General confusion

[tej780]

This is my first post here so sorry if I am doing this wrong.

I am searching for a new laptop, and I have noticed some names that constantly pop up.

Asus Zenbook and Dell xps 13 seem to be the ones that take the cake.

It seems to me that some laptops (for example some acer, lenovo and HP laptops) within a similar price range have "better" hardware on paper, and yet people still rave on about Asus and Dell.

I plan to use my laptop for studies, programming and perhaps very very light gaming, so I just want something speedy. No bells and whistles required. I have seen some Zenbook UX305CA's for just over £400 (I am in the UK) on Gumtree, and very nearly impulse bought one. (it is sexy, I will say that much)

What I would like to know is:

- What would the performance difference be between a core M product like the Zenbook and a core i5/i7 product? how would this affect battery life?

-Should I just go for the Zenbook, or should I consider some of the lesser rated brands? If so, are there any specific ones you can recommend?

 

I am not interested in 2-in-1's, just a laptop. Screen size is not an issue, anything will do.

 

It seems like on paper the Zenbook is good, but there are plenty of other options that are 'better'. Yet it is always so highly rated. I just want the most for my money. Minimizing costs is my top priority.

[don_svetlio]

12 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Lenovo has tons of crapware and bad thermals on most computers, HP has terrible build quality. The Dell imo is the best of every world -- does what it needs to while still having a nice screen and not crap for a shell. Core M vs i7? You aren't gonna be doing any gaming on a core M for sure, although they do have better battery life. The ZenBook might lag a little in video playback and stuff, 

With that screen and size, though, idk if they've fit a good enough battery. 

EDIT: Oh God, never mind. That CPU is terrible in terms of performance, my Chromebook could beat that.

 

My god, if you don't know anything on the matter, just ignore the topic. Don't post bullshit for the sake of bullshit

1 - Lenovo DO NOT MAKE ultrabooks
2 - Lenovo's cooling solutions have been on point in 99% of cases
3 - HP's EliteBook series are world leaders in build quality alongside Lenovo ThinkPads and Dell Latitudes
4 - stop generalizing brands
5 - the difference between a Skylake Core M and Skylake ULV is less than 15%
6  - Cancerbooks use Pentium Ns - those are weaker than Core Ms

 

 

18 minutes ago, tej780 said:

This is my first post here so sorry if I am doing this wrong.

I am searching for a new laptop, and I have noticed some names that constantly pop up.

Asus Zenbook and Dell xps 13 seem to be the ones that take the cake.

It seems to me that some laptops (for example some acer, lenovo and HP laptops) within a similar price range have "better" hardware on paper, and yet people still rave on about Asus and Dell.

I plan to use my laptop for studies, programming and perhaps very very light gaming, so I just want something speedy. No bells and whistles required. I have seen some Zenbook UX305CA's for just over £400 (I am in the UK) on Gumtree, and very nearly impulse bought one. (it is sexy, I will say that much)

What I would like to know is:

- What would the performance difference be between a core M product like the Zenbook and a core i5/i7 product? how would this affect battery life?

-Should I just go for the Zenbook, or should I consider some of the lesser rated brands? If so, are there any specific ones you can recommend?

 

I am not interested in 2-in-1's, just a laptop. Screen size is not an issue, anything will do.

 

It seems like on paper the Zenbook is good, but there are plenty of other options that are 'better'. Yet it is always so highly rated. I just want the most for my money. Minimizing costs is my top priority.

XPS 13 and UX301 - are simply the 2 best ultrabooks - they're well built, have good thermals and dimensions, keyboards are solid and battery life is on point. Overall solid devices.

EDIT: HP Spectre is also an option - it's a fair bit more expensive though

[don_svetlio]

@Dackzy @Pendragon

[Dackzy]

stay away from zenbooks.

1. bad thermals

2. bad build

3. insanely hard to fix on your own

4. shitty asus support

5. very meh experiance

[tej780]

Thanks for the replies guys! 

I am not planning on getting a Chromebook,  not a fan of chrome OS personally. I wouldn't mind a full sized laptop over an ultrabook,  though I am leaning towards the latter. I think somewhere in my head I associate Dell latitudes and lenovo ThinkPads with my dad's crappy old business laptops,  so haven't really paid much attention to them. If you think they are worth looking at,  I will,  however I am still looking at zenbooks and XPS's at the moment. 

[don_svetlio]

5 hours ago, Dackzy said:

stay away from zenbooks.

1. bad thermals

2. bad build

3. insanely hard to fix on your own

4. shitty asus support

5. very meh experiance

That's UX501, I am talking about UX301

[Eason85]

Go for the XPS. I wouldn't buy any laptop without thunderbolt 3

[tej780]

16 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

That's UX501, I am talking about UX301

I hadn''t even considered the 301 because (correct me if I am wrong)  it uses a 4th gen i7 and hasnt been updated.  However the 303ua and 305ca use newer processors. Would I notice a difference or should I go for the 301 over the newly updated models? 

[tej780]

12 minutes ago, Eason85 said:

Go for the XPS. I wouldn't buy any laptop without thunderbolt 3

I would love to,  but as I said my budget revolves around £400. Even second hand XPS's go for quite a bit more than that. Perhaps I am being tight fisted. I just know that I could get a perfectly functioning but comparatively terrible laptop for £200. I wouldn't,  I am not that stingy. I just want to be able to justify the price for whatever I do buy. However I agree,  if money was no issue,  the XPS would be my choice. 

[Eason85]

Hmm that's a tough one. Well, the UX301 second hand is a great ultrabook for getting work done. The surface 3 4/128gb is also a good productivity buy on ebay.

[don_svetlio]

3 hours ago, tej780 said:

I hadn''t even considered the 301 because (correct me if I am wrong)  it uses a 4th gen i7 and hasnt been updated.  However the 303ua and 305ca use newer processors. Would I notice a difference or should I go for the 301 over the newly updated models? 

As long as you get a core i5 or i7 you will be fine. Just don't buy Core Ms or Atoms