8GB RAM (the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard for this model though).
You can go to most Staples stores and see a floor-model for yourself. Most retail stores sell the "lower-end" Core i5-3317U/4GB model though. For $1050 or so you can easily order the higher-end model with Core i7-3517U & 8GB RAM (they are configured together, you cannot get one without the other). This model also have a mSATA slot and a 7mm 2.5" HDD slot so you can put a 256GB (or smaller) mSATA SSD boot drive and a 500GB (or smaller) "data storage drive" in one small laptop. Plus this is a "Thinkpad" so has the awesome keyboard that Lenovo's are known for, as well as that little pointing stick (trackpoint) if you like that.
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02-12-2013, 09:49 PM
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#12
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Lifer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 11,357
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fuzzybabybunny
You should add the Asus UX32VD
1920x1080 IPS display, upgradable RAM (up to 10GB), upgradeable SSD/HDD, nVidia 620M, Bang & Olufsen speakers
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Came here to post this - that'd be my choice if I were getting an ultrabook.
__________________
Mom said I'd go nowhere as an Art major.
So I studied Philosophy.
HEATWARE
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02-12-2013, 09:54 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 924
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Quote:
Originally Posted by makewayhomer
the X1 looks nice, but looks a good bit more expensive than the XPS 13 for instance
I see $1,574 for 8 GB RAM, 180 GB SSD (downgrade from 256gb) , i7 (upgrade from i5) and a lower res monitor
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We got our CEO an xps 13. He came from a MacBook Air and is generally pretty picky with his devices. We got him multiple choices and he picked the xps 13.
Overall I was very impressed with the build quality, function, feel of the laptop, and keyboard. All were great. You won't find a trackpad like the macs but the xps was good. It can be had with 8gb and 256gb ssd. I know that's what we got but I forget pricing.
__________________
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Lab/Virtual Server: AMD FX-8320, 32gb, 1.5tb Seagate,
Work: Acer W700P-6821, i5, 4gb, 128gb SSD, tablet
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