Suggestions - 13" - 14" Ultrabook with Thunderbolt 3

LMeulsie on 15/05/2017 - 09:38

Hi guys,

I'm looking for the following laptop, if you have any suggestions let me know:

1) 13" display, FHD is fine as long as the graphics is capable of outputting at 4k via thunderbolt
2) Thunderbolt 3.0 to output to two monitors at 4k @60hz. Also nice to have the option of being able to add a GPU via thunderbolt
3) lightweight, in the region of 1 – 1.5kg
4) Battery life ideally 6-8+ hours (without monitors attached, normal usage)

Other specs: 8GB+ RAM, SSD 128GB+

Will be mainly used for programming, video streaming and some light gaming – Runescape, WoW, Overwatch, Rocket League.

Budget is anywhere between $500 – $1500, I was looking at potentially the Dell XPS 13 but it's towards the higher end of my range although I'm struggling to find anything else that meets above requirements.

Cheers!

Computing

Comments

  • Jemz on 15/05/2017 - 09:51
    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/307197

    Edit, mention of gaming blows this out unless you use an eGPU via TB3

    • Meulsie on 15/05/2017 - 10:53

      My gaming is very light I'm sure that Intel Graphics would handle Rocket League and RS fine.
      This looks like a decent option except from what I can see this doesn't have Thunderbolt 3?

      • Jemz on 15/05/2017 - 10:55
        +1

        It does have it, just not specified on the page, review here: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T470s-7300U-FH…

        • Meulsie on 15/05/2017 - 10:58

          Thanks for that, definitely one to look out for that I hadn't come across already.

        • Jemz on 15/05/2017 - 11:05

          @Meulsie: review shows gaming performance is pretty bad, obviously because of lack of discrete gpu

      • klaw81 on 15/05/2017 - 11:13

        Rocket League and Runescape run nicely on integrated graphics without losing too much of the game-play experience.

        But Overwatch is going to be pretty bad without a dedicated GPU unless you're happy to dial the resolution and detail right back. Competitive FPS games need lots of frames and reasonable detail levels to detect long-range threats and track targets accurately.

        I'd suggest you should be looking at machines with at least the 940MX dedicated GPU, but that's going to kill your budget and/or make you move to larger and heavier machines.

  • twig on 15/05/2017 - 10:22
    +5

    I had the same criteria and Dell XPS 13 is pretty much your only choice with minimal sacrifices.

    The other which ticks all the boxes is the 2017 Thinkpad Carbon X1 but I personally think it's ugly.

    Spreadsheet I kept in case you wanted to see other choices

    • Meulsie on 15/05/2017 - 11:12
      +1

      Cheers that spreadsheet is gold, special mention for cons on the HP Spectre and "nipple ball" on Lenovo.
      Did you end up going for the XPS? How is it?

      • twig on 15/05/2017 - 11:41

        I've recommended XPS to several friends and they all love it. It's topping all the reviews and for good reason.

        I had the Yoga 900 and Yoga 910 but found them a bit too heavy for my liking (I take the laptop everywhere). Sold them off and got an LG Gram 13z970 and it's awesome.

        Would have gotten the XPS13 too but the price, weight and battery life of the LG Gram was too good to be true.
        Sucks that it's not available in Australia though. I didn't need TB3 and gaming on the go, so for you I'd recommend the XPS.

        lol @ special mentions

        • Ninja9 on 06/06/2018 - 05:38

          Did you get the LG Gram from Amazon US? Were there import fees other than paying for the GST for over 1k ?

          XPS13 looks great but have to carry around dongles/adaptors for ports.
          X1 Carbon G6 looks butt ugly but has plenty of ports and USB C charging
          LG Gram especially 15Z980-R.AAS9U1 has all the ports as well and awesome 72Whr battery but why no second USB C for charging instead of the traditionally DC in.

          How do you find your LG Gram, still using it?

        • twig on 07/06/2018 - 12:24

          @Aussie88:

          Yep Amazon US. I don't remember any issues with fees tbh, might have been included into shipping or something. At work so don't have receipt with me

          Still using it. Everyone that picks it up is amazed at how light it is because they all use macs

          • Proprietary charging cable sucks, esp when you try to source a spare one locally (charger for previous LG Gram laptop works)
          • you can pretty much ignore it by using USB-C to charge it
          • i've only had to use dongle for ethernet so far
          • decent specs for dev work (I run win10, a VM for work, devtools, heavy browser usage when travelling)
          • battery life is good, but doesn't last as long as advertised (the stuff I do is more computationally expensive than average user)
          • webcam location sucks, but i never use it so not really an issue
          • LG have a really nice way of reinstalling drivers after formatting Windows. best one I've used to date in my opinion
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