Hey Guys,
Managed to get some GG giftcards from Aus Post as I plan to buy an ultrabook soon (as my laptop is on its way out). Travelling overseas in mid June (18th) so question is whether I should try pick up the ultrabook before I leave and claim the TRS or should I wait a bit longer to see whether ivybridge is worth the wait or drops the prices of the current ultrabooks?
So often your speed is limited by your hard disk, not sure if you would notice any difference between an Ivy Bridge.
UNLESS (and this is a big one), you are not getting a GPU. Ivy Bridge has (supposedly) a damn good Graphics component thats able to pop out 4k x 4k resolution (although i have never seen anyone with a screen good enough to play it).
Sandy is enough for youtube, probably fine for 720p-ish stuff, but if you want some graphics power get an Ivy (games too).
"speed is limited by your hard disk"
Once a program is loaded into memory the disk speed does not factor into it. Unless you have an insufficient amount.
Its hard to imagine many things you would do on a portable computer that would really perform a lot better on an Ivy Bridge than on a Sandy Bridge. As imaximax says, the real bottlenecks on a PC are usually the hard drive and GPU. Are you planning on gaming, or converting video files? Either way, yes Ivy is better, but Sandy Bridge still packs a punch especially on video tasks and will save you a fair bit of money.
From wikipedia (Ivy Bridge -vs- Sandy Bridge):
* 5% to 15% increase in CPU performance
* 20% to 50% increase in integrated GPU performance
* Tri-gate transistor ("3-D") technology (up to 50% less power consumption at the same performance level as 2-D planar transistors).
Most ultrabooks have a built-in battery (not easily swappable), therefore it's probably worth waiting for Ivy Bridge primarily for the improved battery life (& graphics).
OP, where are you travelling to? I would check out prices/availability (particularly for IB stock) there as well, as that may be an option you havent looked at.
For an ultrabook, I would try and wait as long as possible, because IB will probably make the biggest difference in that particular segment (batt life, integrated GPU, etc.)
However I would doubt if GGs or anyone else would have many IB laptops by 18 June, so you probably will struggle to get much of a deal (besides the 20% off you already have and the 10% TRS).
Thanks for all the replies. Heading to Singapore and malaysia. That's sorta what I'm thinking, maybe if I wait another month (mid July) ivy bridge will go down in price so the 10%trs missed out on is sort of negated. Although over the last few days, my laptop has warned me that the battery needs replacing so maybe I don't have all that long that I can wait.
I too am looking at an Ultrabook.
You guys sound highly informed, when do you think Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks will hit the market?
Thank you.
It's probably worthwhile to follow the latest developments on Whirlpool…
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/?action=threads_searchf…
Thank you for the link. Looks like waiting for IB is well worth it.
depends what you need
If you want super cheap, then get the old generation!
If you need some video performance boost, then wait for IB.
If you need wireless display, you can get the dell xps or wait for newer ultrabook.
all depends
Either get the old Sandy Bridge models on clearance (it has to be cheap enough to justify buying it though) or get the new Ivy Bridge models.
I have seen two Ivy Bridge ultrabooks, not in GG though.
It seems to be 15% to 25% faster on a few things. However, i7 Sandy Bridge is fast enough for practically anything I chuck at it. I notice that when it comes to some really high quality video it pushes the poor cpu especially if something else is running. i5 wouldn't of been enough for me.