# Laptop Comparison



## BenG (Mar 24, 2018)

In the market for a new ultrabook and I've narrowed it down to a Asus Zenbook. I've found two 13.3" models that are in my price range and would love to get some opinions on which is best...

UX330UA - $1050

i7 7500u
16gb RAM
512 gb SSD

Cons: Fan noise, mouse, older model/processor. 

Flip (S) - $850/$900

8250u
8gb RAM
512 gb SSD

Cons: Less Specs

Laptop will be used for web browsing, Microsoft office, email, etc. and would like to keep it for at least 5 years. (No gaming, music production, editing) 

Any input is greatly appreciated!


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## DavidY (Mar 24, 2018)

BenG said:


> Laptop will be used for web browsing, Microsoft office, email, etc. and would like to keep it for at least 5 years. (No gaming, music production, editing)


I can do all of the above on my 2007 Core 2 Duo laptop with its spinning (so old it's not even SATA) hard disk. It even runs the latest Windows 10 version, albeit 32-bit so can only access 3GB of RAM.

Admittedly it's starting to struggle a _little_ with some of of the more advert-laden websites, especially when I leave a few hundred tabs open in Firefox, but generally it's reasonably responsive.

My point is you don't need much spec to do browsing/ email/ office. (Although I guess if you're used to quick responses from your music-making machine, you'd notice a slower machine more.)

I admit I would probably go for 8GB rather than 4GB, but I reckon an i7 is overkill for what you need.

All IMHO, of course.


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## BenG (Mar 24, 2018)

DavidY said:


> I can do all of the above on my 2007 Core 2 Duo laptop with its spinning (so old it's not even SATA) hard disk. It even runs the latest Windows 10 version, albeit 32-bit so can only access 3GB of RAM.
> 
> Admittedly it's starting to struggle a _little_ with some of of the more advert-laden websites, especially when I leave a few hundred tabs open in Firefox, but generally it's reasonably responsive.
> 
> ...



Good points and I can see what you are saying. I do have a 4gb/i3/hdd laptop now, and it definitely struggles with basic processes. (Some crashes, long loads, freezes)

The reason for the 'overkill' was to have it last 8/9 years. Also, the price increased was only $200, albeit for a older Zenbook.


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## dzilizzi (Mar 24, 2018)

Either would be fine. You probably don't need more than an i5 and 8gb RAM with what you plan on doing.

But then you decide to edit some photos or home movies, and you really wish you had more. That's been my experience. So I always go for the best I can afford, looking for any sales I can find. 

I don't have experience with Asus, but my HP's usually last about 6 years, if I don't drop them. I understand Asus are a little better made?


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## BenG (Mar 24, 2018)

dzilizzi said:


> Either would be fine. You probably don't need more than an i5 and 8gb RAM with what you plan on doing.
> 
> But then you decide to edit some photos or home movies, and you really wish you had more. That's been my experience. So I always go for the best I can afford, looking for any sales I can find.
> 
> I don't have experience with Asus, but my HP's usually last about 6 years, if I don't drop them. I understand Asus are a little better made?



That is also my thinking in case I wanted to get into some basic gaming, editing, among other intensive tasks. 

As for ASUS, my previous machine was an ASUS as well and I like their look/built-quality.


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## DavidY (Mar 24, 2018)

BenG said:


> Good points and I can see what you are saying. I do have a 4gb/i3/hdd laptop now, and it definitely struggles with basic processes. (Some crashes, long loads, freezes)


This is a generalisation as all laptops have different components and drivers, but I'd say a 4GB/i3 should be more than adequate for most general use, even with an hdd.

If I have a laptop that misbehaves like that, I'd wipe the disk and re-install Windows on it from scratch, although it's not a quick process, nor one for the faint-hearted. (And some care is needed with ensuring I have multiple good backup images, and installers for all my software, etc., before I delete everything.)

Edit: however the point above, that you may later want to use it for something requiring a bit more power is a good one though.


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## DavidY (Mar 25, 2018)

BenG said:


> The reason for the 'overkill' was to have it last 8/9 years.


One more thought (sorry!) which is that one component on my aforementioned 10-year-old laptop which *really* didn't last was the battery, which has been fairly useless for a few years.

Luckily its design is sufficiently old-school that I can just unclip the battery and put a new one in, although to be honest I use it on mains 99% of the time in any case.

But I've noticed that modern laptops (especially as they try to make them thinner, eg. ultrabooks) are less and less likely to have user-replaceable batteries. Maybe battery management has improved in more modern devices, but I'd suggest 8/9 years is still pretty optimistic.

Do you know if you can replace the battery on the laptops you're looking at?


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## Divico (Mar 25, 2018)

Both are solid enough (specs wise) for what you want to use them, also in the future.
I think you should narrow down your choice to build quality, battery, display etc.


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## BenG (Mar 25, 2018)

Ah, completely forgot about battery and I'm sure it will have to be replaced eventually. My current machine is on it's second...

Thanks everyone!


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## d.healey (Mar 25, 2018)

I don't get the overkill. How many tabs or documents are you opening that you would need 16GB of RAM! Or what super inefficient web browser or email client are you using. I remember 10 years ago I was able to check emails, browse the web and use MS Office so I don't see what you're expecting to happen in the next 5 years that will mean you'll need a laptop with those specs.

What made you decide on those specs? Have you checked the resources required by the software you want to run? I have 20 tabs open in firefox at the moment and that's about 400mb of RAM, Microsoft office is actually quite efficient with resource usage, last time I checked Word used about 200mb of RAM for an empty doc, my email client (Thunderbird) is using about 200Mb. Definitely go for one with a replaceable battery and possibly keyboard if you do a lot of typing.

What is the problem with your current machine?


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## BenG (Mar 25, 2018)

d.healey said:


> What is the problem with your current machine?



Well, when I originally purchased it 5 years, budget was a concern and its performance was okay for a bit. At the moment however, it runs pretty slow, crashes, freezes with basic usage. Also, I wanted to upgrade to an SSD which IMO is not worth it for this older PC. 

As for the specs, I was looking for something that would last a while and give me the option of other high-intensity tasks. I have been running test's on another laptop (same model) to see what RAM/CPU is being used. With many windows opened (Excel, Word, Firefox, WMP, Paint, Explorer and Taskbar Manager) the laptop was using 4gb of RAm and at 40% of CPU...

As new versions of software get released, I can only assume they will become more resource hungry. So, I'm getting 8gb of extra RAM for $200.


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## d.healey (Mar 25, 2018)

BenG said:


> At the moment however, it runs pretty slow, crashes, freezes with basic usage.


That's weird, I wonder what's caused it to do that. Yeah if you're using 4GB at the moment and plan on doing other high-intensity tasks it makes sense to go with a higher spec system.


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## BenG (Mar 25, 2018)

d.healey said:


> That's weird, I wonder what's caused it to do that. Yeah if you're using 4GB at the moment and plan on doing other high-intensity tasks it makes sense to go with a higher spec system.



Well, I can see in Task Manager that my CPU, RAM, Disk are actually maxed out most of the time:/


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## premjj (Aug 7, 2018)

BenG said:


> Well, I can see in Task Manager that my CPU, RAM, Disk are actually maxed out most of the time:/



4GB/i3 is more than sufficient for the tasks you have mentioned.

Still if your computer is sluggish then do check if you have exhausted these options before looking for an upgrade:

1. Trojans, viruses, malware etc.

2. Run clean disk and clear old system files which are not being used. You'll be surprised with how much space that frees up. Also use the same tool for clearing temp files along with thumbnail cache, browser cache etc.

3. Try some good registry optimisation tools.

4. Most important, check for TSRs which get auto launched when you boot the computer. Adobe, Nvidia, Google, QuickTime, besides others, all install TSRs which can slow your system down.

5. If you are comfortable with tweaking under the hood then you can switch off some background services which are not required 24x7 or better, switch them to Manual launch mode. The usual value for a lot of these would be Automatic launch at system startup. 

Just some basic housekeeping can really bring old installations back to life. I speak from experience.

(Apologies if these sound too obvious and/or you have already exhausted them)


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