Proper business ultrabook wanted

[VitalyT]

I have been ogling the market for somebody to finally offer a decent ultra-book for business, but nobody seems to be up to the task.

I know for fact that the kind of spec I'm looking for is very doable, because Apple has it already, but I need a Windows ultra-book. I already tried to put Windows 7/8 on my latest Macbook Air, and it was awkward at best, issues with the pad drivers, just not usable.

My ideal ultra-book would have the following configuration:

Screen: 13"-15", with 1080P
SSD: Samsung 840, 256-512GB
Memory: 16GB
USB: 3xUSB3

I'd be happy to pay up to 3k for such ultra-book, but I can't find anything that comes close in the spec.

Is there anybody who at least got something like this in the works? Any rumors? Anything?

 

[slh28]

Try the Lenovo X1?

Also the MBA only goes up to 8GB RAM, I don't think there's any ultrabooks on the market with 16GB.

 

[VitalyT]

Nope, not so many. The very best thing on the hardware side is Mac-book Pro Retina. I can get it for 3K with 512GB SSD, 16GB of RAM, 2xUSB3, Best display ever made. Unfortunately, putting Windows 7/8 on such computers is murdering it. Drivers suck, pad is unusable.

I'm just hoping some manufacturer will finally offer a configuration as decent.

 

[slh28]

You're talking about using Bootcamp to run Windows on Macbooks right? While the trackpad is much less responsive in Windows than OSX it's still as good or better than almost all ultrabooks. I would definitely not call it unusable.

I imagine the MBPr won't be very friendly with Windows because everything will be tiny, and the dpi scaling won't totally cure it. Plus it's not an ultrabook, it's much thicker and heavier. If you're willing to expand your definition of an ultrabook to MBP-like machines then there's loads more choices.

 

[VitalyT]

Nope, not so much. I just gave Macbook Pro Retina as example of a good hardware spec I seek. But of course it does not pass for an ultra-book.

 

[slh28]

When ultrabooks do come out with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSDs they're not going to be cheap... all vendors charge silly amounts for RAM and storage upgrades.

What programs do you run which actually require 16GB of RAM in a laptop?

 

[VitalyT]

I did mention I'd be happy to pay up to 3K for such ultra-book.

I'm running between clients with one such. It uses up all of its 4GB in a moment. I need to debug in VS2010 on it, while also using VMW and SQL Express on the same laptop. That eats memory like crazy, I can't even use a proper VMW session while VS2010 is running. And now with VS2012 that's even hungrier. They eat up 8GB on my desktop easily. That's why I want 16GB, to make no compromises.

 

[slh28]

I think you're better off looking at normal laptops, ultrabooks are meant for portability and light computing usage rather than desktop replacements.

The closest at the moment is probably the Vaio Z, but the 512GB SSD upgrade is... wait for it... £1150! The 1080p display is really excellent but the trackpad is tiny and terrible to use and it has an awkward opening mechanism. It's a far from perfect machine and given how much it costs I wouldn't be happy spending that much for something that's lacking in a lot of areas.