Jump to content

Ultra Book decisions...

Wiggly Jiggles
 Share
Posted

Hey Techies!

 

I'm going to university in Septemeber, and will NEED a laptop for making notes in lectures etc (I have a PC already, very high spec). I've been looking at a lot of ultrabooks (my budget allows it).

My main choice at the moment is the new Acer Aspire S7.

My question is, do you guys know of any ultrabooks that are 'better' than the S7, and some rationale if possible?

My budget is about £1500 / $2550

Production Control, Fish Keeper, Lover of Audio

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

http://store.apple.com/uk/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=ME865B/A&step=config

or

Asus UX302 ( This would be my choice.)

or 

Acer Aspire S7

or

Sony Vaio Pro 13 ( Would be my choice.)

 

All are great options. Anyone who thinks apple laptops are bad/overpriced is stupid they are at least as good as the windows equivalent, and may be a nice change when you are used to using windows your whole life i guess.

Interested in Business and Technology

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Get the MacBook since these all cost roughly the same.

My PC: Intel Core i3-3220 | Alpenföhn Civetta | XFX HD 7770 1GB | ASRock B75-Pro3-M | Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB | beQuiet PurePower L8 430W | Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB | Kingston V200+ 60GB | NZXT Vulcan | Soundblaster Play Replaced by Notebook + eGPU

My Notebook:   Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13-inch, Late 2013; Core i5 4258U @2.4-2.9 Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, Iris Graphics 5100 + GTX 960 eGPU

My Phone: OnePlus One with CM12      Camera: Nikon D3200 + 50mm f/1.8G + Kit lenses

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

I'm really not a Mac fan, I like compatability, and I will be using a portable HDD to transfer work from the laptop to my PC.

I'll consider it though.

Production Control, Fish Keeper, Lover of Audio

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I bought an Acer S3-391 last year and I honestly regret it, it's the 2nd laptop I've owned and both have been terrible in my experience. Bloatware being the biggest issue but it's not as simple as wiping the os now due to the new ways Windows activates. If I had a chance now I'd go for a MacBook Air if only for the support, considering it's for uni you don't want to be sending a laptop off for 2 weeks RMA if it breaks, Apple stores just let you go in and get a new one right away providing it's in warranty. Plus you can still run Windows if you dislike the OS. However I'd suggest OS X considering you'll be on university WiFi which could be unsecure so anything to narrow your chances of attack are better. I'm going to uni this year as well so this was my thought process but I don't have £1500 to blow right now :P 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I bought the aspire 392 (haswell i7 one) and I really like it. Looks as good as a Mac, fast for non gaming, battery lasts at least 5 hours and up to around 7. Which is comparable to MacBook.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the trackpad and keyboard is a little small. Not a huge deal but takes a little getting used to.

I've never had it die on me at college if I charge it the night before.

The ssd is msata and user replaceable so gettibg bigger ssd is a lot cheaper than Macs overpriced ssd upgrade tiers.

If you want something really different the surface pro 3 just got released and seems solid.

Edit

Personally using a laptop to take notes is a lot less convenient then pen and paper. The information typed just doesn't stick for me. I had a friend with a surface pro and he loved it. No paper, one pen, all notes in one notebook that you can zoom easily manipulate. A laptop is useless in a math class, but great for home work. But if you need a better keyboard, a laptop is better unless you find a good small wireless keyboard that is better than the typecover.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I bought the aspire 392 (haswell i7 one) and I really like it. Looks as good as a Mac, fast for non gaming, battery lasts at least 5 hours and up to around 7. Which is comparable to MacBook.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the trackpad and keyboard is a little small. Not a huge deal but takes a little getting used to.

I've never had it die on me at college if I charge it the night before.

The ssd is msata and user replaceable so gettibg bigger ssd is a lot cheaper than Macs overpriced ssd upgrade tiers.

If you want something really different the surface pro 3 just got released and seems solid.

That's all true but what happens if you get hardware failure a week before an exam? You'll presumably have all of your data backed up in two other places but you'll have nothing to recover it on for two weeks. I'd pay the premium for good customer service. Plus it's not even a huge premium, most i5 ultrabooks go from £500-£700 right now and that's exactly where the Air falls for a student. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

MacBook airs really are top tier portable laptops in my opinion, but

1) not 1080p

2) can't get upgrade ssd

3) not touchscreen

On the other hand macs have great build material, and large trackpad, long battery.

all of which can also be found on a Windows laptop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Phones and Tablets

×