The cost of maxing-out the RAM to 8GB and replacing the 500GB spinning drive with a 512GB SSD came out to 1/3 of that sexy UltraLap 430! When I realized that I could upgrade my trusty notebook to almost the same specs as the the Lemur Ultra for 1/2 of its price, my decision was made. It's i5-M430 processor clocks in at an also respectable maximum speed of 2.53GHZ. With a meager 4GB of RAM and with the battery already upgraded a year ago to a 9-cell version, I am getting a respectable 2 hours of battery life.

My 14.1' HP Pavilion dm4-1063cl is just out of warranty after a little over 2 years of use. So now it was time to compare replacing, with upgrading, my existing hardware. If I was going to spend over $1,000 on an ultrabook, I wanted it to be an ultra-lightweight ultrabook with ultra-long battery life. What I realized was that the System76, and most of the other 'ultrabooks' with Linux pre-installed were about the same weight as my current computer, 4.5 pounds. The runner-up was the 14.1' System76 Lemur Ultra with an i5-310M processor, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD drive and a 1 year warranty for under $1,200. Maxed-out, I could get a 14.1' ultrabook with an i5-3317U processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and a one year warranty for about $1,500. I would have to give up a 6 hour battery of course, and my i5 processor wouldn't have the capabilities of the newest mobile processors, but those were almost the only tradoffs.ĭuring my research for a wholesale replacement, boasting a 6 hour battery life and weighing-in at a mere 3.25 pounds, ZaReason's UltraLap 430 easily beat the competition. What I realized is that, with a couple of upgrades, my existing notebook computer could match most of the specs of what pass for ultrabooks these days.

After toying with replacing my two year old notebook with a thin, light, sexy ultrabook with Linux pre-installed, I decided to upgrade my existing computer instead. I wanted the speed of an solid-state drive (SSD) and lots of RAM, the weight of an ultrabook and the long battery life afforded by the latest mobile processor technology. This past holiday season, I decided to spend some money on myself and update my computer hardware. If not, click here to skip to the recommendations. 5 Tweaks to Make After Installing an SSD Drive Updated: 0įirst, you may be wondering how I came to add a solid-state drive (SSD) to my existing notebook computer.

Tweak ssd