MidwesternAloha Posted April 20, 2015 Posted April 20, 2015 This site here: http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-spectre-x360-13t compares both HP Spectre x360 and the Lenovo Yoga 3 with Macbook Air and Dell XPS (as well as category average). Further below the charts is a detailed explanation of these rankings. A cursory reading suggests that the Spectre > Yoga 3 due to longer battery life, more powerful processor, and ease of use. Try looking around for deals, but definitely don't pay >$1000 for either one. Thank you!! I was playing around with both at Best Buy and all the computer verbiage confuses me. I am going to wait til "back to school" sales hit this summer and hopefully combine that with a cashback site when ordering.
SublimePZ Posted April 20, 2015 Posted April 20, 2015 No problem. That is a very good idea. If you're really not hurting for a laptop anytime soon, you could even wait until the November (Black Friday) or December (Holiday) sales which are undoubtedly the cheapest of the year. MidwesternAloha 1
pealio Posted April 20, 2015 Posted April 20, 2015 Portability is very important to me, but I also am in a program that requires heavy computation. I'm considering buying a cheap laptop, linking it with my desktop at home, and wirelessly carrying out my computations. I am not sure if this is a feasible option. Any opinions/input?
FeministCorgi Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 I was the one who started that discussion. I decided to go mac after all my years as PC. The question for me is Air or pro w/ retina. I think I'm leaning towards air for mobility and depending on your grad field, you don't need the 16gb + 5xx flash storage as an air 256 pci storage + 8gb memory will suffice w/ operations.
SeanDDavies Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 @FeministCorgi- the processor for the Air is significantly slower than the Pro. Even though they are both listed at Intel i5. I don't know what software you use, but if you use SPSS, I would say go with the Pro. I ran into the same conondrum myself and after reviewing the info seems the Pro is the way to go. Read_books 1
FeministCorgi Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 @FeministCorgi- the processor for the Air is significantly slower than the Pro. Even though they are both listed at Intel i5. I don't know what software you use, but if you use SPSS, I would say go with the Pro. I ran into the same conondrum myself and after reviewing the info seems the Pro is the way to go. I would say that if one is doing SPSS or statistical/graphing/heavy empirical data, definitely use the pro. I'm still up in the air as I am not really doing that but might be doing images, some figures, and the like so I am torn still. but the mobility is an issue w/ my bad back.=p
uhurulol Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 So I just recently bought this laptop, and I definitely couldn't be happier. A little over a grand for a great machine. I have a dual boot going with Windows and Linux Mint, and on the SSD both of them boot in seconds. Everything runs amazing. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OBA5AMI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I shopped around a while a few months back and this was the best option I could come up with. It hasn't let me down yet.
nananiemand Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 I just switched to a Surface Pro 2 (i5 with 8 gigs of ram) from an identically specced HP Envy laptop (also a touch screen). The screen is small, but extremely nice for reading PDFs and note-taking while sitting in awkward-couch-position. Switching to a monitor for spreadsheets will be a must in the future. I got this particular model because it has a better digitizer for the stylus, and I will be using this as my primary illustration device for fieldwork and lab analysis. I also wanted to smaller size so it works very discretely while taking notes at conferences - which I just got back from! Worked like a dream. Having the pen meant I could scribble weird notes, copy diagrams, etc. and being able to detach the keyboard meant I didnt need to balance it in my lap, but instead hold it like a notebook.
serenade Posted April 26, 2015 Posted April 26, 2015 "When my very heavy 2011 15" MacBook Pro dies, I'm definitely going to go for a 13" Air. It's a lot cheaper (less than $1000 with student discounts), and will really save my back." This was my exact thinking as well when I replaced my rather heavy MacBook with an Air a few months ago. Although the Air is certainly lighter, it still hurts my back to carry it for extended periods of time. It's definitely better than carrying my heavy MacBook, but just wanted to warn you it still won't be light as a feather. One day maybe they'll make one that doesn't make everyone's backs give out! Here's to hoping!
victorydance Posted April 26, 2015 Posted April 26, 2015 ^ No offense, but there is something seriously wrong with your back if you can't carry 3 lbs around. You should seriously consider doing some weight lifting to strengthen your back and shoulders. 1Q84, Horb and perpetuavix 1 2
Horb Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 I'm currently debating getting a new laptop. My current macbook is about 3 years old (mid 2012 model) and needs a battery replacement, which runs about $150. My main concern is that once I start fixing it, it'll repeatedly break. It has been showing its age over the last year. I almost had to replace the hard drive and it is ridiculously slow considering all I do is use JSTOR and google docs. I don't even use it for Netflix that often.
eeee1923 Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 @ Horb, depending on your budget and seeing that you mostly use your mac for article reading and nothing too RAM intensive, you may want to look at investing in the new 13 in macbook airs. With student discounts I believe they are ~$900 (don't quote me on the price). Another option may be investing in a nice used or refurbished 2014 model. If you want to leave the Mac environment all together, the lenovo Yoga is a viable option (though the price would be pretty comparable to the macbook air).
OriginalDuck Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 I have the Yoga 2. It was just over $300 on Amazon. It's not the most powerful option out there, but for what it sounds like you need it for, it should be more than fine. I wasn't sure I'd like it (it was a gift from my wife), but it's been able to do everything I've needed it to and I really like how light it is. I would recommend it as long as you don't need tons of processing power.
1Q84 Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 @ Horb, depending on your budget and seeing that you mostly use your mac for article reading and nothing too RAM intensive, you may want to look at investing in the new 13 in macbook airs. With student discounts I believe they are ~$900 (don't quote me on the price). Another option may be investing in a nice used or refurbished 2014 model. If you want to leave the Mac environment all together, the lenovo Yoga is a viable option (though the price would be pretty comparable to the macbook air). Yep, there was a recent sale at Best Buy that brought the Airs down to 700. More than worth the price. I'm really considering getting the new Macbook. It's only 2 lbs! The lack of ports is a real turnoff, though...
Horb Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 I looked at the cost of a 13 inch macbook pro vs. macbook air (no retina on the pro) and the cost difference was about $100, so it seems to make more sense to me to do the pro. I absolutely hate windows. I find the interface annoying and not the least bit user friendly and this is coming from someone who, before trying a mac, absolutely anti-mac. I understand some people love windows, but they just aren't for me. I've also looked at the price difference between refurbished and the new macbook pros and again, the difference was about $100-200, so I think it makes more sense to just get the new machine. I'm still planning on getting mine looked at, as I'm really curious as to why it is suddenly running so slow.
1Q84 Posted May 3, 2015 Posted May 3, 2015 Anyone have experience with the Asus Zenbooks? They seem like the closest thing to a Macbook without the Apple branding.
jiggyjig Posted May 4, 2015 Posted May 4, 2015 Anyone have experience with the Asus Zenbooks? They seem like the closest thing to a Macbook without the Apple branding. I used one of the earlier ones (back in 2012). They are pretty decent, I meant expensive ultrabook are just as pretty as macbook, except that it doesnt have the generic look of a macbook. I used couple different laptops for the past 3 years. Zenbook : I dont like their light colors, specs-wise theyre all similar, keyboard rather shallow. Macbook pro 13 : thicker than general ultrabook, keyboards just awesome, look too generic. Samsung ATIV : like the dark color full metal body, keyboard shallow. acer s7 : gorilla glass surface feels classy, keyboard are decent. 1Q84 1
Guest Posted May 6, 2015 Posted May 6, 2015 (edited) The Surface 3 just came out yesterday. Anyone has experience with the Surface 2 or 3? Not the 'Surface Pro' just Surface. It's one of those 2-in-1 laptop-tablet things. I requested for the Surface 3 as a graduation gift for my undergrad graduation lol...it's not too much of a bad ($499). Edited May 6, 2015 by Guest
esotericish Posted May 6, 2015 Posted May 6, 2015 The Surface 3 just came out yesterday. Anyone has experience with the Surface 2 or 3? Not the 'Surface Pro' just Surface. It's one of those 2-in-1 laptop-tablet things. I requested for the Surface 3 as a graduation gift for my undergrad graduation lol...it's not too much of a bad ($499). I've been doing a lot of research on these. The problem with the new Surface (not the Pro) is that it's not really a laptop replacement as advertised. It only has 2gb of RAM, which is frankly not enough these days, especially for normal computing tasks; a 10.8 in screen is really small, especially for day-to-day work; and, well, for a full-time student I'd personally want something closer to a laptop, not a tablet. Plus, you have to buy the keyboard separately, which is over $100. The Surface PRO 3 on the other hand is very much a laptop replacement in terms of hardware. However, what you're getting for your money isn't a great value -- you can get a more powerful laptop for the same price (same dilemma in buying an Apple product vs. a PC). So I think if you want a more useful tablet, the Surface 3 is good. If you want a laptop with tablet functionality, you should go with the Pro version.
victorydance Posted May 7, 2015 Posted May 7, 2015 (edited) Haha, I am pretty sure Windows 8 + Chrome drains over 2 GB of RAM on my computer. Edited May 7, 2015 by victorydance
eeee1923 Posted May 7, 2015 Posted May 7, 2015 ^ true - Chrome tends to eat up RAM regardless of the platform its run on
GeoDUDE! Posted May 7, 2015 Posted May 7, 2015 Chrome also kills your laptop battery (draining more means more recharging means shorter lifespan)
Horb Posted May 7, 2015 Posted May 7, 2015 I ran safari up until a month or so ago. This explains why, once switching to chrome, everything seemed so much slower and my battery started draining quickly.
esotericish Posted May 7, 2015 Posted May 7, 2015 Yes, but if you have the RAM (~8gb is what I'd recommend for a new computer purchase these days) Chrome is still by far the fastest browser. victorydance and JML 1 1
Horb Posted May 7, 2015 Posted May 7, 2015 Yeah, mine only has 4. Everyone always told me Chrome was faster, but I found safari was for my mac, most likely bc of the RAM I guess.
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