slicendice
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- Mar 19, 2007
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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:
Thanks
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
Thanks