Ultrabook - Budget $800

ClintonL on 23/03/2017 - 20:53
Last edited 24/03/2017 - 09:26 by 1 other user

Hey guys looking for a new Ultrabook for work and study. Had an old Samsung np530u3c and was really happy with it but I didn't take good care of it so looking for something new.
Budget is under $800 and pretty much all I'm going to be doing on it is browse the net, watch Youtube and do work on MS office although I want to do them fast. I can pull out the SSD and put it in the new laptop.

Prefer something with higher resolution than 1333x768 and want something light/long battery life. Won't be doing any gaming or anything like that. Any ideas of what I should get or any bargains?

Computing

Comments

  • KaTst3R on 23/03/2017 - 21:02
    +1

    Your old laptop could be using a 2.5 inch drive and modern day ultrabooks are likely to use an M.2 drive, so there is a chance that they are incompatible if you are looking to save a couple of bucks on storage.

    • ClintonL on 24/03/2017 - 11:08

      Yeah that's a good point, hopefully i don't see a speed increase when i get a m2 ssd so that i don't get the urge to upgrade to one in my desktop after.

  • Richardc on 23/03/2017 - 22:02
    +2

    so go for something with 1366X768

  • Switchblade88 on 23/03/2017 - 22:37

    No gaming, pure work/study?

    I'd absolutely recommend a quality Chromebook. I've got the Acer Chromebook R11, and it's been a very worthwhile investment:

    • 9-10 hrs battery without starving for brightness etc
    • Convertible: touchscreen for scrolling etc is now second nature. And with Android apps available, you can use it as a 12" tablet replacement.
    • 5 sec boot/restart/sleep resume. No waiting.
    • Nice clear screen; whilst it is only 1366x768, that's not ever been an issue. The upcoming Acer R13 is 13" and 1920x1080, but sadly not yet available.
    • CHEAP. Like, one third of the price for equivalent specc'd Win10 convertible. I paid $440 plus shipping.
    • Reliable. As in, bulk quantities for schools/bashed by children/no BSODs etc, reliability. Even if you do trash it, powerwash and sign in again.
    • Office compatible, with Google Docs & Drive. As a cloud computing purist I find few issues except internet access, but it'll work just fine offline without issues.

    I do believe Samsung have a newer model coming, and there is a fairly large spectrum of quality vs price Chromebooks available, but this Acer was by far the best value for features available. And with the leftover $350-odd change, you can invest in an external monitor, keyboard, mouse for long stints at a desk if you'd like.

    • ClintonL on 24/03/2017 - 11:07

      Yeah pure work/study however unfortunately i prefer windows.

  • tomlikesbeetroot on 23/03/2017 - 23:04

    Screen size?
    How much battery life are you needing?

    Been quite a few good deals from lenovo posted on here lately, but might not fall into the "ultrabook" definition, but still decent size/battery.

    Personally I just bought a pre-owned razer blade, and completely happy with it.

    • ClintonL on 24/03/2017 - 11:07

      13.3-14 maybe? Umm around 8 hours would be optimal.

  • OverburdenedWarrior on 24/03/2017 - 17:15

    There's this with a FHD IPS:

    https://www.centrecom.com.au/acer-aspire-133-core-i5-ultra-p… (i5, 13.3" IPS, 4GB, 256GB SSD - $799)

  • scrimshaw on 24/03/2017 - 17:21

    MSY is selling an Acer Aspire V3-372-587T ultrabook with 6th gen i5 / 4GB / 256GB SSD for $799
    http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=Acer+NX.G7A…

    though not sure about ACER quality as I have not bought an acer in almost a decade.

    Alternative: ASUS UX305?

    http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=asus+ux305

    OLC is selling for $888… lucky number. 88 dollars above your budget but it has the right specifications to get the job done.

    • decr on 25/03/2017 - 13:12

      I'm actually on the same boat, I need a decent system for a decent price for both home and work. The Acer looks tempting but yes, it's Acer so don't know whether it's one of those good or bad ones. I'll have to read some reviews. Generally speaking there are just too many brands and models out there to choose from, I fell off the ongoing "what's new" bandwagon 10ish years ago.

      I'm capping my budget at $1000, looking at 12-14" range (lower the better), 1080p screen (or better) is a must and preferably an i5 with either 4 cores or 2 with HT will suffice as well. Gigabit Ethernet would be a bonus, but the slimmer you go these are rarely present anymore so dongles will have to do. I don't care about SSD/RAM capacity out of the box as long as they can be upgraded later on without voiding the warranty. Speaking of which, 1 year warranty is a minimum so that rules Xiaomi etc out.

      So if you have any ideas please share.

      Thanks

  • tomlikesbeetroot on 25/03/2017 - 13:04
    +1

    Could be worth considering this https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/298850

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