Touch Screen Ultrabooks

[aka.Goliath]

So I have decided to compliment my gaming rig with a nice touch screen ultrabook come tablet. Ar first I wanted one of the tablet-attachable-to-keyboard types but with proper windows 8, they all seem to be far to expensive for what you get so I decided on just a touch screen ultrabook.

The general specs I am looking for are: window 8/pro with an i5 processor, 4GB ram, no less than 120GB space, touch screen, quality build, bright screen (IPS), minimum 2 usb ports, battery life +/- 6-8 hours for traveling - My budget was is R9000-9500

I have an eye on the Lonvo Ideapad Yoga 13 - LINK

and the Asus VivoBook 14" - LINK

Are the any other similar ultrabooks I should look at? what is Lenovo's build quality like, it is a lot more expensive than the Asus, is it worth it?

 

[Fenix_SA]

I've had a Lenovo U350 for the past 3 or so years. The build quality is pretty good and the laptop is still going, albeit, its age is showing performance wise. The only problem that I had was with the battery. I had to replace it a year and a half after getting the laptop. That was after using it everyday for about 5 hours. Overall I am very pleased with it.

I'm also considering the Yoga. It is a bit pricey but I think its worth the extra money

 

[ChocolateBadger]

Asus s400 is very good. I have one and am very happy with it.

 

[aka.Goliath]

Asus s400 is very good. I have one and am very happy with it.

How do you find the touch screen where you can't fold it back 180°. Do you even use the touch screen? What is the battery life like on the Asus.

 

[igeorge]

Better price on the lenovo here: http://www.loot.co.za/product/lenovo-ideapad-yoga-13-convertible-13-3-ultrabook-with/bkdj-2514-g940

Bought one for the wife a few weeks ago - nicely built, nice screen etc. Only about 80G free on the HDD until you get rid of all the partitions they add for recovery, and bloatware etc...then you have 115G! I find the combination of touchscreen and pad very convenient. Wish I could convince my IT crowd to get one for me

Ian

 

[iceman23]

i just got the ASUS Taichi i7 and I love it...

I am surprised just how much I use it as a tab, and when I am at my desktop, it is a normal notebook.

fantastic...

 

[naskdn]

Here are some similar models, check out if interested http://ultrathinlaptops.org/best-ultrabook/

 

[d7e7r7]

@aka.Goliath so what'd you decide on?

 

[reneg8or]

Better price on the lenovo here: http://www.loot.co.za/product/lenovo-ideapad-yoga-13-convertible-13-3-ultrabook-with/bkdj-2514-g940

Bought one for the wife a few weeks ago - nicely built, nice screen etc. Only about 80G free on the HDD until you get rid of all the partitions they add for recovery, and bloatware etc...then you have 115G! I find the combination of touchscreen and pad very convenient. Wish I could convince my IT crowd to get one for me

Ian

isn't 4gb ram a bit thin for computing nowadays? Most of these can't be upgraded.

 

[ichigo]

I've had a Lenovo U350 for the past 3 or so years. The build quality is pretty good and the laptop is still going, albeit, its age is showing performance wise. The only problem that I had was with the battery. I had to replace it a year and a half after getting the laptop. That was after using it everyday for about 5 hours. Overall I am very pleased with it.

I'm also considering the Yoga. It is a bit pricey but I think its worth the extra money

Quite a short battery life, my Acer's batteries last for over 5 years and thats with using it more than 10 hours every day.

Have had Acer laptops for like 10 years so far

 

[igeorge]

isn't 4gb ram a bit thin for computing nowadays? Most of these can't be upgraded.

Its one of the few that can - you need to replace the 4GB stick with a 8Gb - only one slot. I haven't done it yet, as my wife hasn't complained about sluggishness yet

 

[aka.Goliath]

So I decided on the Lenovo Yoga 13. I really like it, the foldable screen is what makes it. I use it in all sorts of positions all the time. There are a few issues, battery isn't the greatest I get maybe 5 hours, It doesn't always know where the screen is fold to (its meant to lock the keyboard when over 180°) and subsequently you end up typing with your knees - a simple close and open fixes it. Windows 8 was made for a machine like this and works very well with a stylus. And if you don't mind a little DIY, you can upgrade the second SSD slot to another 128/256GB SSD. If you ever wanted both a laptop and tablet this is for you. I have edited with photoshop without any problems, booting/waking up is really quick 3-4 sec.

Finally - I got mine on special, IMO it is a bit expensive for what you get but perhaps this is still new on the market and one should wait a bit for the rest of the bunch to come out. In saying that I'm glad I got mine as it functions well for what I need it for and is top of the crop when it comes to touch-screen ultrabooks.