Ultrabook question...

[Mr.Meerkat]

So currently I have an Asus Vivobook 15.6" laptop that has the specs of:

Spoiler

 

i7 4500U

Nvidia Geforce 840m 

8GB of RAM

120GB SSD 

1366x768 touchscreen

 

Yeah I know it's noice and powerful with the 840M and 4500U and it's classified as an 'ultrabook' but jeezus is it heavy...2.5KG (or 5.5 pounds for you Muricans) of a sheet of aluminium, a block of metal and a plastic underside (combined with a couple KG of books, it's not nice).

 

Now I'm wanting to get a 13.3 inch or 14 inch ultrabook that weighs more or less 1.2KG but I don't have the budget for a brand new ultrabook that still keeps a minimum of a Haswell ULV i5 (as the i7 is just a higher clocked i5, ditching the 840m already feels bad as that's bye bye games like GTA 5 at 60fps 720p@low-med~).

After browsing a bit for refurbs and used, these are my options:

Spoiler

• Lenovo yoga 2 pro, i7-4510U, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 3200x1800 touch display.
• Yoga 13 with an Ivy ULV i7, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 900p touch display (not quite the Haswell ULV i5 but it's clocked high enough to offset the difference with that 512 SSD luring me in as well)
• Acer Aspire S7-391, i7-4500U, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM, 1080p touch display (with a new battery and 3 month Acer warranty, 4GB is enough...maybe. if I only somehow get my 2 VMs running with 1GB of RAM each )
• Samsung Ativ book 9 plus, haswell ULV i5, 128GB SSD, 4GB ram, 3200x1800 touch display (cheapest by a considerable margin compared to the 3 options before this one)
• Lenovo yoga 12, i5-5300U, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 2 years of lenovo warranty left, unknown res display (this is a bid on ebay but at the rate it's going, it's going to end up being cheaper than the first three)

So what do you guys think?  

 

Or should I just go with the safe route and get meself a new Asus zenbook with a m3/m5 with 128GB SSD and 8GB of ram with a 1080p display for a similar price as the 2 yogas and the S7?

 

Edit: I no longer really play games on my laptop anymore so I'm fine with dropping the 840m for iGPU and I'd be selling my current laptop where I'd end up getting more or less (okay maybe a bit less) than what I'd be paying for one of the used/refurb laptops.

[JefferyD90]

4 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

So currently I have an Asus Vivobook 15.6" laptop that has the specs of:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

i7 4500U

Nvidia Geforce 840m 

8GB of RAM

120GB SSD 

1366x768 touchscreen

 

Yeah I know it's noice and powerful with the 840M and 4500U and it's classified as an 'ultrabook' but jeezus is it heavy...2.5KG (or 5.5 pounds for you Muricans) of a sheet of aluminium, a block of metal and a plastic underside (combined with a couple KG of books, it's not nice).

 

Now I'm wanting to get a 13.3 inch or 14 inch ultrabook that weighs more or less 1.2KG but I don't have the budget for a brand new ultrabook that still keeps a minimum of a Haswell ULV i5 (as the i7 is just a higher clocked i5, ditching the 840m already feels bad as that's bye bye games like GTA 5 at 60fps 720p@low-med~).

After browsing a bit for refurbs and used, these are my options:

  Reveal hidden contents

• Lenovo yoga 2 pro, i7-4510U, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 3200x1800 touch display.
• Yoga 13 with an Ivy ULV i7, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 900p touch display (not quite the Haswell ULV i5 but it's clocked high enough to offset the difference with that 512 SSD luring me in as well)
• Acer Aspire S7-391, i7-4500U, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM, 1080p touch display (with a new battery and 3 month Acer warranty, 4GB is enough...maybe. if I only somehow get my 2 VMs running with 1GB of RAM each )
• Samsung Ativ book 9 plus, haswell ULV i5, 128GB SSD, 4GB ram, 3200x1800 touch display (cheapest by a considerable margin compared to the 3 options before this one)
• Lenovo yoga 12, i5-5300U, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 2 years of lenovo warranty left, unknown res display (this is a bid on ebay but at the rate it's going, it's going to end up being cheaper than the first three)

So what do you guys think?  

 

Or should I just go with the safe route and get meself a new Asus zenbook with a m3/m5 with 128GB SSD and 8GB of ram with a 1080p display for a similar price as the 2 yogas and the S7?

Well first off the i7 is NOT a higher clocked version of the i5... The difference between a i5 and a i7 is the hyper threading, nothing to do with the clock speed.

Regardless, here is the thing... you're going to spend about $1000 or more to get a better notebook than what you already have, not to include it being a Ultrabook.  And finding something that is lighter weight, it will have to be sky lake or something super flimsy.

[Daniel644]

maybe take the money for the new computer and go to the GYM and EXERCISE and get some MUSCLES so you can handle a few extra pounds, LOL.

 

No but seriously why pay money to take a hit to performance, try to see if there is anything in your bag that you can do without to lighten the load, I know I cleared a TON of old paper work out of my backpack which was enough to make me question if I even had my computer (which ways like twice what yours does at 9.9 pounds) in there the first time i picked it up.

[Mr.Meerkat]

2 minutes ago, JefferyD90 said:

Well first off the i7 is NOT a higher clocked version of the i5... The difference between a i5 and a i7 is the hyper threading, nothing to do with the clock speed.

Regardless, here is the thing... you're going to spend about $1000 or more to get a better notebook than what you already have, not to include it being a Ultrabook.  And finding something that is lighter weight, it will have to be sky lake or something super flimsy.

Note: ULV i7s are literally just i5s that are clocked higher which are just i3s that are clocked higher with boost clocks. A ULV i7 is a dual core with HT where a ULV i5 is a dual core with HT as well with i3s being dual cores with HT but no boost.

Also note: I'm buying a refurb or used as it means that it's around $300-600

 

Just now, Daniel644 said:

maybe take the money for the new computer and go to the GYM and EXERCISE and get some MUSCLES so you can handle a few extra pounds, LOL.

 

No but seriously why pay money to take a hit to performance, try to see if there is anything in your bag that you can do without to lighten the load, I know I cleared a TON of old paper work out of my backpack which was enough to make me question if I even had my computer (which ways like twice what yours does at 9.9 pounds) in there the first time i picked it up.

Nvm about exercising, 10KG overall weight is just too high for meh...

Plus I'm selling my old laptop to make way for a new lighter one. I find 15.6 inches too big for a portable machine and I no longer game anyway so...

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, JefferyD90 said:

Well first off the i7 is NOT a higher clocked version of the i5... The difference between a i5 and a i7 is the hyper threading, nothing to do with the clock speed.

Regardless, here is the thing... you're going to spend about $1000 or more to get a better notebook than what you already have, not to include it being a Ultrabook.  And finding something that is lighter weight, it will have to be sky lake or something super flimsy.

Actually, with mobile Core i processors that AREN'T in the HQ/HW line, the differences literally come down to three things: Minor features (rarely), power draw, and clock speed.

In most ultrabooks, the big difference between the Core i5 and i7 is literally clock speed.

[Nineshadow]

Honestly, I'd rather just keep what you have. The differences really aren't worth it.

[Mr.Meerkat]

8 minutes ago, Nineshadow said:

Honestly, I'd rather just keep what you have. The differences really aren't worth it.

Hmmmm...like I would keep it but frankly I dislike it's weight, size and 720p screen (yea I know, I'm usually supporting 768p in laptops for gaming but not anymore...not enough screen estate).

The few times where I took my sister's ipad for school rather than my laptop as I forgot to charge it was like day and night, my shoulders stopped hurting, I was able to stand up properly so you know...dropping it down to something that's half it's weight would be appreciated considering that I have minor arthritis (which I inherited) where weight is the number one thing that makes my knees and ankles to start hurting

[Nineshadow]

1 hour ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Hmmmm...like I would keep it but frankly I dislike it's weight, size and 720p screen (yea I know, I'm usually supporting 768p in laptops for gaming but not anymore...not enough screen estate).

The few times where I took my sister's ipad for school rather than my laptop as I forgot to charge it was like day and night, my shoulders stopped hurting, I was able to stand up properly so you know...dropping it down to something that's half it's weight would be appreciated considering that I have minor arthritis (which I inherited) where weight is the number one thing that makes my knees and ankles to start hurting

What is your budget?

[Mr.Meerkat]

57 minutes ago, Nineshadow said:

What is your budget?

Max 550 quid, lower the better