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Decisions... Somebody give me some PoV?
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Decisions... Somebody give me some PoV?

eastoncheastonch Member
edited December 2012 in General

Hey Guys,

Going to Universtiy next year; in September, thinking about trying to get myself a laptop / ultrabook prior to me going away.

I know this is early to think about, but my logic is... There could be a deal NOW that may not be as good in June time when I'd ideally buy one.

I'm almost pulled by the wang to buy this beut:
http://h20386.www2.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=C5R78EA&opt=ABU&sel=PCNB&;

(280 after cashback and discount... )

Does anybody have any objections against HP? Ultrabooks? Or the likes?

The only problems I forsee:

  • I'm going to stare at this for hours... (14" screen may not do the trick?)
  • Non-Backlit keyboard; but then again, the screen IS bright...
  • No information on battery life.
  • No CD/DVD Drive (Who uses this media anyway; and what's stopping me buying a USB one?)

Positives

  • Intel i3 3rd gen HyperThreaded. (Though Lacks Virtualisation I/O Directing!) (not that it matters?)
  • SSD AND HDD, Can replace the SSD perhaps with a nicer 256GB Samsung?
  • It's damn cheap.
  • 6GB RAM

I've been at work all day pondering about this, and I still can't make a decision to either wait for January for the potential sales; or just wing it, knowing that I can afford it now.

Cheers for all input!
-Chris.

Comments

  • I'd go with a smaller display, maybe 12.5" or so. That's fine for all office, coding and browsing needs and will be lighter. Also a matte display is a must! It doesn't look like the HP laptop has one.

  • @gsrdgrdghd

    Reckon 14" is more than enough? I was just scared, the other laptop in the house is... 15.6? And that's alright, but losing ~15% of screen is a little bit scary!

    Matte Display? To provide anti-glare?

    Hmmm, I'd be in seminars anyway; and the rest, inside of a bedroom environment where I can simply shut the blinds.

  • joepie91joepie91 Member, Patron Provider

    @eastonch said: Does anybody have any objections against HP? Ultrabooks? Or the likes?

    Be sure to ask around locally what the HP service in your country is like. In the Netherlands, it's absolutely horrible, and when something breaks you can easily lose your laptop for months while they "repair" it - if you manage to get them to take it in in the first place. I also quite frequently hear stories about one bad part being replaced by another bad part, and having to send it back again...

    I also have to say I'm not very impressed by the build quality of HP laptops. I'd have a look at Dell, Lenovo, or specific models of Acer if you want a good build quality.

  • Believe me, reflections are super annoying! As for the display size: Most laptops with 11-12" display size have a 1366x768 resolution. What don't you change your monitor to that resolution and try it? A 11.6" display works perfectly fine for taking notes, coding, making presentations, etc.

  • @JoePie91

    I know a guy in the US, who had a "beats" edition HP and they had 12-hour shipping for him, etc, the full works, they also had ~24 month warranties slapped on when he complained, though I'm in the uK and they seem to have a good reputation.

    What do you think of the spec on this specific ultrabook?

    Thanks.
    Chris.

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran
    edited December 2012

    @eastonch said: Does anybody have any objections against HP?

    If build quality was a 1-5 scale, I'd put them at a 3. They're a lot better than they used to be, but not even the best in their price bracket. Right now Lenovo takes the 5 in my experience. To be clear, when I say build quality, I mean the stability of the physical build of the system and including good air flow. I'm basing this on the last 3 years of watching HP laptops deteriorate. Meanwhile the Lenovo systems next to them look just about new.

  • @gsrdgrdghd

    Hmm, you're right, it's not 'bad'. And since I'd have a 17+" TV in my room anyway, I could just HDMI link it up? Electricity is free in Halls, I'm not worrying.

    Thinking about just winging it like... Any further thoughts?

  • @eastonch said: Electricity is free in Halls, I'm not worrying.

    I was more refering to the akku time. I don't think there are many universities that have power plugs at every seat in the lecture halls.

  • @gsrdgrdghd

    They have some that are; but not all are, especially in lecture halls.

    But then again... Even for a couple of hours? Have it linked to the Wifi; hooked to dropbox, then just sync everything that way? It'd be fine, surely there's power saving for brightness, CPU ratelimiting and other methods though.

  • NexusNexus Member
    edited December 2012

    @joepie91 said: I also have to say I'm not very impressed by the build quality of HP laptops. I'd have a look at Dell, Lenovo, or specific models of Acer if you want a good build quality.

    So dam true, my sister recently purchased a HP laptop as well and in 6 months the screen broke/malfunctioned. (Died). The best thing was, she did get it a free laptop though in 2weeks after request. But it would suck major balls if it happened outside of the warranty.

    About the 14inch, it's terrible IMO, 15.6 - 17 is what you want, get LED as well, will be a lot easier on your eyes.. (In my opinion anyways..)

    Also, get this once u get ur new lappy :)

    http://stereopsis.com/flux/

    Will make your feel even better!

  • NexusNexus Member
    edited December 2012

    Also, sorry for the double post, but are u wanting a warranty is that why you're buying from the manufacturing website?, cuz if not, go to newegg/etc/etc

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    @Nexus said: go to newegg

    +1
    Newegg has some stupid cheap deals on great laptops.

  • Another thing i forgot to mention: fan noise. Go for a quiet laptop!

  • Personal experience with HP Pavilion laptops - Build quality isn't great, probably the worst I've had. The fan failed within a couple months.
    Luckily It got repaired, although it did take 3 weeks.

    @eastonch said: I know this is early to think about, but my logic is... There could be a deal NOW that may not be as good in June time when I'd ideally buy one.

    The best times to buy laptops are now, and before the first term.
    Remember that Apple do have student discounts, so it's worth getting your NUS card :)

  • newegg isnt UK :(... £288 after cashback; tempted man.

  • If you need a laptop in September, why are you already buying one now? Prices will most likely drop until then.

  • @gsrdgrdghd

    I dunno :( I've been wanting one for a while; this is really, impulse buying... Not that i've bought it yet however.

    This offer looks like it's not going to come back to the point near then; but unsure. I'm going to take a pass and mope that I haven't bought it. Thanks for the comments.

  • Worked with a 12" ThinkPad X60 for a good year... was a nice laptop that time, but meh, I had to use a docking-station with external monitor otherwise it wouldn't be possible to work with it daily @ 12 hours...

    Now I have a ThinkPad T400 (14") and a Macbook Air (13"), both displays are nice and big enough for longer usages, but anyway I definitely won't loose my external monitor (22" + 26") - it's much nicer to work with big displays :)

    So with other words: I would always try to get a laptop with simple docking-stations,

  • Matte display is a must, 13.3" would be good.

  • DavidxDavidx Member
    edited December 2012

    @ElliotJ said: Personal experience with HP Pavilion laptops - Build quality isn't great, probably the worst I've had. The fan failed within a couple months.

    Yep.. corner of my pavilion cracked, fan vent casing cracked, fan makes this nice clattering noise, and on top of that it overheats doing silly tasks..

    Wish id gotten another brand really... I suppose I'm a heavy user though.. still working on finishing my desktop build.

  • mikhomikho Member, Host Rep

    If you need something that will last a couple of years, go with the p or b series if you chose HP.
    A pavillion is something you use for a year. More then so is bonus time.
    3 year next business day warranty included.

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