Lightweight laptop

travikk · 27 Jun 2012 at 14:01

Hi guys!

Im in need to find a ultra lightweight laptop, preferebly around 13''.
Im looking for i7 platform, 128gb+ sdd, 4gb+ ram.

What would you suggest me buying?
I'm going to use the machine mostly for coding [i'm software engineer] but also for gaming. It has to be ultra light since I'm gonna carry it around all the time most probably.
Quality of the product is also important for me.

Anything comes up to your mind, which would be sufficient for me?

Quango-uk · 27 Jun 2012 at 20:59

Google mirage 13.3

travikk · 27 Jun 2012 at 22:02

It weighs 2 kilos.
I've been thinking about Sony VAIO Z Series. What do you think about that one?

Quango-uk · 1 Jul 2012 at 14:59

Nice machine but it has Intel graphics

its going to be hard to get it really light if you want it for gaming as well.

The Sony S series has a 13.3inch that can be configured with a nvida 640m 1gig graphics card but that weighs 1.6k roughly

The lightest gaming laptop I owned was an 11inch asus intel atom net-book with nvida graphics, that weighed 1kilo. but I could play star war galaxies on it.

yer_averagejoe · 1 Jul 2012 at 15:05

Sony vaio s13 premium.1.6kg and very capable. Fit it with a crucial m4 yourself (its what i have done)

Woden · 1 Jul 2012 at 15:06

macBook Air?

T345 · 1 Jul 2012 at 15:32

Dare I say it, macbook air...
Never thought I would say that!

Disco Boy · 1 Jul 2012 at 15:36

No ultrabook will meet your requirement for gaming. That aside, find yourself a review of different ultrabooks and pick the one you like.

Amp34 · 1 Jul 2012 at 16:34

What sort of gaming do you want to do?

The Z series is a stunning machine and if you would be gaming at a desk on it then the dock you buy with it has a separate GFX card in.

The other options are the Samsung Series 9, Asus UX31 or Macbook Air. There is also the Asus UX32VD that has a dedicated GFX card in and is basically the same as the UX31.

Domo · 2 Jul 2012 at 12:39

I'm in the same boat. Looking for a replacement for my old Toshiba Tecra.

Right now it's a 2 horse race - the Z series or the high-end Macbook Air.

Z Series
Pros
Proper IB quad core i7 (not ULV)
Full 1920 x 1080 HD display
The dock thing is cool providing you can provide the additional $$$

Cons
Expensive
Poor customer care (after sales of course!)
Prone to breakage - particulary the SSD

Macbook Air
Pros
If you can addord it, 8GB RAM + IB i7 CPU

Cons
Screen is only 1440 x 900
i7 gets hot
It runs IOS which some may find limiting

Right now I'm heading toward the MBA. I'm not too far from the Apple Store in Regent Street so will pop along to take a closer look!

Purgatory · 2 Jul 2012 at 12:59

Asus Zenbooks are great and built to last too, a friend has one and i'm really thinking about getting one too maybe the larger screen version though for work and carrying it about, my gaming laptop is not for carrying around to work, way too heavy.

ASUS ZENBOOK UX31E

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX31E/#specifications

ASUS ZENBOOK UX32VD (this would be perfect for light gaming too)

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX32VD/#specifications

Amp34 · 3 Jul 2012 at 16:37

Domo said:
I'm in the same boat. Looking for a replacement for my old Toshiba Tecra.

Right now it's a 2 horse race - the Z series or the high-end Macbook Air.

Z Series
Pros
Proper IB quad core i7 (not ULV)
Full 1920 x 1080 HD display
The dock thing is cool providing you can provide the additional $$$

Cons
Expensive
Poor customer care (after sales of course!)
Prone to breakage - particulary the SSD

Macbook Air
Pros
If you can addord it, 8GB RAM + IB i7 CPU

Cons
Screen is only 1440 x 900
i7 gets hot
It runs IOS which some may find limiting

Right now I'm heading toward the MBA. I'm not too far from the Apple Store in Regent Street so will pop along to take a closer look!

I had the same debate myself and ended up with the MBA in the end, even after a $200 discount the guy in the Sony shop offered me... Mostly because the MBA had international warranty and i was buying it in NA but also because the z outer coating (the CF) didn't seem quite as durable and because the Z apparently gets quite noisy when run hard. In the end it turns out the aluminium on the Air isn't as strong as you may think but it is a very tough decision...

Fallen god · 3 Jul 2012 at 21:21

yer_averagejoe said:
Sony vaio s13 premium.1.6kg and very capable. Fit it with a crucial m4 yourself (its what i have done)

This or a macbook air, the air tends to be rather hot and very loud under load, not to sure about the s13.

Agent_Smith357 · 3 Jul 2012 at 21:37

Check out the Thinkpad X Series, most of them still use the magnesium chassis? Very durable.

Domo · 3 Jul 2012 at 23:35

Agent_Smith357 said:
Check out the Thinkpad X Series, most of them still use the magnesium chassis? Very durable.

The X1's not Ivy Bridge yet, so no HD4000 gfx + screen res is only 1366 x 768. The laptop I'm issued at one of my clients is a Lenovo and I don't rate them much.

I went to the Apple store in Regent Street today and now I'm deciding between the Air 11" and 13" - previously not realising the 11" also has the optional i7 and 8GB RAM. Screen real estate might be a bit too small.

Interestingly they also strongly advised I use bootcamp to run Win7 (for dev work) as opposed to VM. They suggested this after first recommending I purchase a MacBook Pro (one of the older ones at that - with additional emphasis on the possibility to upgrade in-store in the future).

I declined the offer!