Feb 16, 2013

openSUSE Forums: Pondering a new Ultrabook purchase

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Pondering a new Ultrabook purchase
Feb 16th 2013, 10:24

I decided to put this post in Chit Chat as I am not looking for help, but rather just sharing some thinking that I have about a new computer related purchase.

I am thinking of purchasing a new Ultrabook computer if I pass through Canada this summer. My research has indicated, as opposed to purchasing an Ultrabook here in Western Europe, I can get a cheaper price by buying an Ultrabook in Canada and then pay the 19% VAT at the Airport in Germany when I return (keeping everything legal) and I still pay less, and I obtain a keyboard and Microsoft OS (if forced to buy such as OEM) in my native English language. Of course its ONLY less expensive because the airfare (to/from Canada) is not part of the purchase price comparison.

I'm currently thinking of the Toshiba Z930 Ultra. There are two main reasons for this particular selection:

  • Its very light, one of the lightest Ultra books at ~1.1 kg (where light weight is VERY important to me)
  • It has a full set of interfaces, where interfaces are VERY important to me: 2xUSB-2.0 and 1xUSB-3.0, HDMI, VGA connector (for external screens), wired Ethernet port, where most other Ultrabooks are missing one or more of those ports, OR if they have the same # of ports the competition Ultrabooks are heavier.


It's main disadvantage is its screen is rather flexible, so care is needed not to flex it too much and crack it (where I have read of users doing such). Also the screen does not have the same resolution as most of the competition, but that having played with an identical screen on the older Z830, a higher resolution is not important to me. I also examined the screen flexibility and obtained a good sense of what care is needed there. The Toshiba Z930 also does NOT have a touch screen, where I believe Touchscreens ARE the way of the future for computers. But my research suggested all Ultrabooks with Touchscreens are either significantly heavier or they compromise on the Interface ports, where those two factors are much more important to me at present time.

I am NOT at present time willing to compromise on weight nor interface considerations.

I played with the older Toshiba Z830 Ultra (which is almost the same Ultrabook) last year (in June-2012) for almost an entire day, so I have a good feel for the Toshiba Ultrabook.

The Toshiba Z930 I am considering would be a Core-i7-3667u, with 6GB RAM, and a 256 GB SD drive. An example shop with this available is Future shop in Canada although there are other places in Canada where I may be able to obtain the same.

I am NOT keen on Windows-8 but typically one has no choice in most Ultrabook selections. I'll disable the secure boot in the BIOS and install GNU/Linux in a dual boot.

I checked GNU/Linux compatibility, and while not perfect it does seem to function ok in the areas important to me: Toshiba Portege Z930/935 [Linux Laptop Wiki] Suspend/resume appears to be the biggest heart burn with this Ultrabook with GNU/Linux and I note both my wife and I rarely use this Ultrabook/Netbook/Notebook/Laptop functionality on our current Notebooks (my old Dell Studio 1537 laptop and my wife's Lenov X220 notebook).

I don't plan to purchase anything until the May 2013 timeframe (as my Canada visit may be in the June-2013 timeframe), so I will be watching the market between now and then to see if my requirements change, or if the market changes.

My being a bit of a 'techie', it is typically a little bit of fun examining the considerations for a new computer.

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