Crunch Time-Need A New PC Laptop or Ultrabook In Less Than Two Weeks

[Phog Allen]

Evening gents. I need some quick and down to earth advise on a new laptop or ultrabook for my wife. She will be on business travel for about two months and her old Compaq is kaput for years now. She will be carrying along a business provided laptop as well but I want her to have something of her own for Skype calls back home and possibly to connect to the telly in her hotel room.

The main issue is device weight vs. features/price. She is a petite 5'3" and thin. She is a 'small' person in the sense she is fine featured and small built. Size 5-1/2 shoe, size 5 ring. You get the drift. The old Compaq was a 15.6" model and she complained bitterly about carrying the thing around.

Lets start at budget. A $1500 Air Book is out of the question. We simply cannot afford it and she is not a tech hound. She likes plain Jane items and approaches these things as appliances. We have sort of agreed to $500-700 tops and would like to hover around $650 if possible. While I would not mind there is no time for custom ordered machinery. She leaves in less than two weeks. I am thinking Best Buy or Wally World so if it breaks she can take it to the store direct while she's away. We will be sticking with Windows since she knows it and her business software is all MS.

Here is an ASUS at Best Buy that looks like a good compromise. However, I wanted your opinions about features and brands.

Here are some things I am going to make sure are in the mix whether she cares or appreciates the ideas or not. She will not mind at all when we need to use the features. Bold letters are features she must have. Italicised letters are features I am going to make sure she has whether she likes it or not.

1. CPU - To me this means an I-5 or I-7. Two years ago this was a pipe dream in our price range. There are a number of them now.

2. RAM - Again, why not spend a tad more when new? I say 6-8Gb but I am open to suggestions.

3. Optical drive - Necessary for her needs. No special high speed needed though. No real burning of DVDs. Playback of DVD/BluRay or software loading only.

4. HDMI OUT- An absolute must I say. She can connect it to the hotel telly and we can use it when she gets home to watch Jayhawks basketball on ESPN 3. I won't compromise here.

5. Removable media reader slot - A given for nearly any machine anymore. Should I be looking at any feature beyond SDC cards?

6. Webcam - I am thinking features and convenience here. It will need to have speakers and mic built in. A no brainer these days as it will be included. I am thinking more usage issues anyone may be aware of vis a vis brands. Definitely needs to be Skype compatible.

7. Major retailer availability. As mentioned, no time for custom orders. The usual suspects come to mind. I am thinking this is a route we need to go since it will be half way across the country for two months and if it goes South I want her to be able to walk it into a store and return it.

8. Size vs weight. I know this can be the razor's edge(no pun intended, really) on decisions between a model with or without an optical drive. The extra size and weight of the drive dictates certain things about the chassis of the machine. And the wight it attains. I linked to the ASUS above since it seemed like a good compromise between screen size and weight. I am very hesitant to go with a larger screen sized due to weight issues. And anything much smaller is a bit of a pain to do real work with(despite her company machine she will have to do some things on her own) so getting down to 12" is probably not good either.

9. Your suggestions as to pricing and brands. My daughter has a Toshiba that has performed yeoman duty for ages. ASUS. Seems to be making a good name for themselves in the laptop field. I know they make a lot of the motherboards anyway but what is the general feel for their laptops?

I should also mention an office suite purchase is unnecessary. My work provides the full MS Office suite for about $12. And no, that is no misprint. So we are covered there. Any other pay software I should consider? Antivirus will be Security Essentials or other freebies. I have never found the paid ones to be much of anything but machine slowing bloatware. Thanks guys.

Cheers, Todd

 

[joel]

I've had bad luck with Asus laptops.

Macbooks are expensive, but they're fast and they last 5+ years - all the while maintaining their speed and ease of use advantage.

Net-net - get a MacBook. If price is an issue, buy used (eBay, craigslist, etc) or refurbished (apple web site).

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

My Mom had an Asus laptop for a while and it was so bad it was like it was a prank. She took the thing into Best Buy every month for months. Every month there was some new problem. Finally, she went there and raised hell and they gave her store credit to get something else. I think it was because, at the end, the hard drive just went kaput. This was after all of the other problems, but less than six months after she got it.

Conversely, my brother had a Macbook that worked well for eight years. He got it at 18, when he went off to college, and replaced it last year, for his 26th birthday, with a Macbook Air.

 

[Dngolden]

I am in a similar position in that I travel with a work computer but need a separate device for personal needs, many of them similar to the ones you articulated.

I hate to say this, but at your price point, you will end up with a very mediocre netbook. It will do most of what you need in a very mediocre way and will simply be heavier than your wife will like, if her travel case is anything like mine. It will also get out of date soon and you will spend a lot of time on maintenance that you don't need.

Instead, I travel with a tablet. It does just about everything you need, most of it superbly well.

And it will be extremely light, which is very important when you are traveling with another computer already in tow. You will also never have to worry about Maintenance or viruses. I love my iPad, but I don't want to make this an Apple thing. There are other good tablets out there.

 

[jrward2]

+1 on the thought of the Ipad- light, easy to use out of the box, and a relief of knowing the product you are getting is reliable.

If you don't want to go with that then as far as a PC goes I would suggest getting the most RAM possible to speed things up. Also I'd really look hard into reviews of Windows 8. Personally I hate it, and if your wife is very used to the old windows operating systems, she will most likely hate windows 8 as well.

Another thing I've found with every PC that I've owned, is that video chatting isn't all that great on them. After a few minutes of video chatting they always start freezing up and the CPU process goes to 100% and my fans start spinning to the point where I think my laptop is about to take off.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I will never own another Asus laptop... desktop components maybe. Laptop no. Mine had issues within 30 days of getting it, sent it back, got it back with a broken case, they argued they didn't break it, sent it back, got it fixed then 2 weeks out of warranty the power port broke off the motherboard. They would not give me warranty on it. Luckily the part cost me $7 an I paid a friend $50 and 12 pack to solder it back on.

 

[Phog Allen]

Well it looks like the Asus is probably out. Pretty universal complaints here make me highly sceptical. About the Macs. Wont happen. We have no other Apple products and I am not interested in joining that hemisphere. Nothing against it but I don't want one lone product in the house. And it is not in the budget. Plus the fact that I have the entire MS Office suite available for Windows for $12 through work. I don't want to duplicate more expensive software if unnecessary. Again nothing against Apple. I treat these sorts of devices like appliances. I do not plan to nurse any of them for ten years.

The laptops in the Asus' price range typically come with core I5 or I7 processors, 6-8gb ram, and some with low end led screens. What makes say, a $1250 laptop "better" overall? Again, she uses these things like appliances. Bells and whistles aren't her thing. I even considered a 10" tablet but the small screen size and lack of optical drive will likely preclude it. Sticking with Windows for now, hat are your favourite brands?

Cheers, Todd

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

IMB/Lenovo. Especially if she will travel with it a lot.

 

[SiBurning]

You'll have more wiggle room with a mobile i3 and integrated HD graphics. Also 4GB should be plenty. Put the money into a better looking screen with decent pixel count (I'd say about 1200x1000 are the minimum numbers) and your pocket. This will give better battery life, and I don't see where she needs (needs, not wants) more. The downside to the integrated Intel HD graphics is no hardware 3D, which means no 3D games or 3D software, but the chip is arguably high end for HD video.

The keyboard's another important factor. She should make sure the keyboard's comfortable, particularly the feel, arrow keys, and number pad, especially if she needs those areas (like for word processing or even light accounting and spreadsheets).

I have an hp dm1 with the mobile i3, 4GB RAM maximum, and 10.5" screen. (BTW,the 4GB max means getting the leaner 32 bit windows.) It's a second laptop. The screen looks awful, it has a small pixel count (1366 x 768), and the keyboard layout is annoying. But I have no problems with its power as a second laptop. At 3.5 lbs and over 5 hours of battery, it's a great kick around. My other laptop is an Asus gamer (I'm pretty sure they've improved their issues a lot in the last 2-3 years, though they still have internal issues.) 8 core i7, high end nvidia graphics, 16 GB RAM. It's beastly in every way, and only lasts an hour playing games or two doing software development, is huge, and must weigh 12 lbs counting the power brick and (imho necessary) backpack, which is why I have the other.

Your wife seems to be in similar circumstances, where this laptop is for secondary, and mostly personal use. When using the hp, I don't miss the extra power, but I'm not doing certain things on it. It's just fine for light duties, and handles video with the best of them (crummy screen excepted). No I don't recommend this particular hp, but just the form factor and specs but with a better screen. I guess in a way I'm also suggesting you reconsider the 10.5" screen. I've used it to VPN at work (VPN to a 24 core server) and develop software there, as well as light software development directly on the laptop (slow and annoying, but this is a pretty high end task that's often slow even on the Asus). While it is cramped for that, the pixels seems the more important part. The way I think about her situation is... Is it or isn't it her main laptop, and how/where/when is she going to use it... err... use both?

For my needs, going to the two extremes gives me the better compromises. A netbook is too poor for general use. A midline laptop wouldn't serve either purpose well. I also have an older 15" widescreen laptop maybe 4+ lbs, but would rather run around with the smaller one, or strain to carry the beast.

One more thing, you'll probably pay more for the smaller 10.5" screen compared to a 12", but IMHO, it's worth it if you want the portability, and settle for somewhat fewer pixels... but 768 is really crunchy. Maybe only a problem for spreadsheets, graphic editing, and... software development. But remember that HD is only 1080 in that direction (1920x1080). You just have to think and work a bit more... horizontally.

A bit more on the CPUs... I bought both of these a year ago. There was no slow (battery friendly) i5 at that time. Today you can get a dual speed i5 with integrated graphics which, presumably, you'd set to run fast when plugged in and slow on battery. It might be worth a few extra dollars, especially if she's plugged in. But remember that speed, processing power, and 3D or video are all battery killers. I'd like to also refer to SSD, but a small form factor is unlikely to have a spare drive bay, especially if it already has a DVD/Blu-Ray player. If the extra memory (to 8GB) is cheap, go for it, but I don't think it's worth it (and the upgrade/headaches to 64 bit windows), and I definitely wouldn't switch to a different laptop for that reason. Not for (what seems to me) her needs.

Looking around a bit online, I don't see anything really small that has better screen resolution than 1366x768. Not unless you're willing to go down to tablet or netbook processing territory. My preferred territory has been largely displaced by ultrabooks which run around $1000 and tablets. Almost tempting to consider a tablet. Asus and Acer seem to be the leaders in my target territory. Otherwise, it's mostly 15" / 5 lbs in this price range.

 

[Phog Allen]

Thanks Steve. Great information. Here's another kicker and likely a deal maker. As a state employee I get sanctioned discounts from Dell and HP. I don't really like the terms for Dell and their selection did not exactly motivate me. However, we get some nice discounts at HP and I started looking at their Spectre ultrabooks. The 13.3" model comes with an I-5 for a little over $700 our cost. The slightly larger 14" model comes with a radiance led screen and much higher resolution for another $200. They are out of our initial budget but they are REALLY lightweight. About 3 pounds. I asked her about the lack of optical drive and she seemed willing to overlook it for the sleekness and weight reduction. Any opinions on these models?

Cheers, Todd

HP Spectre

 

[SiBurning]

Only see these two on hp's site nevermind. I see your link. Looking...

The Spectre looks like ultrabooks. With your discount, the hp looks more than competitive, though they never make gangbusters.

 

[ins0ma]

I always prefer to spend more up front for something that will last a long time. It may seem more expensive in the beginning, but typically the cost over time balances out. Since 2004 I've had exactly 2 laptops, both Apples, and never a problem with either of them. The first one still works fine and I'm using it as a media server at home. My 2 Apple laptops have cost me about $277 a year, and over that time I've had top-of-the-line machines and flawless performance. Pretty cheap, I'd say.

 

[maxman]

I rather like the Lenovo ultrabooks. They are built very well.
We purchased one at work for the manager of the International department. She travels all over the world and has been impressed as well with it.
We normally buy Dell. Unless you want to be replacing it in 2 years I'd stay away from Dell.
I mean that only from the travel point of view. If a Dell just sits on your desk then they are just fine.

 

[SiBurning]

I always prefer to spend more up front for something that will last a long time. It may seem more expensive in the beginning, but typically the cost over time balances out. Since 2004 I've had exactly 2 laptops, both Apples, and never a problem with either of them. The first one still works fine and I'm using it as a media server at home. My 2 Apple laptops have cost me about $277 a year, and over that time I've had top-of-the-line machines and flawless performance. Pretty cheap, I'd say.

I'd agree and then some if it were your primary computing device. For a second device that you only need occasionally, or for portable use, I'd favor form factor and other features over processing power. After all, my main laptop cost $1500 and has pretty much everything except BluRay. And I also have a desktop. But reliability is a factor none of us can really predict. Lenovo perhaps? Maybe not, since they dropped the IBM name. Or Sony. If not Apple. Personally, I hate Toshiba laptops. Had two, which is enough.

The most important thing is to consider what it's for and how you're going to use it. Never start by looking at specs--that's backwards.

 

[ins0ma]

The most important thing is to consider what it's for and how you're going to use it. Never start by looking at specs--that's backwards.

I agree 100% here. Specs on things like computers, "Hi-Fi" equipment and cameras are often little more than marketing gimmicks, and have nothing to do with the way most people use their gear.

Maybe a tablet would be a good solution for the OP's question. I've spent almost a month overseas using nothing but a tablet for my personal computing needs, there's really nothing you can't do with them if you put your mind to it and find the appropriate app or work-around for the task at hand. They're light, cheap, reliable (no moving parts!) and probably have the all features a normal user might need in a secondary device. They're especially good for video chat.

 

[SiBurning]

Neither the 13 or 14 has a great screen. That's sort of to be expected at this size and lower price. The hp screens are usually subpar in performance/looks, quite aside from pixels. Not a deal breaker for most folks. The difficulty is that they have a 128GB SSD (256GB optional), which limits how much you can put on it. I personally couldn't manage with 128GB--need around 160--but that's me, and we're all different. From reviews, they seem typical of hp: mostly average & uninspiring, but a few excellent performance features. On the plus side, they both seem to have a metal chassis.

Don't mean to be negative, just critical.

BTW, the CPUs seem to be generation 3, which has the better integrated video, the 4000 vs the 3000. Don't ask me what that means.

 

[SiBurning]

I agree 100% here. Specs on things like computers, "Hi-Fi" equipment and cameras are often little more than marketing gimmicks, and have nothing to do with the way most people use their gear.

Maybe a tablet would be a good solution for the OP's question. I've spent almost a month overseas using nothing but a tablet for my personal computing needs, there's really nothing you can't do with them if you put your mind to it and find the appropriate app or work-around for the task at hand. They're light, cheap, reliable (no moving parts!) and probably have the all features a normal user might need in a secondary device. They're especially good for video chat.

Can you do office apps, like openoffice writer & spreadsheets? I just ordered a B&N Nook HD+ as a substitute for a portable DVD player. It hasn't arrived, and I know nothing about tablets. Would love to be able to write/edit long articles for the B&B wiki on it, and stuff like that. That should be a different thread, but it seems like the OP has to run office.

A second reason for asking is that I personally don't see much added value in those hp models over my $450-500 dm1--nothing really significant beyond being somewhat faster--and think a tablet might actually be a good choice if it could do what's needed. So many tradeoffs. So many choices & decisions.

 

[ins0ma]

Can you do office apps, like openoffice writer & spreadsheets? . . . should be a different thread, but it seems like the OP has to run office.

**Apologies for thread-jacking**
I had no trouble dealing with spreadsheets, either viewing them as PDFs or using an App to edit/create them. I'm not a "power spreadsheet user," but I did have to deal with them a few times when I was using my "small tablet" as a primary device, and had no difficulty. As for updating forums, it depends on how comfortable you are typing on tablets. You can do stuff like take/share/post pictures easily if you make intelligent use of email and online sites like Photobucket. I often get over the hurdle of not having USB/optical/card ports by simply emailing things to myself. Works great. If you put your mind to it you can do anything with a tablet that you can with a laptop, except type on a physical keyboard.

 

[SiBurning]

bluetooth keyboard. And some tablets, like the nook, do have an SD slot.

P.S. I don't think this is thread jacking because it's discussing options that might interest the OP, and are well within the original price range.

 

[ins0ma]

I guess the more I think about it, the tablet option is really hard to beat as a secondary device, for a "casual" user, or for someone willing to try something new and forgo the traditional form-factor of the laptop. When I travelled with my tablet instead of my laptop, the things I did with it were: take/look at pics, email, web surfing for tourist info, light work tasks (docs and spreadsheets), watch movies/video chat, read books/play games on flights and trains, etc., and it excelled at all those tasks. I never felt that I was limited or that I was missing anything by not having my laptop. On the contrary, the weightlessness of the thing, and it's pocketable size, were benefits that I noticed constantly while traveling.