The official bring back 16:10 thread (part 2)

Apple's new MacBook is 16:10: "has a stunning 12-inch 2,304 x 1,440 Retina display that's equal to all the other Retina displays in quality, if not actual resolution."
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/09/new-macbook-hands-on/

 

I like the hardware:

• 4W fanless SoC.
• Intel Core M level of performance.
• 16:10 display ratio and quality.

But only with:

• Real O/S like Win8.1x64Pro.
• Greater than 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD (both, essentially permanent).
• More standard ports, or at least, more of the new USB3.1 ports fully compatible with older USB versions.

And of course, less than the ridiculous prices the fruity company wants.

 

Make that touchpad smaller and move to the left, damn it...

 

Mr.Koala, yeah; this always bothers me too when I have to use fruity tech to surf the web with.

Looks so pretty and works like crap.

 

Lol fruity!

 

I've never been a fan of Apple and really having 1 connector is an absolute stupid decision.. Why couldn't they have 2 of them? It limits your options so much!

 

So it is possible to connect a external monitor, and charge it at the same time, all through one port somehow?

 

If they make the new fruity offering shiny enough, the stupidity of the design choices will be 'accepted'... baa, baaa.

I have no doubt this will be possible. For a co$$t.

 

Is it really shiny though... Looks very plain as before.

 

Indeed... Just look at the their Macbooks.. Sure, has great build quality and components but non-exisistent cooling, inadquate power adapter (has to be shiny and slim and stylish) and everything throttles... I rather spend a bit more and get something like the Sager 8652 (or 8651) which doesn't have this problem!

 

And now Google with 3:2 ...
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/11/chromebook-pixel-review-2015/

 

Oh god.. Is it so hard to stick to 16:10 or 16:9?

 

Yes... Yes it is!

 

Would be nice if one could install Windows/Linux on Pixel 2.

 

Go for the Samsung http://www.amazon.com/NP930X2K-K01US-12-2-Inch-Laptop-Imperial-Black/dp/B00RBDB2EM

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/pcs/NP930X2K-K01US

Same specs, higher res 16:10 screen, SSD is likely upgradable like the other Samsungs. RAM is soldered however. It has two USB 3.0 ports, microSD card slot, headphone/mic jack.

 

That Samsung configuration looks very interesting. MSRP is a little optimistic thought.

In a few months when it is available at less than ~$850 for the 256GB SSD version (or preferably, larger), this could be my new carry everywhere digital notebook (aka 'netbook').

Looking forward to seeing how the Intel Core M will be in actual use... But fanless. Finally. And by the time I'm ready to buy (not available in Canada today), it should be shipping with Win10. Perfect.

 

I thought google now allows for installing an OS from a thumb drive?

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-install-linux-on-a-chromebook-and-unlock-its-ful-509039343

https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-install-windows-8-on-your-google-chromebook-pixel.350111/

 

Yeah, I'm waiting for a price drop too. $1000 is my tipping point. It's perfect really. 12.2" 16:10 high res (non touch) display, 2 lbs, reasonable performance, good amount of RAM and storage, quality build, a significant step up from the T100TA.

 

I'd spend $1K on this too; with a 500GB or larger SSD.

With a quality 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM, I'd be placing orders right now for their asking price... no haggling required.

 

Here's to hoping for a significant price drop in the next few months.

Personally I'm OK with a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM because it would be an extension of my primary PC, and I VPN to my Windows Home Server for file storage anyhow. Although if I could choose my SSD I would. But one thing with these ULV systems is that the SSD is rarely the bottleneck, it's usually just the CPU and I/O in general. No point in having a 1000MB/sec transfer speed and 10 μs response if it's just waiting on the CPU, RAM, and subsystems.

 

But... we are talking about a Samsung product with most likely a Samsung EVO installed.

See:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1512915/...ed-to-confirm-affected-ssds/390#post_23667126


Uh, yeah; 39MB/s average read speed. Welcome to storage subsystems circa 1995...

And overall system performance below 486DX2 levels too...

 

Tiller your merciless even by my standards

 

Love with every fiber of your being; hate with the wrath of the gods. ...dramatic movie score fades out...

(So far I'm still enamored with almost anything Intel and Samsung SSD's make me want to vomit - although when I saw them with makeup I thought they were once cute (brand new 1TB EVO in early 2014)...).

 

I though Intel SSD's were good.. Well at least in 2009-2011... Aren't the newer ones with sandforce controllers decent? Was thinking off getting some 730 480GB ones for quite cheap when they were on sale... Intel's version of Sandforce seems to be ok tbh.. Although now, I'm going to wait for the Extreme Pro II from Sandisk

 

In my use, Intel SSD's are excellent, but usually have the price to match.

While I am mostly using SanDisk Extreme's right now, the one I'm waiting for is the Intel M.2 models in greater than 1TB capacities for my next gen platforms based on Skylake, of course.

 

Intel 730 is an excellent drive in my experience and it does not sport a SF controller...if you can get a good deal on it, it's well worth owning in my opinion.

 

730 is great. Just not really best candidate for a laptop if you want to go unplugged. It sucks up a lot of juice even idle.

 

HTWingNut, great point.

The best performance cannot be had with the best power efficiency (yet) for SSD's.

The better the performance, the higher the power consumption. This has always been the case. And Intel has marketed it's offerings like that from the beginning.

Where SSD's are today, drives offering the highest performance are best left for desktop use. While drives offering lower performance need to at least match what a mobile HDD offers (power use wise).

Samsung seems to show up in both the highest performance and the lowest power use categories. But that is just Samsung's smoke and mirrors marketing department hard at work swindling you out of your $$$...

See:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/silicon-motion-sm2256-ssd-preview,4066-6.html


The heavy workload latency test at the bottom of the link show how the SanDisk Extreme Pro has almost 3x less latency than the Samsung 850 Pro. Which surprisingly is almost matched exactly by the TLC based SanDisk Ultra II (sigh...).

I really wish Hitachi was still producing drives and of course, SSD's too. They are the single manufacturer that understands what makes a great drive (balance). If they were bought by Intel instead; well, we can only dream of what performance we would be seeing today in the SATA3 realm.

 

Yup there was a great deal during black friday/christmas time.. Didn't have the money then.. Price now is too steep.. much better off getting the Sandisk Extreme Pro

I have been warned about that... It was another reason why I didn't take the plunge (I could have borrrowed some money but was put off by this)...

 

16:10 matte screen from a manufacturer other than Apple or Panasonic? Hallelujah! Another laptop I can buy as part of the die-hard 16:10 (or, alternatively, 4:3) crowd. If I were traveling a lot, I might actually get it, too. As it is, my 16:10 EliteBook is much better suited to the LAN use I primarily use laptops for today than a Core M laptop would be, but as a traveler, I see the appeal. I am curious if the battery is replaceable. Even if it does get the claimed 12 hours new - which would be impressive for a small, 35 WHr 2-cell battery - in three years it would get a fraction of that.

For a personal system, I'd also be okay with 8 GB, though upgradeability would be preferable. For a work system, 8 GB would be a non-starter, but this is smaller than what I'd be targeting for a work system anyway.