New Laptop advice

[PaulST]

Hi all,
I'm looking to replace my current laptop (which is making rather worrying sounds) and am keen to hear what you all suggest.
I'm looking at a reasonably premium-end laptop (~$1600-2300) which I use mostly to play with photos and video (which I take).
I'd prefer something on the thinner and smaller end of things (my current laptop has a 11 inch screen which is a perfect size for me).
Ideally a Core i7 processor.
Ideally a SDD 256gb or more.

I spotted this at JB HIFI earlier today: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro | 13.3" Laptop Tablet | Lenovo Australia

What do you think about that and is there anything else similar on the market?

Thanks!!

 

[OATEK]

Hi all,
I'm looking to replace my current laptop (which is making rather worrying sounds) and am keen to hear what you all suggest.
I'm looking at a reasonably premium-end laptop (~$1600-2300) which I use mostly to play with photos and video (which I take).
I'd prefer something on the thinner and smaller end of things (my current laptop has a 11 inch screen which is a perfect size for me).
Ideally a Core i7 processor.
Ideally a SDD 256gb or more.

I spotted this at JB HIFI earlier today: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro | 13.3" Laptop Tablet | Lenovo Australia

What do you think about that and is there anything else similar on the market?

Thanks!!

I have been doing the same, thinking about a replacement for my Ultrabook.

As they generally come with Win 8.1 now, think about whether you want one that supports touch-screen (eg like a Surface) - I think the Toshiba Kira seems to be designed for this.

Some very compact 13" LTs out there now - saw an interesting Samsung the other day.

Don't go for less than 256 Gb SSD - and remember, many say that the SSD drives have a more limited life than traditional drives, so a good backup device provides some assurance.

 

[Hvr]

Am following this thread with interest. Will need a new laptop before my travel early next year. Prefer something in the 11" range with fast speeds and ability to handle video watching and photo processing with at least 2 USB 3 ports and a HDMI outlet.

 

[DC3]

I need a replacement for my 13" laptop, but I think that an 11" screen may be too small for me. I've looked into an i-pad, but I'm not sure how I would go with the screen size or the on-screen keyboard. Also looked at MacBook Air. I actually prefer Windows though. Still looking around.

It's just for surfing the web and emails, plus some photo storage.

 

[hummel]

I posted in a similar thread a while ago....ended up with macbook air 13"

Haven't looked back.

 

[Buzzard]

I have been doing the same, thinking about a replacement for my Ultrabook.

As they generally come with Win 8.1 now, think about whether you want one that supports touch-screen (eg like a Surface) - I think the Toshiba Kira seems to be designed for this.

Some very compact 13" LTs out there now - saw an interesting Samsung the other day.

Don't go for less than 256 Gb SSD - and remember, many say that the SSD drives have a more limited life than traditional drives, so a good backup device provides some assurance.

My SIL recently purchased the Yoga and loves it. His only complaint is he wanted an orange one but got a silver.

 

[markis10]

I posted in a similar thread a while ago....ended up with macbook air 13"

Haven't looked back.

Great value as a refurb from apple $970

 

[kamchatsky]

I just bought a Macbook Pro Retina 13" earlier this week from Dick Smith when they had 14% off online purchases. So far it is looking good, nice and sleek and light. I just got turned off by Windows 8 interface so I went with a Mac this time.

I am probably going to get Parallel or VMWare to run any windows programs that I cannot run on Mac natively.

 

[RooFlyer]

Unfortunately I can't recommend my beloved current Sony (out of the laptop game now) but 6 months ago as a backup laptop I got a Toshiba Portege R30.Ticks most of your boxes (and a few more) but is a bit more on the $$ side.

Edit: Shipped with Windows 7 :mrgreen:

 

[The Rok]

I too bought the 13" MacBook Pro, only I bought it at DJ's on price match to Dick Smith, for 4 points per dollar.

Couldn't be happier with the laptop. Exceptional speed and performance, and being an Apple, build quality and appearance are exceptional.

 

[Fantic125]

.... I just got turned off by Windows 8 interface so I went with a Mac this time.

I just installed Windows 8.1 onto my (oldish) Lenovo X300 after running Ubuntu on it for a few years. (Very happy with Ubuntu but needed to run a few Windows-based programs that Wine emulator couldn't cope with).

I've found the 8.1 system allows you to use both the 'standard' Windows desktop and the Windows 8 Start Screen and it is easy to flip between the two, so now I wouldn't count a Windows-based laptop out without at least trying it.

 

[Buzzard]

I just installed Windows 8.1 onto my (oldish) Lenovo X300 after running Ubuntu on it for a few years. (Very happy with Ubuntu but needed to run a few Windows-based programs that Wine emulator couldn't cope with).

I've found the 8.1 system allows you to use both the 'standard' Windows desktop and the Windows 8 Start Screen and it is easy to flip between the two, so now I wouldn't count a Windows-based laptop out without at least trying it.

On my Windows 8.1 laptop I installed a program called Start8! which might be worth a look by those who do not like 8.1

 

[JessicaTam]

Hi all,
I'm looking to replace my current laptop (which is making rather worrying sounds) and am keen to hear what you all suggest.
I'm looking at a reasonably premium-end laptop (~$1600-2300) which I use mostly to play with photos and video (which I take).
I'd prefer something on the thinner and smaller end of things (my current laptop has a 11 inch screen which is a perfect size for me).
Ideally a Core i7 processor.
Ideally a SDD 256gb or more.

I spotted this at JB HIFI earlier today: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro | 13.3" Laptop Tablet | Lenovo Australia

What do you think about that and is there anything else similar on the market?

Thanks!!

Mac Book Air.

That is all.

 

[Warks]

For someone who was weaned on Macs but then was lost to them during the 90s I've found the Mac OS horribly annoying and unintuitive when I use it. Which is odd as Mac was always the most intuitive of operating systems. Probably just me getting older and corrupted by the general coughpiness of Microsoft.

Windows 8 sucks somewhat but 8.1 has fixed a few bugs. The problem was they designed it as a touch screen system even though the majority of computers are not touch screens.

But back on laptops I've found my Toshiba Satellite Ultrabook I bought a year or so back to be the duck's guts. The only negative has been Windows 8. The thin, light design is a delight for travel though. The only weakness is that the screen fits perfecting into the recess of the tray table so if someone drops their seat in your lap (inconsiderate cough!) your screen will be destroyed. It always worries me so I position the screen so it isn't in that recess.

 

[moa999]

Unfortunately I can't recommend my beloved current Sony (out of the laptop game now) but 6 months ago as a backup laptop I got a Toshiba Portege R30.Ticks most of your boxes (and a few more) but is a bit more on the $$ side.

Edit: Shipped with Windows 7 :mrgreen:

Silightly cheaper than the Portege R30 is the Satellite Z30, which is the next model in the Satellite 830/930 - they are rock solid laptops and one of the few ultrabooks with a proper RJ45 port in them (important for many in an office environment).
Albeit only comes with i5 and 128 GB SSD.

The step-up model the Kira, is i7, bigger SSD and better screen resolution

 

[opusman]

My travel devices are currently a Mac Book Air (running Windows via Bootcamp) and a Surface Pro 3.

To be honest I prefer the Mac Book on the whole, it feels lighter and the keyboard is better than the Surface's type cover. However The Surface has the advantage of a touch screen and the display is nicer to look at. The Surface also seems marginally faster although this is pretty subjective.

 

[djfuzz]

Since OP mentioned the Lenovo Yoga, I'd be curious if anyone has any comparative experience between it and a SP3?

Don't get me wrong, I'm an OS X / iOS person all the way, but I am intrigued by what the possibilities of such devices may be.

 

[PaulST]

Thanks for the replies.
The Toshiba Kira looks good but the lack of a ~500gb ssd is a disadvantage, especially when compared with the Yoga.

The macbook air is almost perfect minus the Apple OS which Im not greatly familiar with.

 

[opusman]

The macbook air is almost perfect minus the Apple OS which Im not greatly familiar with.

It's easy to install Windows using Bootcamp, you just need a copy of Windows and half an hour or so. My MacBook never boots into MacOS.

 

[hummel]

Thanks for the replies.
The Toshiba Kira looks good but the lack of a ~500gb ssd is a disadvantage, especially when compared with the Yoga.

The macbook air is almost perfect minus the Apple OS which Im not greatly familiar with.

Do you use any Windows specific programs at all? I was concerned about the same thing coming from 10yrs on windows. It took me 2 weeks to be comfortably productive.

If.ylurnkust using MS office then no problems at all.