grandmaster
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2006
- Messages
- 168
For four years I've been using a Dell XPS M1330, and I've made a number of upgrades - CPU upgrade from 1.5GHz dual core to a 2.1GHz dual core, 512MB to 4GB and I've ripped out the optical drive to add a 500GB mechnical drive and put a 256GB SSD into the main HDD slot. The screen on this thing is miles better than most of the TN rubbish I see.
But it's getting old and after an ultrabook loan, I feel a change is in order. Even the 1.6GHz Core i5 ULV annihilated Windows perf of my system. QuickSync decoding from the Sandy Bridge CPU meant I got at least four hours watching video from the Acer Timeline Ultra M3 I borrowed. Battery life was revelatory in comparison.
My laptop gets really hot in the summer and battery life of three hours (1.5 to 1.75 watching 720p vids) is annoying. This thing has an 8400GS in there running at 60 degrees celcius - and it's basically not doing anything aside from running a 2D display.
The thing is, I can't find an ultrabook that gives me everything I want:
* OS running completely from SSD
* Space for mechanical HDD
* 6-8 hour battery life (4+ hours h.264 video)
* Good quality 13.3" screen
* Backlit keyboard
* USB 3.0 port
* No discrete GPU - don't need it
Any recommendations? It's the SSD+HDD combo that seems to trip up most of the ultrabook contenders I've seen. The Acer let me do that, but it's a 15-inch monster with poor screen, no backlit keyboard etc.
But it's getting old and after an ultrabook loan, I feel a change is in order. Even the 1.6GHz Core i5 ULV annihilated Windows perf of my system. QuickSync decoding from the Sandy Bridge CPU meant I got at least four hours watching video from the Acer Timeline Ultra M3 I borrowed. Battery life was revelatory in comparison.
My laptop gets really hot in the summer and battery life of three hours (1.5 to 1.75 watching 720p vids) is annoying. This thing has an 8400GS in there running at 60 degrees celcius - and it's basically not doing anything aside from running a 2D display.
The thing is, I can't find an ultrabook that gives me everything I want:
* OS running completely from SSD
* Space for mechanical HDD
* 6-8 hour battery life (4+ hours h.264 video)
* Good quality 13.3" screen
* Backlit keyboard
* USB 3.0 port
* No discrete GPU - don't need it
Any recommendations? It's the SSD+HDD combo that seems to trip up most of the ultrabook contenders I've seen. The Acer let me do that, but it's a 15-inch monster with poor screen, no backlit keyboard etc.