Laptop/ultrabook recommendation - for study/travel

Lryban3z on 01/05/2013 - 23:17

Hey all,

I'm after a new laptop to replace a crappy netbook ive been using for the last 4 years. Primary use for MS Office/study, browsing, light gaming, travel - but still future proof.

Requirements:

  • size 12" - 14"
  • SSD (preferable, not necessary)
  • Lightweight (i.e. not over 2kg)
  • i3, i5, i7 (not fussed…just no atom processor lol)
  • dedicated GFX not necessary, Intel HD 3000/4000 is fine
  • touch (preferred, not necessary)
  • reasonably premium-ish

Examples ive been looking at: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, Dell XPS 12, Asus Transformer Book/Zenbook Prime, Lenovo Thinkpad X series…

problem is Id like to keep it around the $1000 mark but my desires are greater than my wallet!

I also dont know WHERE the best place is to get cheap laptops. I look at Best Buy in the USA and wonder if its worth buying from there (because I may be heading there in July). Im just worried about warranty and power issues if I buy from them.

Sites like BH Photo and Video look cheap but again warranty issues?

Would love some feedback on

  • suitable laptops
  • places to buy aforementioned laptops from

Thanks in advance!

p.s. this community is the best!

Computing

Comments

  • bich.light on 02/05/2013 - 01:17

    Hey there!
    To be honest I myself was looking around for a computer but then decided to save my money.

    The laptop I was interested in was this one at dicksmith; not sure if its the cheapest:

    Toshiba Satellite L850 White Notebook - $698
    http://dicksmith.com.au/product/XC8185/.jsp

    Intel Core i5-2450M
    AMD Radeon HD 7670M 2GB (not bad)
    2.5GHz - 3.1GHz PC Processor Speed
    4GB RAM
    750GB HDD
    15.6" Display
    Windows 7 Home Premium

    Maybe? Just food for thought :)

    • ryban3z on 02/05/2013 - 20:14

      Love the specs, just not the screen size! Im intending to travel for 8 months from July onwards and really need something light and with a smaller screen (i.e. 14").

      Im looking at a few Toshibas now (my first laptop was a Toshiba back in 2002 and it was ridiculously overpriced and utter crap, hence Ive been a bit hesitant to go back. but they seem better now!).

      The Toshiba Z930 seems okay, can be picked up for sub $1000!

      • bich.light on 02/05/2013 - 22:16

        I would honestly just take this one if no-one has offered any other laptop.
        A larger screen may prove to be useful in the future?

        In every aspect this is a good value for you and well under the budget.
        Not too heavy, should be bearable?

        Don't pay more for a smaller screen! :L

  • mskeggs on 02/05/2013 - 02:24
    -1

    The high Aussie dollar makes importing laptops much less desirable these days. You can almost always find a comparable model at a comparable price locally (I'll except Apple!).
    But if you do, power issues aren't usually a problem on modern laptops, they have global power supplies, just get a $2 prong adapter.
    Since you've obviously had your current netbook a while, why not wait 3 months or 6 months till one of your preferred models drops in price?
    To be truthful, I probably have higher system requirements than you, but rather than buying a $1000 machine every 3 or 4 years I buy a $400 machine every 2.
    See today's http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/101663 for an example of what $400 gets you - much , much better than what you have, and you will still have $600 left from your budget to buy a newer model in a couple of years.

    • dtpearson on 02/05/2013 - 05:50

      Why “except Apple”? their local Aussie pricing is much closer than most companies. For example the base 11” macbook air is $1099 here and $999 in the states.

      What i want to know is why Dyson charges $799 for a DC47 vacuum here in Australia and i can get one for 250pounds in the UK which is less than HALF the australian price. And good luck getting a vendor to ship one here as Dyson prevents retailers from sending them out of the UK.

    • karmageddon on 02/05/2013 - 09:46
      +1

      The high Aussie dollar makes importing laptops much less desirable these days

      Why? Doesn't the high value of the AUD make importing laptops cheaper?

    • ryban3z on 02/05/2013 - 20:12

      ahh should have clarified, Im intending to travel for about 8 months from July onwards so currently doing research in anticipation of buying a laptop around July/End of FY sales time.

      I guess I'm willing to fork out a bit extra than $400 because I got burned spending $500+ on a crappy netbook and have had to make do. I felt I could future proof myself better by getting some with an SSD, touch and i3/i5/i7.

      I saw that Lenovo deal at 9pm and was very close to biting on it! the lack of SSD and lowish res screen put me off slightly (although seeing as its 12.5" I doubt I would have noticed!)

  • ethereal88 on 02/05/2013 - 07:13

    You can ship that vacuum through a shipping forwarder - that's $380 for it and at least $150 for shipping here from the UK.

    OP, Macbook Air. I don't even consider Windows anymore.

    • ryban3z on 02/05/2013 - 20:52

      the Macbook Air is a pretty epic piece of engineering but I've played with them before and other macbooks and cant bring myself to like the Apple OS. im a too much a fan of windows, problems and all haha.

  • aim54x on 02/05/2013 - 07:35

    Those pseudo ultrabooks look to be the best bet if to you want to cross of the that list. I purchased the Asus S400 I5, 24+500 ssd+hdd touch and just 1.8kg. They have been posted here for under 800 locally so keep an eye our

    • ryban3z on 02/05/2013 - 20:16

      Yeah thats what I'm thinking. How have you found the S400? It looks really tempting and fairly good value!

  • Ramrunner on 02/05/2013 - 07:49
    +1

    For Ultrabook I still like the Asus Zenbook Prime series.

    Price wise for one of those combination tablet/keyboard combos, I'm liking the Samsung 5 and 7 series.

  • evol on 02/05/2013 - 13:02
    +1

    Ultrabook: Thinkpad X1 Carbon. Ultraportable laptop: Thinkpad X230.

    Superb build quality, great keyboards, and TRACKPOINT :D

    Buy with the usual weekly Lenovo coupons, or buy in USA (Thinkpads are slightly cheaper there).

  • evolutionise on 02/05/2013 - 13:15
    +1

    I myself have just been looking at buying a ultrabook for study/travel.

    I ended up settling on a Samsung NP530U3C-A04AU Ultrabook (Series 5).
    It nice and lite (1.5kg) and has a aluminium casing (should take a fare bit of abuse while travelling).
    Good enough specs for what you want to do :)

    Display: 13.3" Hd Thin Bezel Anti-Reflective Led Lcd Superbright (300Nit)
    Processor: Intel Core I5-3317U
    Clock Speed: 1.7Ghz
    Memory: 4Gb
    Hard Drive: 500Gb Hdd + 24Gb Ssd
    Graphics: Intel Hd 4000
    Wireless Networking: 802.11Abg/N (Widi Enabled)
    Bluetooth: Bt 4.0
    Connectivity: 1 X Usb 3.0, 2 X Usb 2.0

    Officeworks sells this for $845
    http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Com…

    • netbies on 02/05/2013 - 17:06

      How much you've get it for and from where?

    • ryban3z on 02/05/2013 - 20:18

      wow that looks really good! ill put in on my "keep an eye out for laptops on ozbargain" list! thanks for the suggestion!

    • ryban3z on 02/05/2013 - 20:34

      Found it for $798 which is pretty good!

      http://flingshot.com.au/collections/computers/products/copy-…

      Whats the battery life like? Do you have Windows 8 on it and if you do, does the absence of touch mean its a crappy experience?

  • dsp26 on 03/05/2013 - 09:18

    Asus UX32VD @ $899:
    http://www.austin.net.au/laptops-tablets/laptops-notebooks/a…

    $699 during this past deal:
    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/91280

    Otherwise If i could fork out i'd get the top of the range with i7/1080p IPS:
    http://www.vtechindustries.com.au/asus-ux32vd-r4002h-zenbook…

  • evol on 03/05/2013 - 12:23
    +2

    If you can hold off a bit longer…Intel will be releasing its Haswell architecture at the start of June, replacing the current Ivy Bridge lineup that has been around since April 2012.

    The new Haswell chips have much improved integrated graphics (up to 2x+ better than the Ivy Bridge laptop processors, depending on the chip) and of course the usual processing grunt and power efficiency gains we see each year.

    Of course, there's always something new around the corner and you can't wait forever, but just thought I'd put it out there in case you weren't aware :)

    Read more:
    http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/1/4291820/intels-new-iris-int…

  • Riczter on 03/05/2013 - 13:26
    +1

    Get one with an SSD, you'll never go back ;)

  • stonesour on 11/05/2013 - 02:17

    http://www.logicalblueone.com.au/store/545-horize-jw6-ultrab…

    ticks all the boxes

    GT640M 1.8kg

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