Help! Suggestions for a good mid range ultrabook

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172 posts

Master Geek

#1011628 24-Mar-2014 10:17

What about other brangs like smasung, acer, asus etc?

Batman

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#1011629 24-Mar-2014 10:22

None of them has the latest Intel haswell in nz as yet. None.

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#1011630 24-Mar-2014 10:23

When I order xps I always order don't pay ring up and demand freebies like free case free Ethernet dongle external dvd writer you never know what you could score.

I go oh I pay do much for you r high end system not fair etc etc

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#1011647 24-Mar-2014 10:47

I thought you were looking for a "a good mid range ultrabook".
Your budget has crept up fom $1400 (preferably less) to $1600 to $2000.
What next - $3000? $4000?

To quote crackrdbycracku: "I'm a big believer in not buying more power than you need."

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martyyn

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#1011648 24-Mar-2014 10:50

panda123: snip....will be using it for mostly uni work, surfing the net and watching movies on it etc.....snip

I'm going through a similar process my nephew at the moment and like him, I've told him to keep remembering what he will actually use it for. Surfing, email and the odd movie on the go does not require anything serious.

I bought a surface RT for my wife last year and every time I pick it up I'm impressed. Yes the screen is small, but if you're doing anything serious on it, then plug in a monitor and use a BT keyboard and mouse at a desk. For carrying around and doing work on the run it's just fantastic.

Full Office, battery life is good, the weight isn't too bad, the 'proper' keyboard is great, the trackpad is decent as well and it just feels well put together. Not being able to install Chrome isn't fantastic for me given I'm well into Google eco-system, but for her it's perfect.

I just wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is and at under $400 it leaves you with plenty to spend on a decent screen and BT accessories for when you do real work.

I've done my time working on laptops and am back to a desktop, at a desk, with three screens etc. I don't ever see myself going back to a laptop for proper work but the Surface2 Pro has me thinking about how I can replace all this using a suitable dock.

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#1011651 24-Mar-2014 10:57

I'm going to say get the xps 13 i5 $1600. you can always upgrade the SSD if you want.

if you want to go cheap get the last gen Samsung ativ 9 i5 if you can for under $1000, then spend money on a larger SSD (US120 can get you a 256gb SSD on amazon, US240 can get you 512gb)

panda123

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Master Geek

#1011668 24-Mar-2014 11:11

my budget has inceased due to brothers giving me some extra money and I'm looking for a slightly better ultrabook because I could end up going overseas for study so the ultrabook would be used for more stuff other than uni work since I won't have a desktop with me

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#1011689 24-Mar-2014 11:23

panda123: ... I'm looking for a slightly better ultrabook because I could end up going overseas for study so the ultrabook would be used for more stuff other than uni work since I won't have a desktop with me

Remember that the same ultrabook will probably be cheaper if you buy it overseas (when you get there). NZ is an expensive place to buy hardware.

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#1011692 24-Mar-2014 11:28

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-9333/pd?~ck=mn

same price dude

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#1011778 24-Mar-2014 13:31

Acer is rubbish IMHO unless you can afford the Acer Aspire S7 which is the only good quality ultrabook they produce. Samsung's Ativ 9 are very expensive as well.

Dell XPS 13 are good.

Do whatever you want to do man.

lissie

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Ultimate Geek

#1011844 24-Mar-2014 15:20

HP Spectre 13T - but buy it from the US for $1000 plus shipping from youshop plus GST from customs plus NZ$230 for a local care package. The best price I could get from their support people was NZ$1800 ex GST
i5/4GB/128MB with options to configure upgrades (in the US not here)

You need to be buying the new 4000 series Haswell chips - they use a lot less power hence much improved battery life.

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

panda123

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Master Geek

#1012046 24-Mar-2014 20:00

lissie: HP Spectre 13T - but buy it from the US for $1000 plus shipping from youshop plus GST from customs plus NZ$230 for a local care package. The best price I could get from their support people was NZ$1800 ex GST
i5/4GB/128MB with options to configure upgrades (in the US not here)

You need to be buying the new 4000 series Haswell chips - they use a lot less power hence much improved battery life.

That sounds like something I should look into. How much should I look at paying all up? Where would you buy the HP Spectre 13T online?

lissie

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Ultimate Geek

#1012116 24-Mar-2014 22:44

That sounds like something I should look into. How much should I look at paying all up? Where would you buy the HP Spectre 13T online?

hp.com

Their support told me I needed a US address associated with my payment method. I used Paypal - which obscures the origin of your CC - that worked. I am using thieir free shipping to an address I'm visiting next month so I don't know shipping charges - but you could work it with their details of package weight plus the youshop.co.nz shipping weight
whatsmyduty.co.nz will tell you what you'll have to pay for GST

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

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#1012119 24-Mar-2014 23:03

are you going to send it back to the US if there is a problem?

lissie

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Ultimate Geek

#1012120 24-Mar-2014 23:06

joker97: are you going to send it back to the US if there is a problem?

Nope - there is a 21 day right of return for any (or no) reason in the US - during that time my brother will extensively test it to make sure it's working fine. I will buy a carepack from the local support people - acquire - to cover it in NZ.

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

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