The Asus StudioBook S definitely looks promising. Looking forward to seeing additional hands-on reviews.
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What kinds of Windows laptops do you want to see at CES?
- Thread starter hajime
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Asus Studio Book S that I linked for one. I wish more manufacturers would pick up 3:2 as well and give us fewer 16:9 models.
So we got a bunch of desktop replacements and paper thin ultra books. The middle ground, the Main Battle Laptop is MIA. I swear I’ll start a kickstarter campaign and build one myself. Something out of Clevo barebones.
Asus and LG laptops. Hopefully, more will follow, since LG is one of the biggest display makers out there.
I think that is more or less what System 76 did for their Linux laptops, at least I know the Oryx Pro is a Clevo.
Me too. After more research and tests at Best Buy, I think an Asus laptop will be my next primary computer. I enjoyed the feel of the Zenbook keyboard and the builds are just so cool. Darn Apple for spoiling me on computer designs.
So it’s either this or the upcoming 17” ROG Zephyrus. I wouldn’t need the Xeon StudioBook and both are slight overkill; However, I’d rather have more specs than less.
Now it’s just the waiting game.
Once I get bills sorted, I am definitely picking up a W10 missing manual or something like that. Not going to fiddle with settings.
I think you can’t go wrong with either Lenovo or Asus. Both seem to make reliable, durable, quality laptops. MSI as well, at least in their higher end models like the GS Stealth series have made great strides.
Acer, which I know you had a bad experience with, I am not as sold on. Particularly outside their top models, which I think have a steeper drop off than Lenovo and Asus.
I found the Windows 10 Step by Step Book to be useful when I picked up the Surface Pro. I liked how it was laid out, the info it presented and the practice exercises. I felt as grounded as could as I picked up enough confidence and useful tips to make the purchase worthwhile, since I hadn’t touched Windows since the XP days.
But you do have to have a look at books yourself and see what information, layout and teaching format works best for you. Some layouts are better for some than others, some learn visually, some prefer reading, other hands on. Different books will use these in different ratios.
Thanks.
I am really impressed with the feel and build of the Asus: their innovations in cooling systems and overall tank-like (durable) design are icing on the cake. I understand battery life could take a hit given the graphics cards inside, but this machine would never leave my house.
I looked at one MSI too.
Funny, I was just looking at the W10 step by step book you mentioned and liked what I saw. Will definitely investigate books more thoroughly. I need easy, visual guides. When I write out how to do something at work, it it is always step-by-step.
I realized with my Surface borks, I was treating these machines like Apple computers and presumed they would respond the same way. I am ultimately glad I returned both because I need more graphics power than the GT150 which was in the SB2 and the Spectre I returned.
The Thinkpads are built to last, but my inner design geek is pushing me toward an Asus.
I am looking forward to this switch. Waiting is the hardest part.
GT150? Assuming you had the 13” model with the GTX1050 2GB? Not a bad video card and arguably better than what Apple has used prior to the New Vega machines.
The 15” version comes with a GTX1060 with 6GB. Up until the announcement of the GTX 20xx series, there wasn’t much out there better in a relatively small, non-gaming machine
Guessing that the SB3 will have the GTX 20xx series GPU’s
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Surface Device myself and most likely will if the SB3 has the specs I am hoping it does. I love my SP and my in-store experiences with my local MS store have so far been exceptional
Good luck in choosing a book! I am sure you will find one that works well for you. I need to find the time to dig into my One Note Step by Step Book. I feel I should be making use of it and I am not
GT150? Assuming you had the 13” model with the GTX1050 2GB? Not a bad video card and arguably better than what Apple has used prior to the New Vega machines.
The 15” version comes with a GTX1060 with 6GB. Up until the announcement of the GTX 20xx series, there wasn’t much out there better in a relatively small, non-gaming machine
Guessing that the SB3 will have the GTX 20xx series GPU’s
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Surface Device myself and most likely will if the SB3 has the specs I am hoping it does. I love my SP and my in-store experiences with my local MS store have so far been exceptional
Good luck in choosing a book! I am sure you will find one that works well for you. I need to find the time to dig into my One Note Step by Step Book. I feel I should be making use of it and I am not
Thanks.
There are so many graphics cards, I spaced on what was inside the the Surface Books.
You’re correct about those cards > I only remembered the Spectre I returned has the GTX 1050.
Just ordered the W10 step by step, and the W10 missing manual used as I liked elements of both. Missing Manual had shorthand how tos that are similar to how I write how tos, and seems to go deeper.
And the w10 step-by-step seems simple, which is what I need to start.
This is all very exciting to me. I do not know quite why, but expanding my software and hardware knowledge is something I am looking forward to. Thinking for myself and moving away from doing creative things as dictated by a specific system is daunting. And yet I proved to myself over the last two years I can learn new tech and software skills.
I won’t count out a Surface machine in the future. I loved the SB2. I look forward to seeing what MS will release going forward.
Nothing wrong with the GTX 1050, the new MBP with Vega 20 is about equivalent. So Apple is just now catching up with the 1050.
Of course the 1060 6GB in the SB2 is much more a graphics powerhouse than the 2GB 1050, but that 1050 card is far better than Integrated Graphics common to many laptops.
I haven’t looked into the “missing manual” books for Windows 10, though I did use them when I first switched to MacOS. I do seem to recall the info being well presented. I may have a look at them for One Note. Community Colleges are also a good resource and often have online classes in Windows, Office, etc.
It’s surprising what you can learn when you want/need to. I have had to do some of that this past year with some web and desktop publishing type stuff. Nobody else wanted to do it so I learned what I had to learn
Nothing wrong with the GTX 1050, the new MBP with Vega 20 is about equivalent. So Apple is just now catching up with the 1050.
Of course the 1060 6GB in the SB2 is much more a graphics powerhouse than the 2GB 1050, but that 1050 card is far better than Integrated Graphics common to many laptops.
I haven’t looked into the “missing manual” books for Windows 10, though I did use them when I first switched to MacOS. I do seem to recall the info being well presented. I may have a look at them for One Note. Community Colleges are also a good resource and often have online classes in Windows, Office, etc.
It’s surprising what you can learn when you want/need to. I have had to do some of that this past year with some web and desktop publishing type stuff. Nobody else wanted to do it so I learned what I had to learn
Yes, no argument on the 1050 and 1060 being better than the Intel integrated cards.
Yes, if you want something done, do it yourself.
Are you using In Design and Dreamweaver? Same here on having to learn web design and dreamweaver almost 20 years ago. Still remember some, and I am looking forward to learning desktop publishing proper when Affinity officially release Publisher (Here are some tutorials. Glad I am waiting on the laptop. (As w10 requirement is a graphics card that starts with 10xx, so by jumping forward with the 20xx I’ll be better covered for Affinity).
I think my accidents with the Surfaces were good experience now. I now know W10 is completely different and I respect that.
Yes, no argument on the 1050 and 1060 being better than the Intel integrated cards.
Yes, if you want something done, do it yourself.
Same here on having to learn web design and dreamweaver almost 20 years ago. Still remember some, and I am looking forward to learning desktop publishing proper when Affinity officially release Publisher (Here are some tutorials. Glad I am waiting on the laptop. (As w10 requirement is a graphics card that starts with 10xx, so by jumping forward with the 20xx I’ll be better covered for Affinity).
I think my accidents with the Surfaces were good experience now. I now know W10 is completely different and I respect that.
Requirements for Affinity is GTX 1050? I don’t recall seeing that. I believe they only mention a DirectX compatible card and above for Windows and it is actually optimized for Surface Devices. One of Affinities better traits along with low price is low requirements.
Here are the requirements for Photo
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/desktop/full-feature-list/#system-requirements
Publisher is pretty much the same
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/desktop/full-feature-list/
I believe you will find that it isn’t as demanding as you think and will run surprisingly well on lower end computers. I use it on my SP5
Edit: it appears that I am getting some odd redirects on those links. Not sure if it is just on my end, but here is Publisher in text format
Windows System Requirements
Hardware
Windows-based PC with mouse or equivalent input device. DirectX 10-compatible Graphics Cards and above.
Memory
2GB RAM (4GB RAM recommended)
Hard Disk
593MB of available space; more during installation
Operating Systems (64 bit)
Windows
10Windows
8.1Windows
7 (Service Pack 1; Aero enabled)Display
1280x768 display size or better
So a 10x card is not GTX1050 but the previous gen?
I have a lot to learn specs-wise. Thanks for posting that.
I have a lot to learn specs-wise. Thanks for posting that.
Way before that. DirectX 10 (the 10th version of DirectX) has been around since the mid-2000's (2006?) and if I recall first shipped with Windows Vista. I believe nVidia GPU's going back to the GeForce 600 / 700 series were DirectX 10 compatible and AMD Radeon HD7000/8000. The latest DirectX version 12, was released in 2018 and they claim that is backward compatible with every nVidia GPU from the GTX 400 to the present day.
Affinity Photo recommends a DirectX 11 (2009 release) compatible or better card but requires only DirectX 10.
Any modern GPU will work with Affinity. Would a GTX 1050 or 1060 be better? Perhaps for certain tasks, but not required.
Processor: Intel 64-bit Core 2 Duo or better (from 2007)
So basically any computer from 2007 onward. As I mentioned, one of the beautiful things about Affinity is its low requirements.
Photoshop requires a OpenGL 2.0-capable system, but still no requirement for a GTX 1050 or higher.
Adobe Premier, on the other hand, Requires a GPU with 2GB VRAM and recommends 4GB or better. So that will run on the 13" SB2, but better on the 15" model with the 6GB VRAM.
Gaming Machines, video, and high graphics demand applications are more the realm where 1050 or better is a requirement, rather than a luxury.
Oh wow.
Appreciate that. And very cool that Affinity doesn’t demand as powerful a gpu.
It’ll be somewhat daft going from an underpowered graphics card to a ridiculously overpowered one for my needs, but I’d rather have too much than too little. I look forward to having a 6 core cpu and an SSD too.
I am a believer in buying the best you can afford, at least to a point. I don't subscribe to you can never have too much school of thought, but by the same token more people regret under speccing that over-speccing
6-core processor, SSD, good GPU, you will be happy for a while. Whatever you decide on, will run Affinity like a champ
Agreed. I will not be spending anywhere near 2018 MBP price for a very capable laptop/desktop replacement.I am a believer in buying the best you can afford, at least to a point. I don't subscribe to you can never have too much school of thought, but by the same token more people regret under speccing that over-speccing
6-core processor, SSD, good GPU, you will be happy for a while. Whatever you decide on, will run Affinity like a champ
Bit late to this thread - which Asus were you looking at?Thanks.
I am really impressed with the feel and build of the Asus: their innovations in cooling systems and overall tank-like (durable) design are icing on the cake. I understand battery life could take a hit given the graphics cards inside, but this machine would never leave my house.
I looked at one MSI too.
Funny, I was just looking at the W10 step by step book you mentioned and liked what I saw. Will definitely investigate books more thoroughly. I need easy, visual guides. When I write out how to do something at work, it it is always step-by-step.
I realized with my Surface borks, I was treating these machines like Apple computers and presumed they would respond the same way. I am ultimately glad I returned both because I need more graphics power than the GT150 which was in the SB2 and the Spectre I returned.
The Thinkpads are built to last, but my inner design geek is pushing me toward an Asus.
I am looking forward to this switch. Waiting is the hardest part.
The upcoming Studio Book S and 2019 Zephyrus.
Low end Studio Book S (Don’t need a Xeon cpu); Zephyrus, not sure what specs.
This will be a desktop replacement.
Just need enough horse power for 1080 PAL to NTSC video conversion (maybe the occasional 4K), eventually running a Wacom tablet, art program(s), light design, several writing programs. Not all at the same time, but 6 cores and a solid 2019 GPU should be more than enough (RTX 2060?).
Thank you in advance for any input.