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Love Macbooks but need one PC ultrabook
- Thread starter Tritons
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Ummmm, why not?
I've been a Windows geek all my life until I got my MBA. First Apple computer I ever owned. I had to Bootcamp Windows since I have to run software not available for Mac (like Quicken for Business).
My MBA runs Windows better than any other laptop I ever owned. Granted, the MBA is the first laptop with a SSD I use, so that definitely plays a role, but the MBA running Windows behaves just like any other laptop. And the Bootcamp windows driver support is better than anything I've seen before. It was actually quite freaky.
I'm curious to hear what is not the "same".
If you're not an Apple fanboy you'd know the Zenbook easily matches the build quality of the MBA.
It is true, there is no alternative to a MacBook Air.
However, buying a MacBook Air to run Windows over an actual Windows Ultrabook is just foolish and expensive. I wanted to let go of my Windows laptop after getting a MacBook Air (I need Windows for work) but not having certain buttons like Alt, Pause Break, and Del was frankly annoying (I need those buttons for my programs).
Setting them to hot keys on the Mac keyboard made things more frustrating. In my opinion, if you need Windows, you need a Windows PC. There is just no way around it unfortunately.
Some of the macbooks/macbook pros have had little driver bugs under Windows. I haven't tried it on the Air, so I can't comment on that machine. Overall Bootcamp is smooth. I notice slightly different fan behavior even though the cpu use when idle is no higher (sometimes lower than OSX). I tend to disable Aero in Windows. You can just choose a non Aero desktop. It gives slightly better battery life and if you're running with integrated graphics like on an Air, it eases things on your gpu slightly.
I did not mean that the 'Windows' is different. I'm in the same boat as you, long time Windows user (still use it for my desktop). The MBA was my first ever Mac as well and yes the SSD makes a huge difference.
Its just that if you are going to use Windows all the time then why bother bootcamping, wastage of, already limited, storage space, some keys are different and you have to select Windows everytime you boot.
Why go through all that, UBs have caught up in build quality and pricing so other than the OS there's very little difference between them now.
You can actually choose windows as the default OS. But I agree with the rest of what you're saying.
Because on the MBA I can run both OSes fine, the UBs only Windows.
I find Parallels very stable and well performing. I run the MS Office suite, Quicken, Visio, and Project (all Windows versions) and they seem to run like native apps in OS X. No lag, no slowdowns. I even have two XP VMs and a Ububtu VM I can fire up.
Aside from the Windows key (which I never warmed up to anyway) I find the rest of the keys the same.
I'm running Windows now because I have several apps where I have no choice. But every chance I get I'll move closer and closer to Mac OS until I can do without Windows. It may never happen, but I'm willing to give up 20-30GB of disk space to keep a bootcamp partition handy just in case. Otherwise I'll use a Mac app.
Sony is also coming out with an Ultrabook this April. It will resemble their flagship Vaio Z Series from what I understand. It won't have the external PMD (Graphics and Optical Drive).
nope, i didn't have a SSD.
the different between core 2 duo and sandy bridge is actually quite large.
MBA under Windows is definitely worth the bigger price. The Bootcamp drivers are really flawless and I'm always astonished that it runs better than most Windows laptops I've tried.
The only Windows laptop I could buy would be Leonovo's (probably the X220, because of the bigger battery life with the 9-cell).
I tried the UX-21 but it doesn't feel much better than a MBA and I accept to pay a bit more for OS X. If you really want only Windows, it could be a nice alternative though...
The only Windows laptop I could buy would be Leonovo's (probably the X220, because of the bigger battery life with the 9-cell).
I tried the UX-21 but it doesn't feel much better than a MBA and I accept to pay a bit more for OS X. If you really want only Windows, it could be a nice alternative though...
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I'm pretty sure that is a placebo effect considering the components in the MBA are the same as Windows laptops (Intel Core processor, Intel HD 3000, RAM, etc).
I believe this to be true, especially after seeing the unit in person today. It's lightweight, looks good, and incorporates some better materials than those used in the MacBook Air.
If it resembles their Z series I won't even bother looking at it. Sony seriously took a step back with their current Z series. Whereas their previous Z's were always head and shoulders above the competition, the current model is not, other than the asking price. Crappy ergonomics with the kebaord titlting depending on position of the screen, flimsy construction, and tiny crappy track pad. ASUS and Apple are IMO in a class of their own in the ultrabook market.
It does run it well, the only issue is how hot it runs windows on a continual basis. Native Windows ultrabooks run so much cooler & quieter.
The 300 series Lenovo ultrabooks are exceptionally nice. Work just issued one to me a few days ago. I'm really impressed.
I still prefer the styling & OS X of my 13" MBA, but Lenovo's a great second choice.
Here we are, main problem with Bootcamp : the drivers are less optimized than the ultra books ones : you have less battery life and more heat...
One more vote for the Thinkpads !
I use bootcamp with a 2011 MBA. It runs Win 7 Pro well but I was shocked at how much hotter it ran under Win compared to Lion. As noted above, battery life is also poor with bootcamp.
As others have mentioned, the newest Samsung series 9 is excellent. People are getting over 7 hrs of battery life out of it (much longer than the Air) and it's quite powerful too--by the sound of it your mother will not be a power-user but consider that users have successfully put a whopping 16 GBs of RAM on it.
Check out this review of the gorgeous 15-inch:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/15-inch-samsung-series-9-review-2012/
Check out this review of the gorgeous 15-inch:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/15-inch-samsung-series-9-review-2012/
Zero lag on my 2011 maxed out 13" MacBook Air with Bootcamp and Windows Home premium. I have Creative Suite 5.5 and Lightroom 4 in Bootcamp. They run fast.
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Zero lag on my 2011 maxed out 13" MacBook Air with a Bootcamp partition and Windows Home premium. I use Creative Suite 5.5 and Lightroom 4 in Bootcamp and they are fast. I am a lifetime Windows expert (retired IBM exec, age 83) who switched to Apple last December. I do not expect to go back to Windows PCs.