Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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Bird I'm seeing atm is after a new Ultrabook , following spec:
£800 max. budget (but could stretch if abs necy)
Must be Windows
To be used for:
Microsoft Office
Internetting
Streaming TV and music
As light as poss as she broke her back last year and doesnt want to lug around anythign too heavy
Whatve you got for me CS?
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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a) cant believe you're dating a girl who doesnt mac up
b) take a look at levono, they're pretty decent
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Russ
a) cant believe you're dating a girl who doesnt mac up
You can run Windows natively on a Mac.
You can't buy a Macbook new for £800 though, unless you get a refurbished one:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FD760B/A/refurbished-133-inch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
(with the exception of my most recent Macbook Air, historically I've always bought my Macs refurbed - you still get 1yr Apple Warranty, and the outer casings are brand new, they just recycle the innards from customer returns or whatever - the only difference is it comes in a plain brown box instead of a fancy white one)
Bear in mind you'd have to factor in the cost of a Windows license on top if you don't have one knocking about already.
In terms of build quality, battery life, trackpad etc.- you'd be hard pressed to buy a better ultrabook, tbh. (unless a touchscreen is a must, in which case it's game over for Apple at the moment).
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by evilrob]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Has she specified a screen size? An 11" would be lighter, and while you or I would consider this size impractical, it's "cute" to them generally I've found.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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New Dell Inspiron 14 7000 (similar weight to a MBP), otherwise Lenovo Ideapad/Yogo.
Rob - Even if you put aside the ~£100 needed for a Window license, 128GB is pretty damn small if you're planning to dual-boot.
Personally i wouldn't even be entertaining the idea of a MB* considering the budget and requirements.
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by Dom]
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FD711B/A/refurbished-116-inch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
Can run windows, Office, internet streaming.
Really nice and light and portable and warranty
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Rob - Even if you put aside the ~£100 needed for a Window license, 128GB is pretty damn small if you're planning to dual-boot.
She's not looking to dual-boot though is she? And it'll be used for Office, internetting and streaming media (I assume iPlayer, Netflix, Spotify whatever), so won't be clogged up with HD films.
quote:
Originally posted by Robbo
Must be Windows
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by evilrob]
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Buying a mac and sticking windows on it for a non geek is a terrible solution to the original question.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Rob - Even if you put aside the ~£100 needed for a Window license, 128GB is pretty damn small if you're planning to dual-boot.
She's not looking to dual-boot though is she?
Ok, replacing OSX with Windows. Either way, it's an overcomplicated solution to Robbo's spec.
Edit - What John said 
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by Dom]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
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quote:
Originally posted by John
Buying a mac and sticking windows on it for a non geek is a terrible solution to the original question.
It's no harder to install Windows on a Mac than it is to install on any other PC - Macs, being as they are, just nicely engineered and arguably expensive PCs. (I say this having sat around waiting for 4 hours while the Surface Pro that arrived this morning updated itself to 8.1)
It's all very well criticising someone else's suggestion - you're entitled to your opinion - but how about putting some effort in and finding some 'better' options?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Edit - What John said
You and John are a pair of cunts, but at least you bothered to suggest something.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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I'd just buy the smallest best specced Dell with 3 year warranty that I could get for the money.
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Balling
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Registered: 7th Apr 04
Location: Denmark
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We have some Lenovo MBP-replica at work which sells quite well, think it's an IdeaPad. About £400 IIRC.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
You and John are a pair of cunts.....
Pair of cunts for suggesting Window laptops to a user that's wanting a Windows laptop..... righto 
On another note, wants the Warranty situation regarding destroying any OSX partition and only having Windows (which would be the 'sensible' solution when you're stuck with a piddly 128GB drive)?
You'd obviously lose the ability to update firmware etc but it'd interesting to know if Apple would fix a fault if the system didn't contain OSX.....
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by Dom]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
You and John are a pair of cunts.....
Pair of cunts for suggesting Window laptops to a user that's wanting a Windows laptop..... righto
No, you're a pair of cunts for immediately assuming that I hadn't thought it through (not least because John still hasn't put forward an actual suggestion other than that he would "buy a Dell with three year warranty").
I'd actually put a lot of thought into it and reviewed a number of options before coming to the conclusion that you can't buy a better Ultrabook, all things considered, for around the £800 mark. As you know I'm currently transitioning away from Apple to an all-Microsoft-based setup; so I'm not exactly biased towards Apple in any way.
I'm not saying you *can't* buy a like-for-like Ultrabook from a manufacturer other than Apple - just that I couldn't find one, particularly in the areas of weight and battery life, and I checked out a good few:
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/best-ultrabook-18-top-thin-and-lights-1054355
http://www.laptopmag.com/ultrabooks/default.aspx
http://www.t3.com/features/best-ultrabooks/
From what I gather, the OP's primary requirement is that it be light and run Windows, around £800.
Is a Macbook Air light? Yes.
Can it run Windows? Yes.
Can one be had for around £800? Yes.
That Dell (whilst clearly a lovely bit of kit) weighs 30% more than a Macbook Air (1.76kg vs. 1.35kg). Laptops from manufacturers other than Apple of comparable dimensions, weight, battery life and build quality cost a lot more - Acer Aspire S7, for example.
It was for that reason, and that reason alone I suggested a MBA.
I don't consider installing Windows to be a complication - I would do a clean install anyway upon receiving a new laptop to do away with crapware. (although I admit I didn't with the Surface Pro today because I couldn't be arsed - I thought it would be quicker/easier to just do the updates out of the box and be done with it; how wrong I was).
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
On another note, wants the Warranty situation regarding destroying any OSX partition and only having Windows (which would be the 'sensible' solution when you're stuck with a piddly 128GB drive)?
You'd obviously lose the ability to update firmware etc but it'd interesting to know if Apple would fix a fault if the system didn't contain OSX.....
They provide drivers so you can do exactly this - it doesn't void your hardware warranty. You're thinking of that story a few years back with Acer, where a guy installed Linux on his brand new Acer laptop and they refused to repair/replace his faulty hinge assembly because he'd deviated from the standard setup.
As for firmware updates you can't have it both ways - one minute you're saying it's a complicated solution for a non-geek, then you're suggesting a potential problem with something a non-geek probably wouldn't ever do FFS!
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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I can't be arsed reading the rest of your massive post but I'd literally go on ebay and find the best 'refurbished' as new Dell, with 3 year warranty, that I liked the look of. Literally, it's exactly what I do when asked that exact question.
I don't suggest giving myself more hassle by purchasing an expensive Mac, to then waste my time putting windows on it, to then support it forever and a day.
TL;DR,
quote:
Originally posted by John
I'd just buy the smallest best specced Dell with 3 year warranty that I could get for the money.
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Fair enough - that's a perfectly valid suggestion. Would certainly be cheaper and easier than my approach.
I looked at this on the basis of finding the lightest possible laptop within budget, but it is maxing out the budget, and it's not as straighfoward as opening the box and plugging it in.
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by evilrob]
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
That Dell (whilst clearly a lovely bit of kit) weighs 30% more...
Might weigh an extra 450g but it's £150 cheaper (or £250 if you include the cost of a Windows license you'd need when using a Mac) and vastly better spec'd all round.
As Kevin Bacon would say, "it's a no brainer!" 
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
That Dell (whilst clearly a lovely bit of kit) weighs 30% more...
Might weigh an extra 450g but it's £150 cheaper (or £250 if you include the cost of a Windows license you'd need when using a Mac) and vastly better spec'd all round.
As Kevin Bacon would say, "it's a no brainer!"
I was with you up until the Kevin Bacon bit - he's a bigger cunt than you, me AND John combined.
Also that Inspiron is not "vastly better spec'd", I would say comparable in terms of performance but clearly better value for money:
Processor - draw (MBA has lower standard clock speed but better power consumption for similar performance, and can boost to the same 2.6ghz as the Dell if required):
1.6ghz 4200U vs 1.3ghz 4250U Processor
RAM - you get a bit more in the Dell but the MBA uses the newer, more power-efficient standard - draw (because you don't need 6gb RAM for browsing Very.co.uk and writing an e-mail to your mum):
6gb 1600mhz DDR3L vs 4Gb 1600mhz LPDDR3
Graphics - clear win for MBA:
Intel 4400 vs Intel 5000 (Iris)
Hard drive - clear win for the Dell (it may be slower than a 100% SSD solution, but 500gig is 500gig):
500gb 5400rpm/32gb SATA/SSD Hybrid drive vs 128gb SSD
Screen resolution/pixel density - win for the MBA:
14" 1366 x 768 vs 13.3" 1440x900
Screen size - win for the Dell (even if it only serves to make it's lower pixel density more apparent):
14" LED backlit vs 13.3" LED backlit
Touchscreen - no contest, Dell all the way:
Yes vs No
Wireless - MBA for the win:
802.11n + Bluetooth 4.0 vs 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0
Weight - MBA wins:
1.76kg vs 1.35kg
Manufacturer's alleged battery life under 'normal use' - MBA wins:
9 hours vs. 12 hours
Looks - draw:
Pretty badass vs Pretty badass
Price - Dell wins, no question:
£649 brand new - £799 refurbished
Faff - Dell wins:
Works out of the box vs. Need to fuck about with it to get it to run Windows
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by evilrob]
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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Good summary although ...
quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
Hard drive - clear win for the Dell (it may be slower than a 100% SSD solution, but 500gig is 500gig):
500gb 5400rpm/32gb SATA/SSD Hybrid drive vs 128gb SSD
I suspect there would be a a fair old performance difference between the PCIe SSD in the Macbook to the hybrid drive (which are great if you need space)
A quick disk IMO is one of the key ways to get a snappy responsive OS now. Probably has the biggest impact now with even basic CPUs being very powerful for the normal jobs
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
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If it were the hybrid vs 256gb SSD I'd have declared it a draw. It's just too big a gap to sensibly rate speed over capacity; especially as SSDs performance drops significantly the closer to full capacity you get and 128gb is a pretty shit amount of space, tbf. Having said that - I just got a Surface Pro 128Gb, onto which I have installed today:
Windows 8.1 Pro (and all updates),
Office Pro 2013 (all of it - Outlook, Excel, Word, OneNote, Powerpoint, Access etc.),
Visio Standard 2013,
Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC,
Sublime Text 2,
A WAMP stack,
1Password,
Google Chrome,
Spotify (including some offline playlists),
Bitdefender Total Security,
CCleaner,
and a bunch of 'Modern UI' apps - Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Skype etc.
... and I still have 82.7Gb useable space.
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by evilrob]
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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Applications aren't really a massive space user. its normally the Photos, Music and Videos that will fill up a disk.
You would need some serious bloatware to fill 128GB with just OS and Apps
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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quote:
Originally posted by Russ
a) cant believe you're dating a girl who doesnt mac up
b) take a look at levono, they're pretty decent
tell me about it :\
in all seriousness, reason i said must be windows (she didnt, tho is nervous about swapping to OSX) is purely on cost becuase she ideally doesnt want to spend more than £800... a (brand new) MBA is >£1k then she would need Windows licence and Office licence, plus with the whole storgae debacle id make sure she goes for 256GB so we'd be talking nearly double her ideal spend.
Probs talking 13" as she wants to use it 50% for streaming/watchign stuff and i think she can acxcomodate the slight addtl weigjht of a 13" over an 11"
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
New Dell Inspiron 14 7000 (similar weight to a MBP), otherwise Lenovo Ideapad/Yogo.
Rob - Even if you put aside the ~£100 needed for a Window license, 128GB is pretty damn small if you're planning to dual-boot.
Personally i wouldn't even be entertaining the idea of a MB* considering the budget and requirements.
[Edited on 06-03-2014 by Dom]
considering the debacles ive had with stroage...
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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cheers for all the suggestions lads, wil llook at the refurbed MBAs but most likely a no, will aslo have a look at the Dells and Lenovos 
Sony's are a def no no right?
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