Laptop advice - small but powerful

[rich1231]

I want a new lightweight reasonably powerful laptop.
Don't want a netbook.
13" screen should be ok

Have seen MBA's and think they look amazing but dont really want a turtlenck.. unless someone can sway me.

Dell Adamo's in the US have an ok spec but crap graphics chipset..

So what alternatives do I have?

Edited by rich1231 on Saturday 18th December 15:42

[Thorburn]

rich1231 said:

I want a new lightweight reasonably powerful laptop.
Don't want a netbook.
13" screen should be ok

Have seen MBA's and think they look amazing but dont really want a turtlenck.. unless someone can sway me.

Dell Adamo's in the US have an ok spec but crap graphics chipset..

So what alternatives do I have?

What you planning on using it for and what's the budget?

[bga]

The Lenovo X201 is a very nice piece kit though the screen may be a bit small for you at 12.1"

[Marf]

Lenovo do a range of 13" notebooks.

What sort of budget do you have?

[Rollin]

I've had a P Series Lifebook which has been totally reliable for the 3 years or so. Very easy to travel with.

[rich1231]

£1500 ish is fine

[dave328]

HP Envy?

[Marf]

Half that would buy you a decent 13" laptop. £1500 and you're talking mid range desktop replacement laptops.

Is a 13" screen really crucial? I have a Thinkpad T60p with a 15.4" WSXGA+ screen and the laptop itself is very thin and light compared to its competitors. Ultra reliable machines too. had a 14" T60 as my work laptop for 5 years, only thing that needed replacing was the battery.

[rich1231]

Needs to be small and light as its being taken travelling alot
And will likely have to carry another laptop alongside it so want is light for that reason.

[Marf]

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/gb...

Should do the job

[rich1231]

Processor is a bit weak on that though.

[Marf]

Are you going to be doing any number crunching, video editing, gaming, etc on it? Or will that be left to the more powerful machine you will be taking with you?

[Marf]

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/toshiba-satellit... 2.4ghz i3

[Altrezia]

I was in a similar situation, and went for a Macbook Pro 13". I don't like OSX, but the trackpad more than makes up for the dodgy UI. The batteries are second to none in Mac laptops too

You can also run bootcamp on them, and run windows, if you so desire.

[TAHodgson]

Altrezia said:

I was in a similar situation, and went for a Macbook Pro 13". I don't like OSX, but the trackpad more than makes up for the dodgy UI. The batteries are second to none in Mac laptops too

You can also run bootcamp on them, and run windows, if you so desire.

+1

[AAT1981]

Marf said:

Lenovo do a range of 13" notebooks.

What sort of budget do you have?

+1 FOR LENOVO

[Moreymach]

Have you considered the Alienware M11x ?

It's sort of halfway between net book and small laptop size, very solid and you can spec it to quite a high level.

I've got an i7 powered one and and to my mind its stonkingly quick and while quite small it's still big enough yo be productive on.

[rich1231]

Moreymach said:

Have you considered the Alienware M11x ?

It's sort of halfway between net book and small laptop size, very solid and you can spec it to quite a high level.

I've got an i7 powered one and and to my mind its stonkingly quick and while quite small it's still big enough yo be productive on.

Are the M11x only powered by the UL processors?

[Thorburn]

rich1231 said:

Moreymach said:

Have you considered the Alienware M11x ?

It's sort of halfway between net book and small laptop size, very solid and you can spec it to quite a high level.

I've got an i7 powered one and and to my mind its stonkingly quick and while quite small it's still big enough yo be productive on.

Are the M11x only powered by the UL processors?

Get it with the i5 or i7. Quite a bit quicker than the Core 2 based CULV parts thanks to Turbo mode.

SSD option on it is a ridiculous price, so buy one separately and put it in yourself. Machine is very easy to work with as the whole of the underside can be removed.

Edited by Thorburn on Sunday 19th December 12:12

[Moreymach]

rich1231 said:

Are the M11x only powered by the UL processors?

The i5 is I think 1.05 and the i7 1.2 iirc but you can over clock them up to 1.6 or so from the bios.

Also worth noting the i7 isnt the full fat quad core but the dual core 640UM. Seems more than adequate for my usage though.

As said the SSD option is hugely expensive, I may upgrade to one when the price comes down a bit and I imagine it would really fly then.

I didnt buy from Dell but got a refurbished one from a firm called UK Laptops for hundreds less.