Post: #1

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, but powerful ultrabook for travel? Currently I have a laptop that is between 3.25 and 4.5cm in height and it takes up a lot of space along with it's gigantic adapter; and is always a pain getting it out and jamming it back during airport screening.

Ideally would like:

- silent
- something with a GPU, nothing powerful, but if integrated ones fail then it's essentially curtains for the system
- something that will take a 2.5" 2TB SSD and hopefully another data drive
- 16GB RAM
- i7
- slimline
- silent
- approx 15" screen
- small adapter

Post: #2

Microsoft Surface Book.

Hands down unmatched. The light weight and touchscreen alone is legendary level.

The gpu inside the base is strong enough for anything other than high end gaming.

Only down side is the price possibly.

I have one and even bought my mother one because it is so strong.

Going into a corporate or board level meeting with one while others have stupid iPads is hilarious. They will be all over your ass about what it can do and be fuming about why IT support had not issued them one.

For travel it is even better.

Other brands of ultra books are full of bloat ware. Microsoft puts only their OS on them. That's it. You won't have a half full hard drive when you get one.

I could talk about these all day long. Let me know if you have any questions.

Post: #3

Asus S15 with an i7 or i5 , best bang for buck . just ordered one

Post: #4

Something guys never talk about is laptop weight. If you are the type of person that flies alot, carries more than one laptop, and flies through Muslim countries airports, you really want something light weight unless you have alot of muscle.

Nothing is more irritating than getting bogged down in security over a heavy laptop let alone two or three of them.

Your laptop backpack or bag alone matters when getting your boarding pass and some particular airline has very low weight limits for carryons.

Post: #5

I've had a perfectly good experience with the Dell XPS. Discrete video optional. Will buy again. Only issue has been the touchpad coming unseated and sticking up after about three years.

Would never buy a Samung notebook again. My old Series 9 was really light, but nothing but trouble and wretched slow repair service.

Post: #6

Problem with surface is it gets really hot if you do intensive graphic work. I have to have a usb fan aimed at the hot spot so it doesn't throttle down. Granted I have the 3rd version and maybe its improved since than.

Post: #7

had Surface before, and while it's indeed quite powerful and looks good, mine got a problem with display blinking, support was not helpful and was not able to fix it. Don't recommend.
Lenovo X1 carbon might be a more reliable option.

Post: #8

(02-14-2018 10:07 PM)kbell Wrote:  Problem with surface is it gets really hot if you do intensive graphic work. I have to have a usb fan aimed at the hot spot so it doesn't throttle down. Granted I have the 3rd version and maybe its improved since than.

True but if you need to do stuff like that you need a serious laptop or a gaming laptop not an ultrabook.

Post: #9

Dell XPS 13 if you don't need a larger screen

Post: #10

(02-15-2018 02:40 AM)Shimmy Wrote:  Dell XPS 13 if you don't need a larger screen

I would second this.

But I hate the keyboard with a passion.

Post: #11

Any Fujitsu fans here?
http://www.fujitsu.com/hk/products/compu...index.html

Post: #12

Xiaomi Mi Air Pro 15.6
- 16GB RAM
- i7-8550U (4 core)
- under 2kg
- Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB memory
- you can fit a second SSD
- only $1200 on Aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original...45950.html

I use a Xiaomi Mi Air 13 for almost a year now. Great machine. The i7 version also sells for $1200 now, it was 1000 when I ordered it last year.

Post: #13

(02-14-2018 06:19 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  Microsoft Surface Book.

Hands down unmatched. The light weight and touchscreen alone is legendary level.

The gpu inside the base is strong enough for anything other than high end gaming.

Only down side is the price possibly.

I have one and even bought my mother one because it is so strong.

Going into a corporate or board level meeting with one while others have stupid iPads is hilarious. They will be all over your ass about what it can do and be fuming about why IT support had not issued them one.

For travel it is even better.

Other brands of ultra books are full of bloat ware. Microsoft puts only their OS on them. That's it. You won't have a half full hard drive when you get one.

I could talk about these all day long. Let me know if you have any questions.

You don't have to be a geek to know that the first thing you should do when buying a new laptop is to format everything and re-install Windows.

I would go for Dell XPS 15. They are launching a 2-in-1 this year which looks amazing and comes with a new Intel CPU/AMD Graphics combination on one chip. Weights 2kg and is much smaller than other 15'' laptops due to slim bezels.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12252/del...m-graphics

Post: #14

I currently swear by ASUS. I need a laptop that can slip into my bag and weighs well under 1.5kg.

I love ASUS because their typical design includes a very sturdy hinge between the screen and the keyboard.

I've been using cheap ASUS laptops for a number of years and plan to buy an ultrabook during my next trip to Malaysia.

Post: #15

I second Suits and Cosworth's recommendations. Asus is killing it on all levels. Laptops, routers, etc. They are not just a motherboard and videocard company anymore. I have been buying Asus products for years. I have never had one fail on me hardware wise.

I always take a Asus router preconfigured with a VPN anywhere I go. I love it. It is so powerful signal wise and fits in the bag with my laptops.

Asus, MSI, Dell, and the Microsoft Surface Books (Notice I did not say Surface Pro) are all in my list of great laptops/ultrabooks. I would have added HP, but it can be really hit or miss with those.

Post: #16

My vote goes for the Surface Book, I got a Surface Pro issued at work while a colleague got the Book, the Book is way better.

It fits into your requirements of 15", Dedicated GPU, 16GB ram however it doesn't take more than 1TB as standard AFAIK but it's got USB-C and 3 so external shouldn't be an issue. The issue is price, it can hit $3,500 depending on how spec'd you want it, as a corporate laptop hell yeah, on the personal side, a bit expensive.

Post: #17

My pro was top of the line at the time and it 1900, which I thought was high. The problem that made me not use it as much as I would like was windows 8, which I never bothered to change since 10 was terrible when first introduced. Not sure if its better, and worthwhile upgrade. I would think they would be a target to be stolen though due to the high price tag, as opposed to a cheap chromebook.

It handled the work pretty well, at least it didn't start steaming and alarming like my first 17" laptop did. Granted I did character modelling in a clay studio.