Help me with a Laptop/Ultrabook for my son

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Hkshooter

Junior Member
Mar 1, 2008
20
0
0
Hello folks Im looking to get my son a Laptop/Ultrabook for school and I'm a completely clueless in this area.

I know he mentioned the following items:

i7 -
1tb HD
6mb RAM
15" screen

I know he wanted it somewhat light, good/excellent battery and great performance.

I looked on BB and found the follow:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....All+Categories

They all have a resolution of 1080p except the Acer, which is 768p. They also all have touchscreen (Not sure if it matters much, but seemed cool), but it seems to me that removing touch opens up options for better CPU or maybe an SSD. Im not sure if you can even notice the resolution with such a small screen and it would open up the options if I could look at more 768p.

I would say my budget is around $1k if the upgrade matter that much. Im also not that sure about which brands are more reliable than others.

I would really appreciate any and all opinions. Thank you so much for your help
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,343
10,046
126
"school" == "College", I hope. I certainly wouldn't purchase an expensive Ultrabook for one of my kids for HS or lower.

I would instead, consider getting a 11.6" Touch-screen thin'n'light laptop (Not officially an "Ultrabook", but in the same category for weight and battery life.)

You missed a one-day sale on an Asus like that, for $200.

I hope that your son doesn't have thoughts of gaming on an Ultrabook, because gaming laptops they are NOT.

What applications does he use, that would require an i7, rather than, say, an Ivy Bridge Celeron 1007U (like that Asus I mentioned)?

The reason that I asked is, I own the non-touchscreen version of the Asus (X200CA, I think), with 2GB of RAM (sadly, soldered on), and Ubuntu. I use it for Skype and basic internet access. It works well. It only has a three-cell battery though, which means it gets around 3 hours battery life max. More like 2.5.

Again, what does he do that needs a real Ultrabook, with an i7?

And if he does need those things, have you considered a rMBP?
 
Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,645
2,654
136
Seems like all the products you listed have heavy weights, with the lightest coming at 4.9 pounds. That is not light. I'd say just get a MacBook Air, clone the SSD to an SSHD and be done with it. I know what 6 pounds feels like lugging around a Dell D810 on my shoulders constantly while walking to university. Not pleasant.
 
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H

Hkshooter

Junior Member
Mar 1, 2008
20
0
0
My son will be using it for the following:

Yes its college for the next 4 yrs (I hope)
It will be his main computer for this time. Other than the normal stuff like email, web surfing and research he may also use it for movies and probably try very light gaming. WOW, StarCraft types of games.

My main concern is since he will be using it so long I don't want to replace halfway through college (I may come back to reality at some point LOL) so I;m open to a little bit more power.
Would an i5 CPU be the better option?
Is 1080p that big of a deal on the smaller screens?

Thanks again for all of your help.
 
Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,645
2,654
136
Don't limit yourself to the Ultrabooks; these 15.6 ones don't seem to offer lightness with their thinness. They all have lower stock clocks than their regular voltage counterparts, but Turbo Boost compensates for it. Although, it seems that the regular laptops like the Lenovo y510p are sometimes even heavier than their Ultrabook bretheren, but that is due to the discrete graphics card.

1080p video should not be an issue on any new laptop. IGPs have advanced to the point where it is a breeze for them.

15.6 and 1080p should be a good match.

Here's a thought. Build him a mini-itx desktop and then use the remaining funds for a smaller, lighter laptop.
 
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