[PCWorld]

Post your comments for The 8 best laptops and Ultrabooks available today here

[gw74]

Samsung series 9? Lenovo T430s? Macbook Air?

[jon430]

w

[jon430]

wooooooooooo

[waldojim]

Yep, because Vizio and Acer are the first brands that come to mind when looking for the "best" of anything...

Oh wait, that's right, they cater to the ultra-cheap entry-level market....

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 08 December 2012 - 11:21 AM, said:

Yep, because Vizio and Acer are the first brands that come to mind when looking for the "best" of anything...

Oh wait, that's right, they cater to the ultra-cheap entry-level market....

Vizio's PCs certainly aren't cheap, though only time will tell how the quality actually is.

[BadgerScythe]

Just cause you pay more doesn't mean you are getting better... I have a 47 inch Razor 240 hz. In the store they let me fuss with the settings of the sets I was considering and this Tv tore off the heads of all your higher end models. I have had it a couple years and no fade, Dead Pixels, nada nothing. Works like the day I got it. And finally it does what I want and some. They keep making them like this and they have my business.

[waldojim]

BadgerScythe, on 08 December 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

Just cause you pay more doesn't mean you are getting better... I have a 47 inch Razor 240 hz. In the store they let me fuss with the settings of the sets I was considering and this Tv tore off the heads of all your higher end models. I have had it a couple years and no fade, Dead Pixels, nada nothing. Works like the day I got it. And finally it does what I want and some. They keep making them like this and they have my business.

We aren't talking about TV's, we are talking about laptops. Yes, you do get what you pay for. You ever own an Acer or Vizio laptop? I have... well the Acer anyhow. And you know what? It lasted 1 year. Even my crap HP lasted longer than that. I now own a Lenovo w520, and my wife a Lenovo Z565, and guess what? Both going on 2 years right now, working and looking like brand new machines. I have 2 Lenovo A21m's that are several years old, also working like brand new machines. Yes, you get what you pay for.

This is actually kind of comical, as not one quality product made the list. WHY? Because of the price. The tech pundits ignore those little things, like decent keyboards, quality displays, and solid construction because "it only score a 192 on the PC World bench, lagging behind the OMG cheap Acer!"

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 08 December 2012 - 10:13 PM, said:

BadgerScythe, on 08 December 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

Just cause you pay more doesn't mean you are getting better... I have a 47 inch Razor 240 hz. In the store they let me fuss with the settings of the sets I was considering and this Tv tore off the heads of all your higher end models. I have had it a couple years and no fade, Dead Pixels, nada nothing. Works like the day I got it. And finally it does what I want and some. They keep making them like this and they have my business.

We aren't talking about TV's, we are talking about laptops. Yes, you do get what you pay for. You ever own an Acer or Vizio laptop? I have... well the Acer anyhow. And you know what? It lasted 1 year. Even my crap HP lasted longer than that. I now own a Lenovo w520, and my wife a Lenovo Z565, and guess what? Both going on 2 years right now, working and looking like brand new machines. I have 2 Lenovo A21m's that are several years old, also working like brand new machines. Yes, you get what you pay for.

This is actually kind of comical, as not one quality product made the list. WHY? Because of the price. The tech pundits ignore those little things, like decent keyboards, quality displays, and solid construction because "it only score a 192 on the PC World bench, lagging behind the OMG cheap Acer!"

I don't recall you mentioning the Acer before. What happened to that - overheating?

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 08 December 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

waldojim, on 08 December 2012 - 10:13 PM, said:

BadgerScythe, on 08 December 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

Just cause you pay more doesn't mean you are getting better... I have a 47 inch Razor 240 hz. In the store they let me fuss with the settings of the sets I was considering and this Tv tore off the heads of all your higher end models. I have had it a couple years and no fade, Dead Pixels, nada nothing. Works like the day I got it. And finally it does what I want and some. They keep making them like this and they have my business.

We aren't talking about TV's, we are talking about laptops. Yes, you do get what you pay for. You ever own an Acer or Vizio laptop? I have... well the Acer anyhow. And you know what? It lasted 1 year. Even my crap HP lasted longer than that. I now own a Lenovo w520, and my wife a Lenovo Z565, and guess what? Both going on 2 years right now, working and looking like brand new machines. I have 2 Lenovo A21m's that are several years old, also working like brand new machines. Yes, you get what you pay for.

This is actually kind of comical, as not one quality product made the list. WHY? Because of the price. The tech pundits ignore those little things, like decent keyboards, quality displays, and solid construction because "it only score a 192 on the PC World bench, lagging behind the OMG cheap Acer!"

I don't recall you mentioning the Acer before. What happened to that - overheating?

That was the wifes netbook. No overheating issues, shoddy construction. The daily use ripped the screens frame apart. Not that it was handled heavily, it was just crap.

[ACocilova]

Quote

BadgerScythe said
Just cause you pay more doesn't mean you are getting better... I have a 47 inch Razor 240 hz. In the store they let me fuss with the settings of the sets I was considering and this Tv tore off the heads of all your higher end models. I have had it a couple years and no fade, Dead Pixels, nada nothing. Works like the day I got it. And finally it does what I want and some. They keep making them like this and they have my business. We aren't talking about TV's, we are talking about laptops. Yes, you do get what you pay for. You ever own an Acer or Vizio laptop? I have... well the Acer anyhow. And you know what? It lasted 1 year. Even my crap HP lasted longer than that. I now own a Lenovo w520, and my wife a Lenovo Z565, and guess what? Both going on 2 years right now, working and looking like brand new machines. I have 2 Lenovo A21m's that are several years old, also working like brand new machines. Yes, you get what you pay for. This is actually kind of comical, as not one quality product made the list. WHY? Because of the price. The tech pundits ignore those little things, like decent keyboards, quality displays, and solid construction because "it only score a 192 on the PC World bench, lagging behind the OMG cheap Acer!"

Thanks for the feedback! The general rule for this list was ones that are decent and available right now. There are tons and tons of quality laptops and Ultrabooks outs there, just not necessarily the ones we have reviewed lately. A couple are a little older just to fill a niche such as the Origin for a gamer. So far we have been really impressed with the Vizio Ultrabooks and all-in-ones we've seen, it's just a kicker the benchmarking scores are able to keep up!

[eemail]

Too costly
I would like an ultrabook at 350$
and at this price *billions* can be sold in a season.

[Badass62qn]

I rather buy Sony,toshiba,Samsung, Dell, HP computer but not Acer,Asus and Lenovo,those brands belong to China. I don't trust China products all.

[waldojim]

Badass62qn, on 29 December 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

I rather buy Sony,toshiba,Samsung, Dell, HP computer but not Acer,Asus and Lenovo,those brands belong to China. I don't trust China products all.

Then you need to quit buying PC's. Even Toshiba, Dell, and HP build in China. The funny thing is, the best products available are made by the people you don't trust: Asus and Lenovo.

[Badass62qn]

They build from China but technology from Japan n USA. Plus it helps USA,Japan or Korea economy but Not China.

[waldojim]

Badass62qn, on 29 December 2012 - 04:26 PM, said:

They build from China but technology from Japan n USA. Plus it helps USA,Japan or Korea economy but Not China.

Wow - now that is dense thinking. Samsung headquarters are in Korea. Not the US, nor Japan, nor China. They manufacture their products in China and Mexico.
Sony Headquarters are in Japan, and products are manufactured in a wide variety of countries.

The development of the technology? Doesn't matter really, as none of them are developed in China. ALL of the companies produce them there, and NONE of them are headquartered in the USA. You take on a willfully ignorant approach much like the wonderful friends of mine that buy "American" cars to help the American economy.... Apparently without realizing that most of those "American" cars, are MADE IN MEXICO, while my Mitsubishi truck was made in Illinois. As was my last Mitsubishi Galant. Oh yeah, and the Japanese sourced Subaru is manufactured in Indiana. Seems to me, that people put far too much emphasis on where the headquarters are, and not nearly enough on the actual product.

That is ok though, by all means, keep using inferior HP, DELL, and SONY products. I will keep using top quality Lenovo products. And I will also buy REAL American cars while I am at it.

[WinTard]

PCWorld, on 07 December 2012 - 03:30 AM, said:

Post your comments for The 8 best laptops and Ultrabooks available today here

The article said:

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
[$1449 for a 13.3-inch Ultrabook with a 1600-by-900-pixel display, Core i7-3517u processor, and Windows 7]

Well I bought two of those, for distinct friends:

They were $1099 each, with a free Microsoft Office 2010 Student Edition.

Now they went up, since they are not on sale anymore?

Except the reason I chose the Asus over Samsung was that the IPS screen is Full-HD 1920-by-1080p. Both had backlit keyboards. I also could also have gone for an Apple MacBook Air for $100 more; but no Full-HD display. Only 1440 x 900 native. That was a killer. And the Asus had 2GB extra RAM to the MacBook 4GB. And free Office 2010. And of course Windows 8. No brainer.

Model Number: UX32VD-DH71-CB


And none of my Asus motherboards died yet... And I've still got one going back to the Pentium Pro! No kidding. Both my friends loooove their Asus! Verrry high quality feel & performance.

More pretty pictures.

In addition, the systems were equipped with an external LG slim portable BluRay writer (BP40) for an extra $60. Who says BluRay Disc and optical media is dead? I've been snapping up BD like never before, including SACD and Audio DVDs. Mainly for their quality. Picture and Sound quality that is.

Did you know SACD is recorded at 64 times the sampling rate of CD? I can definitely hear the difference! It's eye opening! So sweet! Literally!

Interesting read: http://www.sa-cd.net/faq

Quote

How does DSD work?

Technical experts will tell you DSD is basically a 1-bit Delta/Sigma conversion scheme. We'll try explaining it in somewhat more understandable terms but cannot avoid using some technical terms too.

Basically it works as follows: DSD being a 1-bit signal means that every bit represents a sample - a measurement of the amplitude of the sound wave at a certain time. Since a bit can only have two values, every bit in a DSD stream only tells whether the amplitude of the sound signal was higher or lower than the previous sample. Because it doesn't tell how much higher or lower the amplitude is, you can imagine you need a lot of samples to accurately describe the signal. Well, DSD uses 64 times the sampling frequency of CD: 2.822 MHz vs 44.1 kHz. The factor 64 is not randomly chosen. It's a power of two, meaning that it's relatively straightforward to upsample from typical PCM frequencies including 44.1 kHz and multiples like 88.2 kHz.

Sorry I digress about my passions...
I like Asus products (designed in China and/or Taiwan {they all look the same to me})



~~~~~~~~~~
I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people.
~ Isaac Newton

Updated page in English dictionary.
1. Apology: an admission of error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret.
2. Applelogy: an admission of no error nor discourtesy accompanied by an expression of no regret.
~ Ed Edvil

War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.
~ Thomas Mann

I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me.
~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

[WinTard]

Badass62qn, on 29 December 2012 - 04:26 PM, said:

They build from China but technology from Japan n USA. Plus it helps USA,Japan or Korea economy but Not China.

Oh really?

Some people are simply iD10Ts.

Without Chinese financial backing, there would be NO US economy. Um, what's that Financial Cliff coming up?

Google China finances the US for substantiation:


Remember all the financial crashes in the USA lately? No? Well the last mortgage crisis, could very well happen tomorrow, again, yet this time it will be much worse!

Hey what happens if the US defaults like Greece? There was a near-call not long ago.

Believe it or not.

Red-necks will self-exterminate, alas poor gene pool of natural selection. It's Darwin at work here. But some are proud of the USD $16+ Trillion dollars deficit, in the name of patriotism, no less.



Head in the sand much? Like an ostrich?

~~~~~~~~~~
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
~ Robert A. Heinlein

Ignorance is trainable – Stupidity is terminal.
~ Jerry Fleming

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
~ Hanlon's razor

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.
~ George Bernard Shaw

In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary, 'patriotism' is defined as the last resort of the scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer, I beg to submit that it is the first.
~ Ambrose Bierce, American writer

[waldojim]

WinTard, on 29 December 2012 - 10:59 PM, said:

[snip]
In addition, the systems were equipped with an external LG slim portable BluRay writer (BP40) for an extra $60. Who says BluRay Disc and optical media is dead? I've been snapping up BD like never before, including SACD and Audio DVDs. Mainly for their quality. Picture and Sound quality that is.

Did you know SACD is recorded at 64 times the sampling rate of CD? I can definitely hear the difference! It's eye opening! So sweet! Literally!

Interesting read: http://www.sa-cd.net/faq

Quote

How does DSD work?

Technical experts will tell you DSD is basically a 1-bit Delta/Sigma conversion scheme. We'll try explaining it in somewhat more understandable terms but cannot avoid using some technical terms too.

Basically it works as follows: DSD being a 1-bit signal means that every bit represents a sample - a measurement of the amplitude of the sound wave at a certain time. Since a bit can only have two values, every bit in a DSD stream only tells whether the amplitude of the sound signal was higher or lower than the previous sample. Because it doesn't tell how much higher or lower the amplitude is, you can imagine you need a lot of samples to accurately describe the signal. Well, DSD uses 64 times the sampling frequency of CD: 2.822 MHz vs 44.1 kHz. The factor 64 is not randomly chosen. It's a power of two, meaning that it's relatively straightforward to upsample from typical PCM frequencies including 44.1 kHz and multiples like 88.2 kHz.

Sorry I digress about my passions...
[/snip]

Now, that is a bit dis-ingenious... You cannot directly compare the two sample rates, as they simply serve difference purposes. 1 bit adjustments require the massively high sample rates in order to capture all the audio, without those ultra-high sample rates, it would sound far, far worse than even the worst of today's PCM recordings.

[phredi]

This is the worse magazine I know of.Un-clickable links,incorrect pricing,inconsistent spec expressions,articles with similar names.Unable to relocate articles.