Looking for a light and portable 13-14 inch notebook that I can buy this month. It must offer adequate gaming performance at low settings:
CPU/VGA - AMD Quad Core Trinity (or even Llano) APU or an Intel CPU and a dedicated mid-range NVidia graphics (at least 630m or better) for a well-balanced configuration;
RAM - at least 4GB, optional upgrade to 8GB would be great;
Storage - HDD(to be replaced by SSD) or SSD, but not both. The combination of SSD + HDD has become very popular recently, but in my opinion it is a marketing trick and it ruined some good notebook designs. It is heavier and also requires more space inside which either increases the dimensions of the device or reduces the size of the battery... Anyway, I guess I could live with that if the battery is OK and everything else is fine;
NO optical drive - This one is important! Really, I have used an optical drive only a couple of times for the last 10 years or so, I don't like the idea of carrying it all the time...
Low resolution display - A gamer will understand. Of course, a better one is not an issue, but it is not needed and it will probably just increase the price by a lot.
Compact design - this is to exclude some bigger notebooks that can be configured like this if you exclude the HDD or DVD or something. In other words, I am looking for something like a small AMD based ultra-thin or an Intel based ultrabook(or similar) with a dedicated NVidia graphics. Not that I really want the great looks, but I just don't see why such notebook should be any bigger, see the 11 inch Clevo for example.
Edit: no OS is needed, the cheaper the better;
Some examples of notebooks that come close to this specifications:
The Gigabyte u2442 - I think that it is a notebook that was beautifully engineered, but then someone from the marketing department proposed: Hey, why don't we cut a third of the battery and put an HDD there... At least they could've offered an optional larger battery instead of an HDD.
On the AMD front, the Samsung 535 looks almost good, but the 13inch model only has a weak single module APU, while the 14inch model adds an optical drive while it still has the same small battery. Ideally, I would like something like the Asus ux31 but with 4655m inside.
I thought I'm not asking for much and that a lot of people would want such a device, but apparently, I'm mistaken. Not only don't I have a big choice, but I cannot find a single one for sale (or one that has been in sale in the past year). And I have spent a lot of time searching. Am I missing anything? Any proposals?
Thanks in advance!
CPU/VGA - AMD Quad Core Trinity (or even Llano) APU or an Intel CPU and a dedicated mid-range NVidia graphics (at least 630m or better) for a well-balanced configuration;
RAM - at least 4GB, optional upgrade to 8GB would be great;
Storage - HDD(to be replaced by SSD) or SSD, but not both. The combination of SSD + HDD has become very popular recently, but in my opinion it is a marketing trick and it ruined some good notebook designs. It is heavier and also requires more space inside which either increases the dimensions of the device or reduces the size of the battery... Anyway, I guess I could live with that if the battery is OK and everything else is fine;
NO optical drive - This one is important! Really, I have used an optical drive only a couple of times for the last 10 years or so, I don't like the idea of carrying it all the time...
Low resolution display - A gamer will understand. Of course, a better one is not an issue, but it is not needed and it will probably just increase the price by a lot.
Compact design - this is to exclude some bigger notebooks that can be configured like this if you exclude the HDD or DVD or something. In other words, I am looking for something like a small AMD based ultra-thin or an Intel based ultrabook(or similar) with a dedicated NVidia graphics. Not that I really want the great looks, but I just don't see why such notebook should be any bigger, see the 11 inch Clevo for example.
Edit: no OS is needed, the cheaper the better;
Some examples of notebooks that come close to this specifications:
The Gigabyte u2442 - I think that it is a notebook that was beautifully engineered, but then someone from the marketing department proposed: Hey, why don't we cut a third of the battery and put an HDD there... At least they could've offered an optional larger battery instead of an HDD.
On the AMD front, the Samsung 535 looks almost good, but the 13inch model only has a weak single module APU, while the 14inch model adds an optical drive while it still has the same small battery. Ideally, I would like something like the Asus ux31 but with 4655m inside.
I thought I'm not asking for much and that a lot of people would want such a device, but apparently, I'm mistaken. Not only don't I have a big choice, but I cannot find a single one for sale (or one that has been in sale in the past year). And I have spent a lot of time searching. Am I missing anything? Any proposals?
Thanks in advance!
Last edited:
), but I guess it is harder to fit that one in from engineering perspective.
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