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I think your first problem was looking for a professional-quality computer at Best Buy. They've always been full of cheap plastic junk that can only be pushed

I think your first problem was looking for a professional-quality computer at Best Buy. They've always been full of cheap plastic junk that can only be pushed on unknowing consumers. Have you considered the Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Yoga 13, Vaio 11/13 or Asus Zenbook?

cloverich 13y ago
Yoga 13 is available at the Best Buy by me. First time in a while I've been envious of a non-mac laptop. IMHO, non-mac design has come a long way (finally!) in the last few years.
- bluedino 13y ago
  Best Buy also has the XPS 13
- phaus 13y ago
  If anyone's in the market for a new computer, keep in mind that the new version of the Yoga is about to be released, it's going to have a retina quality IPS panel instead of an HD+. Also the old ones have been on the outlet for as low as $500 recently, so you can save quite a bit of money if you don't get it at Best Buy.
  - 3825 13y ago
    I really hope we get the IPS retina panel for $1100. I would probably preorder a computer for the first time in my life if this happened.
dntrkv 13y ago
But at those prices, why not just get a MacBook Air? Sure, the build quality of the Zenbook is getting close to that of a MBA, but it's still has a ways to go yet it costs the same (or even more). Sure, it may have better specs, but really, for most people's use cases, the MBA is more than fast enough.
- dublinben 13y ago
  Why should the MacBook Air be the default choice? Most people don't want to run OS X, they want to run Windows. A notebook designed to run Windows will do so better than one that's been highly optimized by a competitor.
- rogerbinns 13y ago
  My Thinkpad T430s let me change the memory to that of my choosing, add an mSATA stick of my choosing, change hard drives of my choosing, has an extra mini-pci slot, expresscard slot, supports Linux well, replace the DVD drive with another battery, and has a superb online manual that lets me (or anyone else) make any repairs or updates. At the end of the day it is my machine to do with as I please. Apple's stuff not so much.
  - mercurial 13y ago
    Other happy T430 user here. You forgot to mention the stellar keyboard and trackpoint. And yes, it's very easy to disassemble. On the other hand, it is a full laptop, not really an ultrabook. But I wouldn't trade it for Apple hardware.
  - onosendai 13y ago
    I've been using an X230 as my personal laptop for a while and I absolutely love it. Comparing it to my work T430, it's smaller, with a vastly better screen (IPS, albeit lower resolution) and on the whole it doesn't make too many compromises versus the T series. I second the Lenovo service manuals. Behind the excellent Linux support they're the reason I buy Thinkpads. Not only can you completely disassemble them, reading through their service manuals it's almost like Lenovo encourages you to do it. Compared to this, a teardown of the 2013 Macbook Air makes for some pretty depressing reading: soldered RAM, proprietary SSD modules, proprietary screws, etc. I get why people buy the Air and Ultrabooks, but I'm glad the T and X series are still around and still dependable workhorses that you can service yourself with nothing more complicated than a swiss army knife.
  - gcb1 13y ago
    reason i never bought lenovos: i cant see them before i buy. takes a month or more to arrive. you cant return if you dont like, despite no showroom.
igravious 13y ago
Add Dell XPS 13" Ultrabook to the list. I got one with Ubuntu pre-installed, very happy with it but there is a Windows variant available also of course. Core i7, 8gb RAM, 256 SSD, 1080p. Very yummy. (Not astro-turfing :)
- tacticus 13y ago
  Dell really need to pull their finger out and ship that laptop in .au (and upgrade it to haswell already.)
- nickstinemates 13y ago
  Just switched. Love it. Absolutely love it.
unwiredben 13y ago
I have a Yoga 13 and won't recommend it. The WiFi chipset is horrible and can't keep a connection to many routers, and the keyboard has a terrible flex to it that makes typing annoying. Otherwise, it's a great little laptop :)
gcb1 13y ago
all that is at best buy. but he calls those $999 models "high end". so...

cloverich 13y ago

Yoga 13 is available at the Best Buy by me. First time in a while I've been envious of a non-mac laptop. IMHO, non-mac design has come a long way (finally!) in the last few years.

bluedino 13y ago
Best Buy also has the XPS 13
phaus 13y ago
If anyone's in the market for a new computer, keep in mind that the new version of the Yoga is about to be released, it's going to have a retina quality IPS panel instead of an HD+. Also the old ones have been on the outlet for as low as $500 recently, so you can save quite a bit of money if you don't get it at Best Buy.
- 3825 13y ago
  I really hope we get the IPS retina panel for $1100. I would probably preorder a computer for the first time in my life if this happened.

dntrkv 13y ago

But at those prices, why not just get a MacBook Air? Sure, the build quality of the Zenbook is getting close to that of a MBA, but it's still has a ways to go yet it costs the same (or even more). Sure, it may have better specs, but really, for most people's use cases, the MBA is more than fast enough.

dublinben 13y ago
Why should the MacBook Air be the default choice? Most people don't want to run OS X, they want to run Windows. A notebook designed to run Windows will do so better than one that's been highly optimized by a competitor.
rogerbinns 13y ago
My Thinkpad T430s let me change the memory to that of my choosing, add an mSATA stick of my choosing, change hard drives of my choosing, has an extra mini-pci slot, expresscard slot, supports Linux well, replace the DVD drive with another battery, and has a superb online manual that lets me (or anyone else) make any repairs or updates. At the end of the day it is my machine to do with as I please. Apple's stuff not so much.
- mercurial 13y ago
  Other happy T430 user here. You forgot to mention the stellar keyboard and trackpoint. And yes, it's very easy to disassemble. On the other hand, it is a full laptop, not really an ultrabook. But I wouldn't trade it for Apple hardware.
- onosendai 13y ago
  I've been using an X230 as my personal laptop for a while and I absolutely love it. Comparing it to my work T430, it's smaller, with a vastly better screen (IPS, albeit lower resolution) and on the whole it doesn't make too many compromises versus the T series. I second the Lenovo service manuals. Behind the excellent Linux support they're the reason I buy Thinkpads. Not only can you completely disassemble them, reading through their service manuals it's almost like Lenovo encourages you to do it. Compared to this, a teardown of the 2013 Macbook Air makes for some pretty depressing reading: soldered RAM, proprietary SSD modules, proprietary screws, etc. I get why people buy the Air and Ultrabooks, but I'm glad the T and X series are still around and still dependable workhorses that you can service yourself with nothing more complicated than a swiss army knife.
- gcb1 13y ago
  reason i never bought lenovos: i cant see them before i buy. takes a month or more to arrive. you cant return if you dont like, despite no showroom.

igravious 13y ago

Add Dell XPS 13" Ultrabook to the list. I got one with Ubuntu pre-installed, very happy with it but there is a Windows variant available also of course. Core i7, 8gb RAM, 256 SSD, 1080p. Very yummy. (Not astro-turfing :)

tacticus 13y ago
Dell really need to pull their finger out and ship that laptop in .au (and upgrade it to haswell already.)
nickstinemates 13y ago
Just switched. Love it. Absolutely love it.

unwiredben 13y ago

I have a Yoga 13 and won't recommend it. The WiFi chipset is horrible and can't keep a connection to many routers, and the keyboard has a terrible flex to it that makes typing annoying. Otherwise, it's a great little laptop :)

gcb1 13y ago

all that is at best buy. but he calls those $999 models "high end". so...