Looking for ultra portable 11" laptop with haswell/HD5000 or better video

E

evanesce

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
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190
Was looking into the new Macbook Air 11" line, but they seem so overpriced when you start doing things like upgrading RAM or CPU or SSD from base and the price for the build I want is getting crazy expensive.

Any other ultra portable Macbook air "clones" out there with reasonable comparison to the great capability of that new haswell HD5000 video chip?

Thanks!
 
What exactly are you looking to do with the laptop? I've been eye balling the new macs just due to the processor like you are. I have no idea when we will see Windows laptops with that processor either.

If it helps Best Buy is having $100 off all macbooks. So if you don't have tax in your state or one nearby you could get the 256GB 11 inch MBA w/o the i7/8GB for $1,000. Though I think you need to be a student for this.
 
That deal seems to be expired. I can get 50$ off Apple direct however using student site.
 
I'm in a similar situation. I'd like to have something within the next 5 weeks. The Sony Vaio Pro 11 is my favorite so far, but was hoping for something with the 5000 over the 4400.
 
As far as MBA pricing goes ... go look at a teardown of one. I've never opened a laptop and been struck by the attention to detail before. I had to replace the keyboard on mine due to liquid spillage: it is one hell of a tight fit inside that machine and the number of screws holding things in place is staggering. They are not flimsy or chinsy laptops. I do not think you are going to find a laptop that is as small, sturdy, has an HD5000, and is not just about as expensive.

I thought about getting something with maybe just a bit more oomph on the Windows side of things so I could more easily play a few games without having to switch OSes, but I could not find a suitable replacement. I know the standard party line of PC guys is that Apple sales are driven by mass ignorance and utter genius in marketing, but they really are well executed machines.

The ONE downside to them is that many people in lectures have them, so you definitely come off as a bit of a pack animal. :p
 
I had to remove 20 screws just to replace the optical drive with an HDD caddy in my Ivy Bridge powered Sony Vaio S15 (4.4lb magnesium chassis 15.5" 1920x1080 IPS machine) but at least I could replace the optical drive with a standard caddy. Apple isn't the only company that can put together a nice machine. I'm not a Sony fan in general, but when I bought it, it was the only machine to tick all the feature boxes I was looking for. Sony can actually put together some nice hardware...They just like to charge for it, like Apple.
 
Kueller said:
I had to remove 20 screws just to replace the optical drive with an HDD caddy in my Ivy Bridge powered Sony Vaio S15 (4.4lb magnesium chassis 15.5" 1920x1080 IPS machine) but at least I could replace the optical drive with a standard caddy. Apple isn't the only company that can put together a nice machine. I'm not a Sony fan in general, but when I bought it, it was the only machine to tick all the feature boxes I was looking for. Sony can actually put together some nice hardware...They just like to charge for it, like Apple.
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Sony Vaios are very nice ... they just absolutely are not a bargain price in comparison. Hell, the Vaio Pro is in most configurations more expensive than a new MBA. The Sony Vaio S15 is absolutely not a 11" ultraportable, optical caddy or not.

This isn't an Apple vs. PC thread. The man simply had reservations about the pricing of the Air and I wanted to reassure him that there is a reason for it. If the pricing of an Air is an issue, a Vaio Pro is probably not a good alternative. It's like telling a man who laments that he cannot afford an Aston Martin that he should visit a Porsche dealership. :eek:
 
bvbz said:
Sony Vaios are very nice ... they just absolutely are not a bargain price in comparison. Hell, the Vaio Pro is in most configurations more expensive than a new MBA. The Sony Vaio S15 is absolutely not a 11" ultraportable, optical caddy or not.
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I don't think I ever said an S15 was an 11" ultraportable with Haswell. I was just commenting on Sony's good build quality and quality component selection, since MoggSquad had mentioned the 11" Vaio previously.

This isn't an Apple vs. PC thread. The man simply had reservations about the pricing of the Air and I wanted to reassure him that there is a reason for it. If the pricing of an Air is an issue, a Vaio Pro is probably not a good alternative.
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The only person bringing up Apple vs PC here is you. The OP was looking for alternatives to the McBook, and since there's only 1 Apple, that kind of narrows the field of alternatives to "not-Apple" by definition. I think you love your McBook Air, and are probably a little over-defensive about it. I really didn't attack it in my initial post at all.

It's like telling a man who laments that he cannot afford an Aston Martin that he should visit a Porsche dealership. :eek:
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So, what you're saying is it's good and rational advice? Sorry, from your tone earlier, I thought you were disagreeing with points I hadn't made in the first place. I see now we were on the same page all along...The Porsche dealership is definitely the place to look, there are much more affordable Porsche's than Aston's.
The cheapest Aston Martin the V8 Rapide starts at $122k while the Porsche Boxster, Cayenne, and Cayman all start under $55k.
 
Kueller said:
I don't think I ever said an S15 was an 11" ultraportable with Haswell. I was just commenting on Sony's good build quality and quality component selection, since MoggSquad had mentioned the 11" Vaio previously.


The only person bringing up Apple vs PC here is you. The OP was looking for alternatives to the McBook, and since there's only 1 Apple, that kind of narrows the field of alternatives to "not-Apple" by definition. I think you love your McBook Air, and are probably a little over-defensive about it. I really didn't attack it in my initial post at all.


So, what you're saying is it's good and rational advice? Sorry, from your tone earlier, I thought you were disagreeing with points I hadn't made in the first place. I see now we were on the same page all along...The Porsche dealership is definitely the place to look, there are much more affordable Porsche's than Aston's.
The cheapest Aston Martin the V8 Rapide starts at $122k while the Porsche Boxster, Cayenne, and Cayman all start under $55k.
Click to expand...

Good lord in heaven you're sensitive and would be well advised to reread my posts for fear of misconstruing them.

And you have suspect taste in cars. :D



OP, all I'm saying is go take a peek at what's in the Air before writing them off due to pricing.
 
I'd look into upgrading the RAM, but don't worry too much about the CPU or SSD unless you absolutely know you'll need more. In an 11-inch ultraportable, battery life and size matter most -- anything else is just gravy.
 
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