Are there any reasonably high spec Windows laptops with < 13" screen?

slicendice

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Hi everyone
My current laptop is pretty much dead on it's feet and it really is time to upgrade but I'm really struggling to find a suitable replacement. The laptop that I have is an old Sony Vaio VGN-TX1 with an 11.1" screen - it's lasted me incredibly well (>8 years) and I'd ideally like something similarly sized (I use it a lot when travelling) but with beefed up internals (i5+ Haswell, SSD, 8GB+ RAM) - I believe the term these days is "ultrabook"! The trouble I'm having is that most small laptops seem to be lower spec and as I often use it for Photoshop whilst out and about, I need something with a bit of oomph. The newer Sony Vaio Pro looked like it would have been ideal (expensive, but good!) but it seems that Sony have decided to bow out of the PC market altogether so bang goes that idea (I know there may be second-hand ones flying around on eBay, but I'd prefer to buy new and have the manufacturer's warranty).

I've wondered about getting a MacBook Air, but all my software is Windows-based and I don't fancy having to lay out a bunch of cash just to get the same software on Mac. I've also considered putting Windows on one, but from looking around online, it seems that people have mixed experiences of doing this (although I'm always happy to hear more...?).

I'm not interested in "convertible" laptops that somehow morph into a tablet, or can fold themselves into all sorts of weird angles just so you can stand them up - I'm sure there are those for whom this is useful, but I'm most definitely not one of them. I just want a laptop that is...well, a laptop!

Options I've looked at:
  • Lenovo X240 - looks OK, but appears to be let down by poor keyboard and trackpad
  • Lenovo Yoga 2 - also looks OK, but impossible to spec anything other than i3 processor and 4GB RAM
  • Dell XPS 12 - possibility but it's a "2-in-1" with "convert to tablet" mode that I'd never need. Keyboard and touchpad do'nt appear to be good and there seem to be numerous reviews of issues with the screen (image retention) although this may have been resolved in newer models
Does anyone have any experience of either some of the above or any other small but well-spec'd laptops that might fit the bill? Budget is reasonably flexible so I'm happy to hear upper or lower end of the spectrum.

Thanks
 
The Sony Vaio Pro laptop is still available new if you search for it. I bought one a couple of months back from Curry's/PC World :facepalm: and am very happy with it - they only had the Pro 13 in stock, but there is also the Pro 11 if you can find one. Might be worth looking to see if any stores still have them in stock.

We have a few Lenovo X240's at work and they are nice laptops. However I still prefer the Pro 13 as it is lighter, but there is nothing wrong with the X240's keyboard or touchpad IMO.

Mark.
 
I believe the term these days is "ultrabook"!

It isn't. Ultrabooks is an Intel trademark that they allow the use of for machines that are thin and have a touchscreen (and a few other requirements). There's nothing in there about small or lightweight, 2kg+ ultrabooks are common.

The trouble I'm having is that most small laptops seem to be lower spec and as I often use it for Photoshop whilst out and about, I need something with a bit of oomph.

You mean like your eight year old machine that was only 40% of the speed of a contemporary desktop to begin with?

Again, don't get caught up in Intel's branding. Yes, you probably want to avoid the Bay Trail processors (model numbers starting with N) but the rest of the range is all of the same chip design (Haswell) separated by different clockspeeds and different features, an i5 is only marginally different from an i3 (namely, it gets Turbo Boost so it can run single threaded stuff faster).

Lenovo X240 - looks OK, but appears to be let down by poor keyboard and trackpad

The Thinkpad keyboard has long been regarded as the best, so 'poor' in this case could well be relative. I haven't looked at reviews but unless it's being compared unfavourably to lots of other laptops I wouldn't be surprised if that was just the usual grousing as economies are made and it was still better than 90% of other laptops.

Does anyone have any experience of either some of the above or any other small but well-spec'd laptops that might fit the bill? Budget is reasonably flexible so I'm happy to hear upper or lower end of the spectrum.

It's well worth looking at the business models from other manufacturers. Toshiba, Fujitsu, Dell (Latitude), HP and so on. Lightweight but powerful is generally something that sells better to executives than to home users.
 
The Sony Vaio Pro laptop is still available new if you search for it. I bought one a couple of months back from Curry's/PC World :facepalm: and am very happy with it - they only had the Pro 13 in stock, but there is also the Pro 11 if you can find one. Might be worth looking to see if any stores still have them in stock.

We have a few Lenovo X240's at work and they are nice laptops. However I still prefer the Pro 13 as it is lighter, but there is nothing wrong with the X240's keyboard or touchpad IMO.

Mark.

Thanks for the info Mark...interesting that the X240 keyboard isn't too bad - some of the reviews I looked at (incl those on Lenovo's website) slated it. But I guess depends on the pref of the reviewer I suppose...
I'll have another peep around, see if there are still any Pros lying around...!
 
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Thanks for the info EndlessWaves. I could really do with seeing the Lenovo in the flesh, but not seen one yet.

I'll take a look at some of the business models you suggest too...
 
The X240 is a small laptop and therefore the keyboard is a little compact compared to that of a larger laptop. So maybe this is the reason for the poor review rather than it being of poor quality - but that is just me guessing as I don't regularly use these laptops, I just configure & repair them.

Mark.
 

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