A very specific ultrabook

[Theguywhobea]

Alright, so my Dad asked me to pick out a new ultrabook for him for work. His work is paying for it so budget isn't much of a problem. He is currently using a 2013 Samsung Ativbook 9 15in and he really likes it but it's dying and he needs something new. He is very picky, it has to be 15in because his eye's aren't too good, he wants a large (256GB atleast) SSD, and it can't be from a company he doesn't like (Dell, HP, Toshiba). Obviously it can't be a flashy gaming laptop either as he has a very business professional job. Normally I wouldn't have a problem picking out a laptop, but his requests are so specific it's hard to find anything. Thanks for the help!

[TheKDub]

Lenovo y50? (Not exactly an ultrabook, but it's a pretty thin and damn amazing laptop)

 

The few brands I'd recommend looking at:

Asus, Lenovo, MSI.

[Theguywhobea]

Lenovo y50? (Not exactly an ultrabook, but it's a pretty thin and damn amazing laptop)

 

The few brands I'd recommend looking at:

Asus, Lenovo, MSI.

The y50 is alright but there is no way he is going to like a red backlit keyboard...

[TheKDub]

The y50 is alright but there is no way he is going to like a red backlit keyboard...

 

If I'm correct, the backlight can be turned off.

 

But yeah, it's kinda that mix between a clean simple looking business laptop and a pretty awesome looking gaming laptop lol

[Flight1sim]

tbh 15" macbook pro

[Theguywhobea]

If I'm correct, the backlight can be turned off.

 

But yeah, it's kinda that mix between a clean simple looking business laptop and a pretty awesome looking gaming laptop lol

Yeah, I'd really love to recommend him the Dell XPS 13 but he won't use Dell or a 13in screen.

[Theguywhobea]

tbh 15" macbook pro

He's "too old" to learn a new OS, plus I don't think the IT department where he works supports OSX.

[Flight1sim]

Yeah, I'd really love to recommend him the Dell XPS 13 but he won't use Dell or a 13in screen.

xps 13 battery life sucks, seriously. I got the xps 13, then swapped it for a 2015 13" rmbp, and it's been AMAZING

[Flight1sim]

He's "too old" to learn a new OS, plus I don't think the IT department where he works supports OSX.

just saying, Bootcamp works WONDERS 

[TheKDub]

Yeah, I'd really love to recommend him the Dell XPS 13 but he won't use Dell or a 13in screen.

 

Any reason he won't use dell? They've made some pretty great laptops in the past. (Though they have also made some pretty shitty ones... but unlike hp, they at least got something right some of the time )

[Theguywhobea]

Any reason he won't use dell? They've made some pretty great laptops in the past. (Though they have also made some pretty shitty ones... but unlike hp, they at least got something right some of the time )

He had a bad experience in the past, I've tried to tell him that their more recent machines (After Michael Dell bought the company back) have been really solid but he refuses to accept it.

[asiancorruption]

Asus ux305? the core m should be fine for using office apps

[Daveeede]

There is a serious gap on the market for what your dad is looking for and Apple is the only brand coming close to filling it. Many clients have asked me for something like what you're looking for, but it really is not easy to find.

[Theguywhobea]

Asus ux305? the core m should be fine for using office apps

Too small.

[Theguywhobea]

There is a serious gap on the market for what your dad is looking for and Apple is the only brand coming close to filling it. Many clients have asked me for something like what your looking for, but it really is not easy to find.

Right? It seems like a lot of older (50+) people want a thin and light computer, but their eyes just aren't good enough for a 13in screen. And then all the other ones are flashy gamer-centric machines.

[Flight1sim]

Right? It seems like a lot of older (50+) people want a thin and light computer, but their eyes just aren't good enough for a 13in screen. And then all the other ones are flashy gamer-centric machines.

That makes no sense, screen size doesn't effect the size of the text, just scale up on a 13" display for literally the same text size

[Theguywhobea]

That makes no sense, screen size doesn't effect the size of the text, just scale up on a 13" display for literally the same text size

But scaling in Windows is not very good. A 1080p 13in screen is going to have smaller text than a 1080p 15in screen, plus most users who are worried about their eyes not being good enough are often not tech savvy enough to know how to scale windows and text.

[asiancorruption]

Too small.

Honestly, the macbook pros or the air are the only good ultrabooks getting if he doesn't want an xps 13. Just get a 512gb model and run bootcamp on it. Mac os isn't even a hard os to learn, the close, minimize and expand buttons are flipped and there's a couple of trackpad gestures or function keys to learn. The battery life lasts forever, the screen is good and they don't require a lot of attention like windows does.  

[Daveeede]

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX501JW-15-6-Inch-Display-Touchscreen/dp/B00VQPLR50 This is the only thing I know of that might fit the bill. But it's a lot of power for what he wants to do.

 

Ideally, someone should make a thin 15 inch ultrabook running a core M or low voltage i5 with a 512 gb ssd, full hd screen and mini displayport/thunderbolt (since it can be adapted to anything) for under 1200$. Watch apple come out with a 15inch macbook air exactly as i described......

 

EDIT: I just realized it has a 4k screen... geez, hope win10 has good scaling or else he'd see better with a 10.1" at 1024x768 resolution haha

[asiancorruption]

But scaling in Windows is not very good. A 1080p 13in screen is going to have smaller text than a 1080p 15in screen, plus most users who are worried about their eyes not being good enough are often not tech savvy enough to know how to scale windows and text.

and you can't configure the screen scaling because?

[Theguywhobea]

and you can't configure the screen scaling because?

Well, I can't because I moved out of my parents house and now live 2 1/2 hours away.

[Theguywhobea]

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX501JW-15-6-Inch-Display-Touchscreen/dp/B00VQPLR50 This is the only thing I know of that might fit the bill. But it's a lot of power for what he wants to do.

 

Ideally, someone should make a thin 15 inch ultrabook running a core M or low voltage i5 with a 512 gb ssd, full hd screen and mini displayport/thunderbolt (since it can be adapted to anything) for under 1200$. Watch apple come out with a 15inch macbook air exactly as i described......

 

EDIT: I just realized it has a 4k screen... geez, hope win10 has good scaling or else he'd see better with a 10.1" at 1024x768 resolution haha

Yeah, I'm trying to see how he likes the idea of a MacBook right now, although he'll most likely have to run it by his IT department first and most of the time after they get done with it there isn't much left that the user can change without their admin passwords.

[asiancorruption]

Well, I can't because I moved out of my parents house and now live 2 1/2 hours away.

Well, you could do remote access but if they can't configure a screen i doubt they would know how to turn that on.

[Daveeede]

Yeah, I'm trying to see how he likes the idea of a MacBook right now, although he'll most likely have to run it by his IT department first and most of the time after they get done with it there isn't much left that the user can change without their admin passwords.

If there's anything I know about IT departments it's that they prefer avoiding problems. I highly doubt they'll like the MBP route. But they might be ok with it if the only apps he will use are within MS office.

[Map3y]

What about lenovo x1 carbon?