Who are Ultrabooks for?

[Spindel]

Hello, I just need to get this off my chest.

 

At the end of last summer I started at a new company. Right before I started my new boss asked what laptop I wanted.

 

My answer to that question was (which I regret now): "Since I guess I can't get a Mac, a small form factor computer".

 

What I got is a HP Elite Book x360 1020 G2 and it's freaking horrible from a usability standpoint. There are good qualities to the computer like a really rigid build and I find the screen to be good (and for the people that like it it has a touch screen, a function I have turned off because touchscreens are for tablets and phones), battery life is also OK.

 

But the usability sucks. I mainly use it for: Mail, excel spreadsheets (some times really heavy), powerpoint presentations, word, one note, MS teams (now in corona times), some light AutoCad usage and browsing the internet (looking up suppliers etc).

 

It struggles with even smaller excel spread sheets, both word and powerpoint are slow and sometimes not as responsive as they should be. Some homepages bring the computer to a halt (doesn't matter what browser, but I prefer firefox). Surprisingly the usage I have of AutoCAD is acceptable. 

 

At my old work I used a lot of CPU/GPU intensive simulation programs for different tasks (that I'm not going to specify) and back then I knew I would never ask for a small form factor computer. 

 

But all of this has made me question: Who are ultrabooks for? And who feel content with using them since I find even simpler office program use can drive me insane with this computer?

 

These computers are a waste of resources and have no right to exist if you ask me. 

 

[GirlFromYonder]

I have the HP spectre x360 13t late 2017. And that computer has not given me any problems at all. The OS is as responsive at my gaming desktop.  

 

But here is what your problems can be:

A dual core

A clock speeds stuck at below 1 GHz (happened to me because I fucked up and turn of the fans or something)

8 GBs or less of ram

 

 

 

And please, turn the touch screen back on. That feature is just there not bother anyone. I do not know why you have it off. Seems like removing the radio in car even when you can just not touch it. And the G2 is like 3 years old. Either you boss cheaped out or made a bad purchase. I would recommend the latest Spectre x360 13t. THat laptop is perfect for your usage.

 

 

I would say look at linus 2020 Spectre x360 review and buy it in that configuration. With a quad core, 1080p screen and 16 gb of ram.

 

Hell even the lastest Macbook Air with 16gb of ram and an i5 works

dell XPS 13 with quad core and 16gb of ram.

[Spindel]

7 minutes ago, GirlFromYonder said:

I have the HP spectre x360 13t late 2017. And that computer has not given me any problems at all. The OS is as responsive at my gaming desktop.  

 

But here is what your problems can be:

A dual core

A clock speeds stuck at below 1 GHz (happened to me because I fucked up and turn of the fans or something)

8 GBs or less of ram

 

 

 

And please, turn the touch screen back on. That feature is just there not bother anyone. I do not know why you have it off. Seems like removing the radio in car even when you can just not touch it. And the G2 is like 3 years old. Either you boss cheaped out or made a bad purchase. I would recommend the latest Spectre x360 13t. THat laptop is perfect for your usage.

 

 

I would say look at linus 2020 Spectre x360 review and buy it in that configuration. With a quad core, 1080p screen and 16 gb of ram.

The OS is responsive, it's doing anything except looking at the desktop that isn't responsive...

 

EDIT:// Oh and except for when idling the CPU is mostly at 3,1 GHz (I've cranked all of windows power settings to max)

[GirlFromYonder]

1 minute ago, Spindel said:

The OS is responsive, it's doing anything except looking at the desktop that isn't responsive...

Ram?

CPU?

Can it maintain boost clocks?

What is the ram usage?

 

Because mate, something is broken. Its not supposed to be like this. This is a ultrabook not those fucking netbooks from 2010 (SHUDDER)

[GirlFromYonder]

3 minutes ago, Spindel said:

The OS is responsive, it's doing anything except looking at the desktop that isn't responsive...

 

EDIT:// Oh and except for when idling the CPU is mostly at 3,1 GHz (I've cranked all of windows power settings to max)

Which CPU?

ram amount?

[TheEpicDuck]

I feel like the term ultrabook itself is bit outdated. Moving from the 7th gen dual core CPUs to the 4 core 8th gen ones made a big difference for me. And deploying ThinkPads with docs at work was a really good solution compared to a desktop and a laptop. Don't expect good gaming or cpu performance from an integrated gpu and you will not be dissapointed.

[Spindel]

Just now, GirlFromYonder said:

Ram?

CPU?

Can it maintain boost clocks?

What is the ram usage?

 

Because mate, something is broken. Its not supposed to be like this. This is a ultrabook not those fucking netbooks from 2010 (SHUDDER)

I adde a last minute edit to my previous post right before you answered.

 

But it maintain boost at 3,1 GHz, does not seem to be thermal throttling.

 

And yeah the ram is only 8 gb installed (usage is usually (except with heavy DWGs or excel sheets around 5-6 GB). The CPU is a Core i5 7200U (dual core). 

[Spindel]

1 minute ago, TheEpicDuck said:

I feel like the term ultrabook itself is bit outdated. Moving from the 7th gen dual core CPUs to the 4 core 8th gen ones made a big difference for me. And deploying ThinkPads with docs at work was a really good solution compared to a desktop and a laptop. Don't expect good gaming or cpu performance from an integrated gpu and you will not be dissapointed.

But I'm not even talking about gaming

[GirlFromYonder]

Just now, TheEpicDuck said:

I feel like the term ultrabook itself is bit outdated. Moving from the 7th gen dual core CPUs to the 4 core 8th gen ones made a big difference for me. And deploying ThinkPads with docs at work was a really good solution compared to a desktop and a laptop. Don't expect good gaming or cpu performance from an integrated gpu and you will not be dissapointed.

I honestly feel like its his Dual core which is bothering him. 

 

 

[TheEpicDuck]

Just now, GirlFromYonder said:

I honestly feel like its his Dual core which is bothering him. 

 

 

I can understand that. I feel a noticeable difference in speed when i use my older t470s with a 7th gen cpu.

[GirlFromYonder]

Just now, Spindel said:

But I'm not even talking about gaming

OK mate. I can solve your problem but it needs money. 

 

Step 1: Sell your 1020 G2

Step 2: Buy either a XPS 13, Spectre x360 13t 2020 version, 2020 macbook Air with an i5 or i7.

Step 3: ....

Step 4: Frustration free profits.

[GirlFromYonder]

1 minute ago, TheEpicDuck said:

I can understand that. I feel a noticeable difference in speed when i use my older t470s with a 7th gen cpu.

god I should fire up my old probook 4530s with an SSD to test this because I have been on quad cores since 2017 so I dont remember.  I honestly just blamed the 7200 RPM HDD on that probook not the SANDYBRIDGE dual core.

[Spindel]

4 minutes ago, GirlFromYonder said:

OK mate. I can solve your problem but it needs money. 

 

Step 1: Sell your 1020 G2

Step 2: Buy either a XPS 13, Spectre x360 13t 2020 version, 2020 macbook Air with an i5 or i7.

Step 3: ....

Step 4: Frustration free profits.

Can't sell it since it's the companys, and they have 3 year write off on computers

[TheEpicDuck]

Just now, GirlFromYonder said:

god I should fire up my old probook 4530s with an SSD to test this because I have been on quad cores since 2017 so I dont remember.  I honestly just blamed the 7200 RPM HDD on that probook not the SANDYBRIDGE dual core.

You just gave me flashbacks. I used that in school and even at the time i hated everything except the keyboard.

[GirlFromYonder]

Just now, TheEpicDuck said:

You just gave me flashbacks. I used that in school and even at the time i hated everything except the keyboard.

IIIKKKRRRR. I LOVE HP KEYBOARDS. The only good about that was the keyboard and the speaker (for a $500 laptop from 2011)

[GirlFromYonder]

1 minute ago, Spindel said:

Can't sell it since it's the companys, and they have 3 year write off on computers

Well mate. Yeah stuck then RIP.

[5x5]

The issue isn't with ultrabooks but rather your ultrabook. You have a thermally limited, power-starved CPU/iGPU and that's what's causing your headaches. It's the same deal with the MacBook air. Bad cooling makes it run at 100*C and drop down to 800MHz clocks.

 

Most ultrabooks like the X1 Carbon, XPS models, EliteBook 830 G6/7, T490s, X290 and etc can hold 2-3GHz easily and perform several times better because of that

[Spindel]

3 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

The issue isn't with ultrabooks but rather your ultrabook. You have a thermally limited, power-starved CPU/iGPU and that's what's causing your headaches. It's the same deal with the MacBook air. Bad cooling makes it run at 100*C and drop down to 800MHz clocks.

 

Most ultrabooks like the X1 Carbon, XPS models, EliteBook 830 G6/7, T490s, X290 and etc can hold 2-3GHz easily and perform several times better because of that

Read my replys in this thread, the CPU in my ultrabook holds 3,1 GHz constantly, I've never had it throttle because of temperatures. 

[5x5]

31 minutes ago, Spindel said:

Read my replys in this thread, the CPU in my ultrabook holds 3,1 GHz constantly, I've never had it throttle because of temperatures. 

It's still a dual core, though. That was relevant in 2012 not so much in 2020