I also had a UX32VC i5 Zenbook. It was destroyed via a trip to a concrete floor. Specs were a bit different to the one in the eBay link below. It was good for what it was, but the Sony is nearly half a kilo lighter and more powerful (but twice the price).
One thing to bear in mind is the CPU. You want to get a “Haswell” based CPU in my opinion. They are the latest Intel CPUs and use considerably less power than the “Ivy Bridge” CPUs and consequently you get much better battery life. Note that the Zenbook in the eBay link below is for the old Ivy Bridge CPU. Regards, Ben From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Les Hughes Sent: Friday, 16 May 2014 1:20 PM To: ozDotNet Subject: Re: [OT] Laptop to replace macbook Taking a quick look, it appears the new models have higher price tags. This could be due to the popularity of the earlier ones. I purchased the original-series 128GBssd/i5/4GBram. It's a few years old, but I picked it up from JB-Hifi for roughly $1k not long after they came out. I basically use this laptop for Powerpoint, live demos of software, remote desktop, excel, and occasionally bashing out some code on the move (I much prefer my desktop for development). The model Ian and Bec have both posted has higher specs, and that obviously comes with a premium. A quick look shows the 512sdd/8ram is on ebay for $2150 which suggests it would be even cheaper without ebay's fees. I guess this isn't "cheap" as such, but this is a high-end machine. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/8GB-512GB-SSD-ASUS-Zenbook-Prime-i7-UX32VD-13-3-FULL-HD-nVIDIA-SSD-Ultrabook-/151176280896?pt=AU_comp_laptop&hash=item2332cefb40 With most laptops coming from the same manufacturer and hardware becoming increasingly commoditised and more reliable, disregarding commercial support from the vendor (which may or may not be important), choosing a laptop is almost like choosing a shirt: Personal preference to your style and budget are the biggest factors. My personal view is that the Asus Zenbook is a very attractive machine with a good form factor, and the newer versions fixed all of the nuisances with the first version. I am no expert on laptops and haven't taken a good look into the market for a while, thus my best suggestion would be to perhaps get out to a retailer and have a play with one. Best of luck :) -- Les On 15/05/14 18:13, Ian Thomas wrote: Which model do you have, Les? I see price range up to $2900 (512Gb SSD). Ian Thomas Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 - Windows Phone 8 ________________________________ From: Les Hughes<mailto:l...@datarev.com.au> Sent: 15/05/2014 15:46 To: ozDotNet<mailto:ozdotnet@ozdotnet.com> Subject: Re: [OT] Laptop to replace macbook On 15/05/14 16:08, Nathan Chere wrote: Look into the 13.3” Asus Zenbook. I don’t generally like devices that try to hard to clone others but they do a far better Macbook Air than Apple does. + 1 for Zenbook. Cheap, nice form factor, lightweight, overall very decent. -- Les Hughes l...@datarev.com.au<mailto:l...@datarev.com.au> This email is intended for the named recipient only. The information it contains may be confidential or commercially sensitive. If you are not the intended recipient you must not reproduce or distribute any part of this email, disclose its contents to any other party, or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and delete the message from your computer.
