Notebook for Poly use

[hanz170]

Buying for daughter for school use, travelling time one way is 1hr, was looking at the lightest yet suitably powerful enough for most school use. Budget below $2K.

Shortlisted:
HP Envy 13-d022TU i7-6500U with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
13.3" QHD+ IPS BrightView WLED-backlit (3200 x 1800)
W32.65 x D22.6 x H1.29 cm <=1.3kg
(~$1700)

Dell XPS 13-9350 i5-6300U with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
13.3" FHD AG (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge display, Silver
W30.4 X D20.0 X H0.9-1.5cm <=1.3kg
(~$2000)

ASUS UX305UA-FB004T W10 i7-6500U with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
13.3" QHD+ (3200 x 1800)
W32.4 X D22.6cm X H1.6cm <=1.3kg
(~$1900)

Just from the pricing alone, I am thinking HP Envy 13-d022TU is the better buy, but I don't think HP participates in the Poly Roadshow, so pricing maybe offset by Poly promo, meaning Dell and ASUS price maybe a closer gap that what is listed above.

Would like to hear from users of the above shortlisted notebooks what are their Pros and Cons after using it for a while?

 

[lunarsong]

what course is she in? and any reason not to shortlist macbook?

there are less than $2k options for Macbook too

 

[jas1701]

Hi TS, if possible wait for poly promo out. Getting from poly will come with 3yrs on-site warranty. From outside, you can still purchase the 3yr warranty but is carry-in not on-site.

Most poly promo will be out in Mar 1 week before the sch holiday. Check more from the poly that she apply for.

 

[Peabody123]

Hi TS, if possible wait for poly promo out. Getting from poly will come with 3yrs on-site warranty. From outside, you can still purchase the 3yr warranty but is carry-in not on-site.

Most poly promo will be out in Mar 1 week before the sch holiday. Check more from the poly that she apply for.

And IT Show on the 10th of March too! Who knows retailers might throw in a free Microsoft Office suite during these promo events

 

[caterham7]

can also consider thinkpad yoga 260; got active digitizer pen
http://shopap.lenovo.com/sg/en/laptops/thinkpad/yoga-series/yoga-260/
$1,700

 

[hanz170]

what course is she in? and any reason not to shortlist macbook?

there are less than $2k options for Macbook too

She is taking Biotechnology, she is currently using iMac at home and she actually wanted a Mac naturally but unless Macbook refreshes with the latest Skylake processor before March which I doubt I think non-Mac would be better.

But specs wise I think Macbook is lagging behind in my opinion.

 

[hanz170]

can also consider thinkpad yoga 260; got active digitizer pen
http://shopap.lenovo.com/sg/en/laptops/thinkpad/yoga-series/yoga-260/
$1,700

Thanks I shall add that in the comparison, looks like this Thinkpad is right about the price range although the screen size and resolution is 12.5" FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, Multitouch. Price is ~$1870 after eCoupon deal.

 

[hanz170]

Updated shortlist:
HP Envy 13-d022TU i7-6500U with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
13.3" QHD+ IPS BrightView WLED-backlit (3200 x 1800)
W32.65 x D22.6 x H1.29 cm <=1.3kg
(~$1700)

ASUS UX305UA-FB004T W10 i7-6500U with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
13.3" QHD+ (3200 x 1800)
W32.4 X D22.6cm X H1.6cm <=1.3kg
(~$1900)

ThinkPad Yoga 260 i7-6500U Processor with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
12.5" FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, Multitouch
W30.99 X D22.0 X H1.78cm <=1.3kg
(~$1870)

Dell XPS 13-9350 i7-6500U with Intel® HD Graphics 520, 8G RAM 256G SSD
13.3" UltraSharp™ QHD+ (3200x1800) + Ext. DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
W30.4 X D20.0 X H0.9-1.5cm <=1.3kg
(~$2180)

 

[hanz170]

Hi TS, if possible wait for poly promo out. Getting from poly will come with 3yrs on-site warranty. From outside, you can still purchase the 3yr warranty but is carry-in not on-site.

Most poly promo will be out in Mar 1 week before the sch holiday. Check more from the poly that she apply for.

Thanks, a good point on warranty, I will need to add the extended warranty 2 additional years if want to $ compare apples to apples for the HP Ultrabook for fair comparison.

 

[MoraMora]

just wait for the school deal and compare.

school deals usually comes straight with 3yr warranty and the softwares required by students might be loaded straight into it.

MS office and stuff, there would likely be student edition for your child to download.

Just google 'NP/SP/NYP laptop deals' and you will see the offers. But likely they have not updated the models for the upcoming intake. So what you see is for the last year's intake.

 

[jas1701]

Another thing to add, buy from poly all softwares will be provided base on the course requirements. If from retails shop, you still need to schedule an appt with the IT dept to install all the require softwares.

 

[Intrinion]

Another thing to add, buy from poly all softwares will be provided base on the course requirements. If from retails shop, you still need to schedule an appt with the IT dept to install all the require softwares.

This. Network configuration would be much easier too.

 

[Intrinion]

I would suggest looking at deals from the respective polytechnics which would come together with the matricu package.

They would be preloaded with the respective images and also comes with 3 years of warranty.

Most laptops offered would be business grade/enterprise grade laptops which have supposed better realibility than consumer grade laptops purchased from outlets.

HardwareZone Forums app

 

[hanz170]

Thanks for the fast responses, indeed there's plenty of merits to purchase from Poly Roadshow bcos of the extended warranty and the ease of software pre-loaded into the machines.

I'll do just that.. purchase from Poly Roadshow, hopefully there are several reasonably powered and light Ultrabook models in this year's Poly roadshow.

 

[voidknight]

Graduated from poly not too long ago, i'd choose laptops from poly roadshow because of the onsite warranty.

My laptop broke down 2 times, if not for the warranty i'd probably have broke my piggy bank for a new laptop.

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[gardiboy]

Get this

HP
HP ENVY 13-d053TU Notebook (Intel Core i3-6100U, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 10)
T5R00PA

SSD, fast reads and write speeds. fast enough for simple usage.
Windows 10.

At only $999 and with free printer.

 

[Exaita]

My sister is also entering poly this year, and have just receive the laptop mailer. My suggestion to her is to get the lenovo yoga 700 as it is light and touch screen. =P

 

[Intrinion]

It's i3 though - now while there is nothing wrong with one, I would strongly suggest checking up course specification requirements before getting this.

Ram and other specifications are on the low side imo as of 2016 and is not worth the price stated.

Get this

HP
HP ENVY 13-d053TU Notebook (Intel Core i3-6100U, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 10)
T5R00PA

SSD, fast reads and write speeds. fast enough for simple usage.
Windows 10.

At only $999 and with free printer.

HardwareZone Forums app

 

[Teo Ming Ern]

Based on her course in Biotechnology, I guess something light with long battery life is more important than having heavy duty processors and large screens.

I think a Core M processor will suffice, and more RAM 8 GB and more and make sure the laptop comes with SSD. Having an i7 processor is a bit of an overkill if all she does is office productivity and web and email stuff...

 

[Mogan23]

Biotech doesn't need a powerful GPU or CPU, just a basic one with at least 8gb of ram will do.

And try to get one with an ssd, it will load faster and won't be damaged by drops or carrying the laptop around while it's powered on.

Hard disk can be damaged if you move it around, carry it on it's side, upside down while powered on, seen many people doing this

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