been searching around. currently really tempted to get a 13" and swap in a ssd + buy a 46" LED tv and i would probably use less money than a mbp retina. any good recommendations for a gaming FHD 13" ubook?

do u really need the retina display? if not a regular MBP will do right?

well...apple doesnt have a full hd so the retina was needed. my initial intention for the mbp retina was because once i specced the normal mbp 15" with ssd, the price is more than the retina, making it a no brainer to get the retina.

+1.
In Malaysia, only this:
MacBookPro 15" (Retina Display), i7-3610QM + Nvidia GT650M + 256GB SSD + (2880x1800)@RM6799[2.02kg], 8GB, backlit keyboard, Mac OSX

Closest and cheaper rival that satisfy all your specs requirement:
Asus UX51VZ or U500VZ touch. Not sold in Malaysia by Asus

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 14 2013, 05:07 AM

There is no 13" laptop with FHD screen that can play GTA4 (let alone GTA5) reasonably well

Closest in Malaysia is this illegear www.illegear.com (Clevo based) 11": (I know you mentioned don't want Sager or less well known brand ). No FHD, but has the GPU power.
R-11, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT650M@RM2999, 8GB, 500(5400rpm), FreeDOS [CPU options: i5-3210M-i7-3630QM]

Since you are going to Holland, if you are interested in the model, look at it from here (based in Germany, ship to Europe):
http://www.notebookguru.de/index.html

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 14 2013, 05:28 AM

thanks. will check out. the notebookguru looks tempting.

This post has been edited by audio technica: Feb 14 2013, 03:58 PM

thanks bro, will consider your recommendation.

I have been asking about this
Preferred brand: -
Budget: RM1900-RM2400
Usage: (postgraduate) doing assignment (frequently with Microsoft office, i.e. word, excel), installing some statistical software like SAS, minitab....., online, reading pdf file, watching drama, playing music. Mostly open notebook for long hours.
Preferred laptop/screen size: 14"
Thanks a lot

May I know Toshiba L840-1041X versus Asus A45VS-VX026H versus Asus A45VD, which one more worth/valuable & suitable for my usage?
Any others laptop from others brand can recommend?
Thanks.

i will soon working on an environment without cable plug without wireless connection.(work travelling for 2-3 month) and hence battery life is an important consideration when buying one. Budget RM1000(my bonus)
Environment
7-8 hours of working hours.
running Ubuntu
just texting on vim/gedit/text editor and probably running some ide like eclipse,netbeans.
running localhost server for networking development.
no video no sound


there are a few option of what i am looking at.

1 original eee pc 1025c
the battery life is the best of all, but then i afraid that i cant accept an 10 inch working environment(i mean typing in the 10 inch keyboard).

2. second hand u32u, RM 9xx + battery replacement/ 1st hand RM1260 with 10hours battery
13.3 inch ultrabook, the information i got from the owner, batery can run idle 7hours+ 4-5 hours lightwork, i guess it is not using the 8cell that can run 10 hours, i look around for battery replacement but cannot find one.

3. macbook late 2009 RM 1300+
same as above,4-5 hours with wlan. but can do ios/mac development when im bored.

4. original eee pc 1225b RM940
the battery life does not seems to match 1025c but can still do 4-5 hour with wlan

5. K43u (damn heavy)
but im not sure of the battery life

is there a site where i can check all the battery life or any tutorial i can read to determine the battery life of a pc by just reading the spec

This post has been edited by roimekoi: Feb 15 2013, 12:06 PM

Hi guys,

I'd already narrow my choice between two laptops:

1) Lenovo Z400
2) Lenovo Y400

My primary uses would be programming and watching movie. Which one do you guys suggest?

You don't need powerful GPU.
If you run very large data sets in your SAS / Minitab, you may notice difference in performance if you opt for Intel i7 quad core CPU.
With your budget, you normally will only get HD (1366x768) screen. Hope you are not watching drama in FHD (otherwise just connect to external display or FHD TV).
Laptop generally has lousy speakers. Connect laptop to a pair of cheap (~RM100) desktop speakers for better sound for your music.
If you run data intensive task (with lots of CPU calculation, disc activities ... ) for long period, make sure you get good external cooling solution (table fan, cooling pad ~ RM80).

Satellite L840-1041X/XR/XW, i5-3210M + AMD HD7670M@RM2099[2.12kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8; colors: black/red/White
A45VS-VX026H, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT645M@RM2199[2.4kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8

Don't go for A45VD (unless there is some specific reason like you like the colour ) since A45VS outspec it at the same price point (even though you may not utilise the GPU ).

For your usage, L840 and A45VS is more or less the same (same CPU). Just make sure the OS is 64 bit, and upgrade RAM to 4G at least (if you multitask a lot, 8G. 4G stick is ~ RM80). You obviously is going to type a lot, so please try out the keyboard (my fingers cannot "tahan" Toshiba current keyboard) in person. You looks like someone who is likely to punch lots of numbers. Either get a external numpad (good Logitech), or may want to consider 15" models which has built in numpad in keyboard (trade off for heavier weight).

Other suggestion:
Dell
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2049[2.38kg], 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7HP/W8 (extend warranty to 3 years for peace of mind)
HP
Envy Dv4-5202TX/5203TX, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT630M@RM2399[Beats], 4GB, 750GB(5400rpm), W8, black/red (reasonable speakers among laptops)
Lenovo
Z480, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M@RM2099, 4GB, 1TB(5400rpm) W8, colors: grey/red/blue (slightly larger HDD, decent keyboard, also can upgrade warranty to 3 years on site)

All prices are RSP, negotiable.

z400,
i read somewhere where intel haswell will try to bring down the multitouch price meaning that new multitouch laptop will be much lower price and will have a higher audience when haswell is out. anyhow prepare a multitouch laptop now if later devide need to program multitouch later

This post has been edited by roimekoi: Feb 15 2013, 12:42 PM

Z400 touch, i7-3632QM + Nvidia GT645M + (1366x768; touch)@RM2699, 4GB, 1TB, W8; backlit, 2 years warranty
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT650M@RM2799, 4GB, 500GB, W8, 120wPSU, swappable ODD

Unless you are doing programming that require powerful CPU, both are way over-powered for your usage
It's a matter of personal taste, actually. Z400 is more slim and sexy with more colour choices. Y400 looks cool with the red backlit
If you need to use laptop off power socket, Z400 will give you better battery performance.

Challenging environment you are going to be in
With your budget and requirement for long battery performance, best bet is laptop with Intel Atom or AMD E series.
Hard to determine battery life by just reading the spec (since CPU is only a part of total power drawn and there is not a lot of public data on power drawn by other laptop components).
Review site like www.notebookcheck.net run battery performance test for models they review, but you need to make sure the specs is comparable.

If you worry about keyboard size, these 14" is worth your consideration (also much easier to source for 2nd battery), but slightly heavy at 2kg
Acer
Aspire E1-421-11202G50, E1-1200 + AMD HD7310M@RM1249, 2GB, 500GB, W7HB; W8@RM1299
Asus
X45U-VX024, E2-1800 + AMD HD6320M@RM1199, 2GB, 500GB, FreeDOS, 1 year warranty
Lenovo
G485, E300 + AMD HD@RM999, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), FreeDOS
Samsung
NP355E4XC, E1-1200 + AMD HD7310M@RM999, 2GB, 320gb, freeDOS

HP 11.6"
Dm1-4210AU, AMD E1-1200 + AMD HD7310M@RM1399, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W7HP (very decent keyboard for 11", battery performance also decent)
Samsung 11.6"
NP305U1A, E-450 + AMD HD6320M@RM1399, 2GB, 500GB, W7S (matte screen, decent keyboard for 11", try to find the one with 66Whr battery )

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 15 2013, 04:34 PM

Hi,

1) preferred brand: Asus / Toshiba / dell / mac
2) budget : 3.7k max
3) usage: normal daily use, includes movies.
4) others: prefer a light weight laptop, 13" or smaller. PS:am gonna carry it around a lot.

BTW, is Asus UX31A touch out in malaysia?

This post has been edited by JeXusT: Feb 15 2013, 03:53 PM

Yes, UX31A touch is available in Malaysia

Apple
MacBookAir 11", i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3399[1.08kg], 4GB, backlit keyboard, Mac OSX
MacBookAir 13", i5-3427U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD + (1440x900)@RM3699[1.35kg], 4GB, backlit keyboard, Mac OSX

Asus
Taichi, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 256GB SSD@RM3999[1.25kg][Bang & Olufsen], 4GB, dual IPS screens
UX31A-C4032H, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD + (1920 x 1080;touch)@3799[1.3kg], 4GB, W8
UX31A-R4005H, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD + (1920 x 1080)@RM3499[1.3kg], 4GB, W8

Dell
XPS12, i5-3337U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD + (1920x1080;touch)@RM3999[1.54kg], 8GB, W8, backlit, spill resistant keyboard, build-in battery, no ODD
XPS13, i5-3337U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3399[1.36kg], 4GB, W8, backlit

Toshiba
Portégé Z930-2002, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3399[1.12kg], W7HP, 6GB, 3 years warranty; W8@RM3799

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 15 2013, 04:05 PM

got it! my new RED asus a55VD, have charged it but yet to use it. looking forward to testing itafter work today.

Whats ur opinion about z500. Is is worth the money?

Specs seemed pretty good for the price, especially so if you are looking to fully experience W8 with its touchscreen feature

the price is 2.7k rite?