Help Find A Nice Ivy Bridge Notebook

[canopy]

Criteria:

• Not black absolutely required. Any other color. It needs to look fashionable when closed which will be most of the time.
  
• Ivy Bridge CPU absolutely required. Prefer 4 cores for a specialized app I run.
  
• 15" display absolute minimum
  
• Full HD 1080p graphics 1920x1080. I guess this may not be available in the Thai marketplace so reluctantly realize I may have to sacrifice this.
  
• blu-ray preferred
  
• memory and hard drive doesn't matter--can upgrade these for a reasonable cost after market
  
• ideally under 50,000 but could go higher if justifiable
  

Any possibilities out there?

[Notstupid30]

Hope this helps ... http://notebookspec.com/web/search.php has everything from spec to prices here in Thailand then just google the model number to find who stocks it here ,,

[JakeBKK]

Core i7-2637M should do.

[Notstupid30]

36K

http://notebookspec.com/notebook/4764-MSI-GE60K-i7.html

[canopy]

Quick responses in reverse order:

1. The MSI look pretty black so that's out

2. The Core i7-2637M sounds like the old, 2nd generation CPU family and I don't want that. Ivy bridge is the 3rd generation and model numbers start with a 3, not a 2.

3. The problem with the notebookspec site is I can't figure out what the real color is. Take for instance the acer aspire v3. The top photo shows silver. Click the detailed photo and it shows it is black. Which is it or is it an option? Also got a kick out of that link as someone wrote a comment that it is perfect because it is full HD which is certainly not true.

[GuyL]

Well, this model's color is "Midnight Black Aluminium", but it seems to fit all your other specs (including Blu-Ray optical drive and Full HD graphics): http://thesystem.co....p?code=A0050092

This other model does not have a Blu-Ray optical drive and does not have Full HD graphics 1920x1080, but exists in blue, white, silver, red, pink, orange (and even black): http://thesystem.co....p?code=A0049819

Edited August 8, 2012 by GuyL

[Dork]

When you're buying a car is your main criteria that it's a red one?

[NHJ]

I think the computer you wish to buy shouldn't be opened and kept in its original box, after all beauty is often hidden.

[HardenedSoul]

Dell XPS 15.

It ticks all your boxes and it will be available here according to the owner of authorised Dell joint in Fortune Town IT Mall but when is anybody's guess.

If you can't wait, buy it in HK or Singers and ship it in. Only 7% VAT to pay on laptops I've been told.

Was thinking of getting one myself but considering the price, I'd rather buy a Mac.

[Sayonarax]

50K? And its going to sit closed half the time? Its a computer, not a classic car.

Best run yourself down to an apple store and wave ya cash around.

[canopy]

I have a Thai brochure for Dell July-August 2012. It shows the XPS 15 in silver with 1080p for 45,990. So far so good, but the spec lists the old CPU so they are apparently still trying to clear out their old inventory before introducing the up to date model to Thailand.

A strange trend with notebooks I notice is the more expensive they are, the less color choice you have to the point everything becomes black. I'll vote with my baht to reward the manufacturer who put the effort into making their machine look good in addition to having good specs versus sacrificing one over the other. I am replacing what I and many people who have seen it would admit is the most beautiful notebook ever made: the Acer Ferrari 3200. It cost 100,000 baht packed with features unheard of in a notebook at its introduction about a decade ago including one of the first mobile 64-bit processors and a desktop performance graphics card. I always feared the day I would need to replace it since the trend in notebooks is cheap looks, but it's time. The Acer Ferrari is an old war horse on its last legs now.

By the way, where is the best place in Bangkok with the most variety of notebooks to see in person? Might that be paragon? I'd like to spend a day just browsing.

[Dork]

I have a Thai brochure for Dell July-August 2012. It shows the XPS 15 in silver with 1080p for 45,990. So far so good, but the spec lists the old CPU so they are apparently still trying to clear out their old inventory before introducing the up to date model to Thailand.

A strange trend with notebooks I notice is the more expensive they are, the less color choice you have to the point everything becomes black. I'll vote with my baht to reward the manufacturer who put the effort into making their machine look good in addition to having good specs versus sacrificing one over the other. I am replacing what I and many people who have seen it would admit is the most beautiful notebook ever made: the Acer Ferrari 3200. It cost 100,000 baht packed with features unheard of in a notebook at its introduction about a decade ago including one of the first mobile 64-bit processors and a desktop performance graphics card. I always feared the day I would need to replace it since the trend in notebooks is cheap looks, but it's time. The Acer Ferrari is an old war horse on its last legs now.

By the way, where is the best place in Bangkok with the most variety of notebooks to see in person? Might that be paragon? I'd like to spend a day just browsing.

Pantip (Patunam) definitely. There are many, many places but as a "one stop shop" you could almost say that if it isn't available at Pantip it isn't available in Thailand.

[HardenedSoul]

I have a Thai brochure for Dell July-August 2012. It shows the XPS 15 in silver with 1080p for 45,990. So far so good, but the spec lists the old CPU so they are apparently still trying to clear out their old inventory before introducing the up to date model to Thailand.

Yeah they'll probably wait until the XPS 15"z" units are sold off but, as I said, you could always buy it abroad and import it without having to pay duty.

If buying from the UK for example, the XPS 15 would cost upwards of 60,000 baht but bolt shipping and 7% vat onto that and a Macbook Pro starts to make sense

[canopy]

I checked the Dell website and indeed the new XPS 15 in the US is cheaper than the old XPS 15 sold in Thailand. However a Thai keyboard is a must as stickers don't cut it. I'll have to check places that sell replacement keyboards if they have a compatible Thai keyboard if going this direction. Warranty must also be considered.

[Ch23]

I would head over to fortune IT mall in ratchada. Guys there are very knowlegable and have top stuff going. Depending on what your doing. Which must be something heavy as you need a i7 ivy bridge core. Cooling must be a big requirement. I play alot of games and model 3D structure simulations for work this requires alot of power. Some simualtions take over an hour to compute. The biggest hassel in thai (or anywhere) is cooling. I have a huge overclocked mid tower with dual gpu's. Keeping it cool inovles alot of work.

Anyway laptops just arent up to this i have burnt out two here doing this and now use a cooling pad and a 12" desk fan (on blizzard mode) and it still runs hot. Thats with only one screen. The desktop does that with 60" of full hd.

Anyways the new ivybriges are screaming to be overclocked and that will make the problem worse. Sure u'll hve an alright laptop but it wont b anywhere near its potential and cost loads. Save some cash by an ok one and leave the fancy stuff for home.

As for apple. Ha dont make me laugh! And do not buy dell. They are worthless and rob u at every opitunity. They dont give any install discs and load ur pc full of unwanted stuff that u can no longer boot over great!

[HardenedSoul]

Well sorry mate but, believe it or not, other people have had good experiences with Dell computers. You say they're worthless, I say they ain't.

[vcpilot]

check out Asus n56, it seems to have the specs you are looking for. I'm waiting them to bring out

the n56VZ (already out in many other countries, like singapore), with this years graphics card.

sadly, in thailand they seem to be pushing the n56VM with the last years gpu. But it still has full hd screen,

3rd gen i7, 8gb memory and blueray. all in about 1000 euros. Replace the hdd with a ssd, and you

got a pretty sweet portable computer.

[canopy]

I had a chance to look at all the ivy bridge notebooks up close. When you throw out anything that isn't ivy bridge, anything that's black, and anything with a small display there really isn't a lot of options. For some manufacturers there's just nothing in that category at all.

The most impressive available is the Dell 5520. Nice spec sheet with quad core, 15" display, 8GB RAM, 1TB disk, choice of 6 colors, and priced at 27K. Build quality is fair with the outside coming off better in the looks department than the business side which is ugly. It was the only one that I would buy, albeit reluctantly, and I almost did. That was until I saw an XPS which finally had a beautiful fit and finish and finally a machine with full HD graphics, priced at 50K. Unfortunately Dell haven't got around to refreshing their product line so it has the old CPU and they said it ivy bridge would be coming soon whatever that means.

The other promise is Sony has good style but almost all of their machines are still on the old CPU so shame on them being so late to the game. They have one decent ivy bridge offering with full HD, but it's black, argh. I plan to wait for Dell or Sony to get the rest of their products up to date and probably go for one or the other. I can't believe the transition is taking so long. Perhaps their last round of notebooks didn't sell as well as they forecast and they are left with a huge inventory backed up now for nearly a half year so far they cannot get rid of, particularly for Sony.

Edited August 19, 2012 by canopy

[negreanu]

Macbook Pro retina. There is no better laptop out there just now

[HardenedSoul]

Macbook Pro retina. There is no better laptop out there just now

Yeah I'm still considering this but just can't pull the trigger.

Measly SSD means you can't exactly store many of the high-def videos such a great display could do justice to

Apple have seen fit not to support Blu Ray although there is software that would enable playback . . . had they seen fit to equip the Retina model with a disc drive. This means you have to carry around another separate drive which erodes the laptop's weight advantage over rivals. Pointless.

Other than that, it's a beautiful machine. It just feels like buying one would mean succumbing to Apple's insidious "prop-agenda".

If the Dell XPS 15 was available in Thailand with the Ivy Bridge processor, I'd take it over the MBP-Retina every day of the week

Edited August 19, 2012 by HardenedSoul

[ilCapitano79]

Macbook Pro retina. There is no better laptop out there just now

I'm thinking of buying one but I worry just about one thing about it, overheating in windows. I have MBP 17" and it gets crazy hot in windows. I know one should be working in Mac OS but it's not an option for me. I work in windows and everything else I can do in Mac OS.

So how is it in windows? Does it get overheated, can you have it on your lap while in windows?

Thanks

[negreanu]

So how is it in windows? Does it get overheated, can you have it on your lap while in windows?

No overheating and it does get warm on your lap like any laptop does. Even when gaming for extensive period times. Apple have totally redesigned the laptop cooling system including extra vents etc. Coolest MBP I have ever owned. (Also relatively easy access to heatsinks if u fancy arctic silvering the CPU and GPU another 5degrees drop in temps)

Measly SSD means you can't exactly store many of the high-def videos such a great display could do justice to

768GB SSD option. Thunderbolt external drives. Use the soon to be released Nifty Drive to put another 64GB in the SD slot. No one is really using anything bigger than 1.0TB HD's in other brand laptops. I would much rather lose 232GB in storage for 5 times the drive performace.

I don't store much in the way of HD content on the machine itself. Most of i stream from NAS at home or copy what I need onto the SSD if going travelling.

Also I purchase/rent a lot from Itunes which is stored in the cloud.

Apple have seen fit not to support Blu Ray although there is software that would enable playback

Disc based media is dying at a very very quick rate. A lot of manufacturer's see that not just Apple. Sony is another prime example of dropping their internal drives in certain models of laptops.

5 years I think Disc based media will be gone or at least significantly reduced to under 20% of media sold. This of course is directly proportional to internet speed increasing.

Itunes store is already streaming 1080p content.

Edited August 20, 2012 by negreanu

[HardenedSoul]

768GB option is all well and good but ridiculously expensive.

MBP-Retina comes without Ethernet so you have to buy an adapter or put up with jerky playback if you're streaming 1080p content over wireless-N.

Websites and apps have yet to support such high resolution and even when they do, is it really likely that Thailand's gateway to the rest of the world will be able to cope? Yes, I realise the display can support lower resolutions but doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not slating the MBP-Retina but if 1080p is - for the time being, at least - the gold standard in video quality, how can anybody who's not a photographer or video editor justify the additional expense? Yeah, yeah. I know the "text is so super-sharp" argument but it doesn't warrant the extra cost.

[Digitalbanana]

Loads of laptops to meet your specs, can be found on the internet and ship here for 7% tax on declared cost. Why buy a Mac when everyone else at work is still using Windows based software?

[negreanu]

it doesn't warrant the extra cost

Price any quality brand name laptop and by that i dont mean Acer etc. with a similar spec processor, graphics card, memory, 768GB SSD, same screen (impossible but) - the price is very competitive for the MBPR

Take the Sony Z little bit dated now but heck of an expensive machine.

1080p content over wireless-N.

?? is easily done on wireless N. I do it every day from NAS to Media players.

1080p uses about 1.5-2.0MB/s. Lets take Avatar 3D Bluray ISO stream that it uses 5.0-6.0MB/s probably the most demanding file you will stream. Wireless N can handle it.

Yes, I realise the display can support lower resolutions but doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Run one of ours at 1920x1200 looks amazing still at all res's higher than 1440

Edited August 21, 2012 by negreanu

[canopy]

Update: so after the disappointing Dell Jul/Aug catalog I waited for the Sep/Oct catalog. Disappointment again. The "high end" XPS series is still on the old 2nd gen CPU. Now the Nov/Dec catalog is out and the cover page is promoting 3rd generation CPU. Surely now right? No...they still only sell the 2nd gen CPU for these "high end" notebooks, the 3rd gen is for bottom of the barrel notebooks, what the hey? It gets worse. They no longer even list the 15" XPS model with HD resolution, apparently having withdrawn it completely from Thailand. Instead they offer a range of puny XPS models with super low res fitted with pathetically old CPU. Sad. I should have bought in the US 6 months ago as they have had what I want all this time and at a better price. My fault thinking a company like Dell might actually get on the ball in Thailand any day now.

[Crushdepth]

I went looking for a quad core ivy bridge notebook a few weeks ago for video editing, and to me ASUS seemed to have the best machines / deals for that sort of thing at the moment. I got a 14" N46V for about 28,000 baht (i7-3610QM processor @ 2.3 GHz, 4 gigs ram, GPU, 1TB drive @ 7200rpm and 64 bit Windows Home Premium, nice chiclet keyboard). You could get blue ray as an option and they did have a few 15" models that were fairly similar. It's quite a nice machine. Silver case, though I am not a fan of that.

[HardenedSoul]

Update: so after the disappointing Dell Jul/Aug catalog I waited for the Sep/Oct catalog. Disappointment again. The "high end" XPS series is still on the old 2nd gen CPU. Now the Nov/Dec catalog is out and the cover page is promoting 3rd generation CPU. Surely now right? No...they still only sell the 2nd gen CPU for these "high end" notebooks, the 3rd gen is for bottom of the barrel notebooks, what the hey? It gets worse. They no longer even list the 15" XPS model with HD resolution, apparently having withdrawn it completely from Thailand. Instead they offer a range of puny XPS models with super low res fitted with pathetically old CPU. Sad. I should have bought in the US 6 months ago as they have had what I want all this time and at a better price. My fault thinking a company like Dell might actually get on the ball in Thailand any day now.

I contacted Dell Thailand directly and they told me they have no plans to bring the 3rd Gen XPS 15" to market here until the new year. Having said that, I did a search for reviews on this machine and found that many buyers are returning their machines under warranty owing to a serious problem with wi-fi performance. I've been torn between the the XPS and a Macbook Pro Retina for months.

I've had very good experiences with Dell's support/service in Thailand - they come out to your home/office with the necessary parts and install them next day.

I don't relish the idea of relying on the inconsistent Apple reseller network in Thailand if anything went wrong with a Mac.

[canopy]

Well just a closing note. After many months scouring every single manufacturers offerings in Thailand I gave up and bought a Sony Vaio S series in the US and had it shipped to me in Thailand by a 3rd party. I love it. Unlike Thailand where Sony, Dell and the likes choose the options and colors for you I was able to go on the Sony web site and customize everything exactly to my needs. And yes, it has a very nice range of colors to choose from, a high quality fit and finish, full-HD, blu-ray, and absolutely everything i wanted. I paid about 10,000 baht less than if I bought it in Thailand staying well below budget which was partially cancelled out by a customs fee of 1100 baht & shipping.