Do any of the laptop manufacturers come close to Apple?


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  • 1 month later...

Any opinions on this laptop please?

Samsung Series 5 530U

+ It's made by Samsung (her favourite brand)

+ It's really nicely styled

+ Thin and light

+ Has an HDMI output

+ It apparently has a great trackpad with gestures etc

My only concern is that it doesn't seem to be particularly fast for the money, but being honest, I think any i5 CPU will be more than enough for my mum - and the form factor, keyboard, screen etc is all far more important than the processor for her.

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all come close to apple, it all depends what you look for

I just got a 480$ CDN (tax in) an Acer 17.3 with 4GB ram , win 8, with extended keyboard. Runs perfect looks ok, the screen is good, perfect for me at this point in time.

Would I have gond with the raving of retina display ---- no - to me it does nothing. Premium on the way it looks - not really, and other things considerend not worth the premium

For me I would rather get the pro-star.com laptops much better and customizable ... BUT if you like shiny things apple is the way to go

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Thanks, I do like the Samsungs, but WHY have their newer, Windows 8 with SSD laptops look so much uglier than the old one?

New one: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-series-5-np530u3c-13-3-ultrabook-silver-17056549-pdt.html

Old one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-13-3-inch-Ultrabook-Processor-Integrated/dp/tech-data/B008HZEJDE/ref=de_a_smtd

Argh! :)

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Apple tends to have nicer trackpads than the Synaptics rubbish I see in the usual PC World laptops. Otherwise I don't think there's anything particularly spectacular about them. They can have the same hardware issues as any device that's mass-produced in China.

Some Sony machines seem to be built fairly well but they have a higher price tag. Lenovo of course have the Thinkpads, though they're not the prettiest, they have a reputation for reliability. Can't vouch for Samsung but I tend to avoid their stuff on the back of my poor experiences with their hard disks. I've heard great things about their SSDs though (the 830 in particular).

It helps to have a look at them in a store as some laptops while looking impressive "on paper" can feel pretty cheap when you actually see them. It's also worth remembering that manufacturers have consumer and business class machines. The Toshiba you buy for ?300 in PC World isn't going to be the same as the ?600 Toshiba you see online.

And finally there's the OS. Will she like OS X or Windows 8 more?

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Thank you - you're not wrong about the trackpads on Apples, I love the one on my girlfriend's Macbook, I haven't used a single Windows laptop that even comes close to it!

Samsung is the company that's tempting me the most right now, for example the two above, although to get a Samsung with SSD is around ?900+, so rather out of the budget unfortunately! Interesting that there are consumer and business class and consumer class, I'm guessing that also explains the differences in the laptops above? And why an older laptop looks to have much better quality than the newer one?

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I come from the PC world, I've been using PCs and Windows laptops for the ~20 last years, but I bought a MacBook Pro Retina in august for a change. Trust me, I'm not a Apple fanboy, but I've never seen a Windows laptop that had the build quality the MacBook Pro has!

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Apple tends to have nicer trackpads than the Synaptics rubbish I see in the usual PC World laptops. Otherwise I don't think there's anything particularly spectacular about them. They can have the same hardware issues as any device that's mass-produced in China.

Some Sony machines seem to be built fairly well but they have a higher price tag. Lenovo of course have the Thinkpads, though they're not the prettiest, they have a reputation for reliability. Can't vouch for Samsung but I tend to avoid their stuff on the back of my poor experiences with their hard disks. I've heard great things about their SSDs though (the 830 in particular).

It helps to have a look at them in a store as some laptops while looking impressive "on paper" can feel pretty cheap when you actually see them. It's also worth remembering that manufacturers have consumer and business class machines. The Toshiba you buy for ?300 in PC World isn't going to be the same as the ?600 Toshiba you see online.

And finally there's the OS. Will she like OS X or Windows 8 more?

My Sony Vaio has a pretty kickass Synaptics touchpad. It has full multitouch support. Two-finger scroll, ChiralScroll (iPod click wheel style circle scrolling without having to lift up your finger, ever), two-finger tap for right click, holding one finger and tapping with the other for middle click, three-finger tap for back in the browser, ... It's usually a driver issue.

The worst touchpads by far aren't those made by Synaptics but those by ELAN and ALPS. They are atrocities.

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Lenovo is the next best brand :) I have had Lenovo for years best brand next to Apple, also I have Apple hardware too, but I trust that Lenovo if I were to drop my tablet it would survive something I couldnt do with my MacBook Pro :o

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Nope, they're all way ahead of Apple. Especially ASUS.

My ASUS 11.6 inch Ultrabook looks exactly like a Macbook Air, but of course it's better... cuz it's not an Apple.

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It terms of pure hardware quality, no.

In terms of what's best for you - you need to weigh up the options (software, hardware performance and support).

I agree. Apple computers are extremely well built. However, I can buy 2 or 3 regular computers for the price of one Apple computers, and it may or may not last as long but it will almost last as long and I can have much better quality software to use. It all depends on what you want, I suppose.

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Hello,

One thing to consider when purchasing a new laptop is that the manufacturer usually charges quite a hefty premium for memory and storage upgrades.

It is far less expensive to order a computer with the bare amount of RAM and smallest capacity hard disk drive, and then upgrade these yourself after purchasing the components from Amazon, NewEgg, NCIX or one of the many other retailers on the Internet.

Of course, one should check to make sure that these parts are user-upgradeable. On some of the newest ultrabooks, the memory is sometimes soldered onto the motherboard of the computer, and SSDs may have a non-standard form-factor or connector, but for most netbooks, notebooks and portable workstation class systems this is a non-issue.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

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Of course, one should check to make sure that these parts are user-upgradeable. On some of the newest ultrabooks, the memory is sometimes soldered onto the motherboard of the computer, and SSDs may have a non-standard form-factor or connector, but for most netbooks, notebooks and portable workstation class systems this is a non-issue.

I never seen memory soldered to the board. The only time I saw it was on the Raspberry Pi. Even my netbook had removable RAM.

All SSD's all have a standard size and connections.

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I never seen memory soldered to the board. The only time I saw it was on the Raspberry Pi. Even my netbook had removable RAM.

I've got an old toshiba here with memory soldered to the board and 1 expansion slot :p

Also all macbooks have soldered memory now do they not? Not sure about MBP but I know that ifixit site was kicking up a fuss about it.

Ah yes, MBPs have soldered RAM too now; http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/06/13/teardown_of_retina_display_macbook_pro_finds_soldered_ram_propreitary_ssd

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Hi,

It's my mums 50th birthday soon, and my nan is looking to get her a laptop. I'm a firm believer that for your average user, the actual technical specs don't mean anything (with the exception of maybe an SSD drive) and pretty much any laptop on the market right now will do what she needs it to.

So that brings us to the actual build quality - IMO the most important part of buying a laptop by far is that it feels nice. That it isn't too heavy, that it doesn't feel bulky on your lap, that it doesn't get ridiculously hot, that it has a nice trackpad (not those tiny ones with two buttons at the bottom), a nice keyboard, and a nice screen.

Now here's the problem - can I get something like that for around ?500? Disregarding the spec for a moment, is there anything out there that feels nice to use for that kind of money? My nan would probably go higher if needed (maybe even to MBP/MBA levels) but I think that'd be unfair to get her to spend that much on something.

Thanks :)

the majority of apples products are sup par to everything else on the market..... sony, samsung, alienware, dell, asus, zoostorm.... and many m ore beat apple hands down... I would get your mum a zoostorm laptop ... I got my self one its cheap powerful and i love it

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I've got an old toshiba here with memory soldered to the board and 1 expansion slot :p

Also all macbooks have soldered memory now do they not? Not sure about MBP but I know that ifixit site was kicking up a fuss about it.

Ah yes, MBPs have soldered RAM too now; http://appleinsider....propreitary_ssd

Wouldn't that be irrelevant, though? He wants a 500 GBP laptop, I don't think he has to worry about that.

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Many thanks all for the replies, to be honest I don't think my mum will need much space (ie a 128GB SSD would be plenty, and far preferable to even a 1TB regular drive) nor any need for more than 4GB RAM so should be okay in that regard :)

I'm going to look at Asus Ultrabooks now... have to say I'm leaning towards a Samsung, but everyone always talks up the Asus/Lenovo build quality

(edit) Not sure if I mentioned before, but I've spoke with my nan and her budget is now ?600 btw :)

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I agree. Apple computers are extremely well built. However, I can buy 2 or 3 regular computers for the price of one Apple computers, and it may or may not last as long but it will almost last as long and I can have much better quality software to use. It all depends on what you want, I suppose.

From a power perspective they may be close but from a build quality perspective not even near. I am not a Mac owner, I actually swear by Lenovo Thinkpad laptops and to get an equivalently specced Thinkpad T Series to a MacBook Pro, will cost you about ?100 less - and there is no way you can get another for ?100 ;-)

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100% decided on the Asus Vivobook range now, think it's perfect for her because I wasn't sure whether to go for a tablet or a laptop.

The problem is, only the S200 is available in the UK right now, which is 11.6"... not sure if that's too small and I should look into trying to import the S400 which is 14", maybe slightly too big. Argh! :D

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