Selecting a laptop for my bride.....soo confusing for us numpties

[weeds]

The bride has signed up to study at uni and needs a new laptop

The uni has indicated the following

- run the adobe suite
- window 8.1
- graphics card for digital design
- min 8gb ram

Window 8 check
8gb ram check

Graphic card is where it's all gets confusing

Option 1 Nvidia GT750n
Option 2 Radeon XT HD8970
Option 3 Nvidia GT 750M

What does say 4GB dedicated VGA mean?? Some have 4GB others have 2GB

CPU
Tow machines are running intel 4th generation 2.4GHz and 2GHz the other one runs AMD Richland Quad Core 2.5GHz........are these all similar??

[Ranga]

The bride has signed up to study at uni and needs a new laptop

The uni has indicated the following

- run the adobe suite
- window 8.1
- graphics card for digital design
- min 8gb ram

Window 8 check
8gb ram check

Graphic card is where it's all gets confusing

Option 1 Nvidia GT750n
Option 2 Radeon XT HD8970
Option 3 Nvidia GT 750M

What does say 4GB dedicated VGA mean?? Some have 4GB others have 2GB

CPU
Tow machines are running intel 4th generation 2.4GHz and 2GHz the other one runs AMD Richland Quad Core 2.5GHz........are these all similar??
What time do you leave tomorrow morning? I'm working around the corner and could call in.

[WhiteD3]

Kelvin,

Andy starts at Uni next year (time flies :( ) and I'm tasked with getting him an Ultrabook. Dell seem to be doing good deals on the XPS 13 and they get a good write up.

[weeds]

Thanks guys........

Ranga gotta be out if here 7:20 ish

Kinda settled on the Acer Aspire V3

Re dell, how does the video card compare???

[WhiteD3]

Re dell, how does the video card compare???

Intel® HD Graphics 4400

XPS 13 Ultrabook with Optional Touch Screen Details | Dell Australia (http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-13-9333/fs)

The Asus UX31A looks very good but at ~$1600 is a bit out of my range.

The Acer V3 is 3.2 KG and has a run time of 2.5 hours. Do you think that'll work for uni? Its these two attributes that are pointing me to Ultrabooks (for a uni student). The XPS and Zen are < 1.5 KG and have a runtime ~ 8 hours.

[woody]

Have a chat with the people at Computer Alliance, Mt Gravatt. I've purchased most of my laptops from them in the past. My current machine is almost 3 years old is is still keeping up with my uni work.
They have a good range on show and better product knowledge than the large department stores.
Computer Alliance - Brisbane's leading IT Retailer (http://www.computeralliance.com.au/)

woody

[woody]

The Asus UX31A looks very good but at ~$1600 is a bit out of my range.



$1295 at Computer Alliance
ASUS UX31A-C4033P 13.3" Core i5 Windows 8 Pro Ultrabook with Touch | Computer Alliance (http://www.computeralliance.com.au/asus-ux31a-c4033p-13.3-core-i5-windows-8-pro-ultrabook-with-touch)

woody

[MarknDeb]

Gday weeds, mate stay away from Acer they do not have a very good rep, a couple of PC shop owners I know will not even stock them as warranty claims are to high with them, pick from either Asus, samsung or Toshiba for main stream , high end sony. Dedicated means the graphic has its own men shared shares with main men in laptop

Sent from my AMID-9743G using AULRO mobile app

[incisor]

Gray weeds, mate stay away from Acer they do not have a very good rep, a couple of PC shop owners I know will not even stock them as warranty claims are to high with them, pick from either Asus, samsung or Toshiba for main stream , high end sony. Dedicated means the graphic has its own men shared shares with main men in laptop

Sent from my AMID-9743G using AULRO mobile app

all brands have bad models acer are no better no worse than either asus or toshiba generally speaking...

acer have very good warranty support, generally speaking as well.

[Dizza]

...The Acer V3 is 3.2 KG and has a run time of 2.5 hours. Do you think that'll work for uni? Its these two attributes that are pointing me to Ultrabooks (for a uni student). The XPS and Zen are < 1.5 KG and have a runtime ~ 8 hours.

I tend to do fine with only 3hrs run time on my uni laptop. I am studying design though so my laptop is more powerful than your average ultrabook and i am able to plug it in during most classes.


Gday weeds, mate stay away from Acer they do not have a very good rep...

Everything has a bad rep if you ask the right (or wrong) people. I have found ACER (I work at a computer retailer) to be as good as anyone else regarding warranty claims.

Easiest way to buy a laptop i think is to set yourself a price bracket (say 750-950 for example) and compare strictly those that fit into that bracket.
Choose your favourite and shop around for the best price. (get people like office works to price match to save an extra 5% or so)

[simonmelb]

Hi Kelvin

The older model MacBook Pro is now very good value with education pricing:

Configure - Apple Store for Education (Australia) (http://store.apple.com/au-hed/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MD101X/A&step=config)

It will run windows natively just like a normal windows laptop, and of course Mac OSX.

Uses normal SATA internal drives and nromal memory so easily upgradable - eg add a Solid State Drive.

Happy shopping!

Cheers
Simon