Need feedback on hunting for a laptop

PimpLimp

PimpLimp

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I'm basically in the market for a laptop that can be used as my main PC for the time being. Something that can do pretty much everything. I don't really have space for a full blown PC at the moment and I want something that I can bring to school with me as well as run some decent looking games on it. My budget is $1000 and even though I like to think I know a pretty decent amount about electronics, I honestly can't make my mind up and I would like some help.

Requirements:

  • i5 Processor or better (Preferably 3rd Gen.)
  • 4GB RAM or better
  • At least a 500 GB HDD
  • 14" or bigger screen
  • HDMI port
  • Decent gaming capabilities
Non-essentials:

  • Blu-ray Drive
  • x1 Sleep and Charge USB port






I've been looking at this one and can get it for $950 at Sears. It has pretty much every bell and whistle I could ask for. Any thoughts? My only problem is that it pretty much eats up my entire budget. Even more so with tax taken into account.
 
It all depends on the level of gaming you'd like to do. That Toshiba is not a bad deal really but the 5400rpm drive will mean that during some games you could probably go make a sandwich while it loads... Also I don't like the idea of a 17.3" Blu-ray laptop that is not Full 1080p.

Problem is your two main uses require a decent leap in power. You don't need much power for school & playing older or more casual games so if you are going that route I'd reset your budget to $800 and save yourself a couple hundred bucks. Maybe look for something with a GT640 or 630 if you still feel the need for light gaming.

My advice though would be to spend a little more, even if it means waiting a couple weeks or something. Because for about $100-200 more you could probably get basically a full desktop replacement that screams. It would easily handle modern & upcoming games at 1080p (on High settings or better, maybe not max) with relative ease. Suggestions:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152370

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152372
(Not an i5+, but that 7970M will kill just about anything you throw at it)
 
I'm mainly a console gamer and I don't expect this laptop to change that. I just want the ability to run and play most indie/Steam games that I'd miss out on otherwise.

I'm not really familiar with MSi, but of the two links you referenced, which would you suggest? I'm leaning more towards the 2nd link myself.
 
While I know there are more gaming-oriented laptops out there, I've long been a proponent of Lenovo's Y-series laptops. They'll do pretty much everything you want at a decent price since they have decent sales regularly, and you'll be able to play most any game at mid-to-high settings. Yes, the lower models have 5400 rpm drives (which really isn't the end of the world), but with the savings under your budget, you could always buy a replacement. They're very easy to switch out on the Lenovos.

I have a model from a couple years ago. The thing took a 5-foot drop onto a very hard floor and still works like a champ. So yeah, I'm really happy with mine. I'd recommend the Y500 or Y580 model with no hesitation (unless, of course, you want it a bit smaller).
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']While I know there are more gaming-oriented laptops out there, I've long been a proponent of Lenovo's Y-series laptops. They'll do pretty much everything you want at a decent price since they have decent sales regularly, and you'll be able to play most any game at mid-to-high settings. Yes, the lower models have 5400 rpm drives (which really isn't the end of the world), but with the savings under your budget, you could always buy a replacement. They're very easy to switch out on the Lenovos.

I have a model from a couple years ago. The thing took a 5-foot drop onto a very hard floor and still works like a champ. So yeah, I'm really happy with mine. I'd recommend the Y500 or Y580 model with no hesitation (unless, of course, you want it a bit smaller).[/QUOTE]

[quote name='itachiitachi']I'd go with a Lenovo also, check out the lenovo outlet, you should be able to get what you are looking for for about $400 when they have their random monthly sales.

On lenovo's noraml web site they have the Y 580 on sale for $900
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...tmAsItem?mtm-item=:000001C9:0000972C:&redir=y

use this cupon code USPY51320103[/QUOTE]Thanks for the input you guys. The Y580 looks like the perfect machine with absolutely every single spec I wanted. I really appreciate your help. I'll sleep on it just to be sure but I think I'm gonna bite the bullet and order it tomorrow.
 
Well I ordered the Y580 yesterday but after some further digging, I came across this thread talking about a problem people were having with the graphics card.

I'm kinda having buyers remorse after reading about this. My fingers are crossed that there's no problems. I know it's not that big of a problem, but having to deal with customer service and/or ship the laptop back is going to be a real pain in the ass.
 
If you just ordered a day ago and did any kind of customization on it chances are it hasn't shipped yet and you could probably cancel the order with Lenovo before it even ships out if you still wanted to.

Though to be fair every computer you Google will likely have a thread somewhere discussing some kind of problem with it, but rarely does anyone whose computer is running top notch create such a thread to say so...
 
[quote name='Duo_Maxwell']If you just ordered a day ago and did any kind of customization on it chances are it hasn't shipped yet and you could probably cancel the order with Lenovo before it even ships out if you still wanted to.

Though to be fair every computer you Google will likely have a thread somewhere discussing some kind of problem with it, but rarely does anyone whose computer is running top notch create such a thread to say so...[/QUOTE]The only reason I'm deciding not to cancel my order is that it comes with a 1-year warranty and it's directly through Lenovo. Reading through the thread I mentioned, most people experience problems over a rather short period of time, so I think I should be covered. Like I said, my real problem is that I don't want this to turn into a hassle.

And yeah I know better than to overreact over one single thread. But it just didn't sit well with me that the thread was 14 pages, spanned 6+ months, and still has recent posts about people experiencing problems.
 
I had a problem with my graphics card from my outlet comp, lenovo's customer service is very disorganized, I had to send my laptop in twice to get it fixed. But they got the job done at no cost to me which is a far better experience than I had will with dell or HP.
 
I've got the Y580 and like it quite a bit. No big issues here. I'd get a cooling fan to set it on if you're going to be gaming much on it. Only thing I'd say is don't order it directly from Lenovo because they bs about their shipping times. You're probably in for a wait. I ordered from them, got sick of them changing the shipping dates on me and so canceled (which was an annoyance that took much longer than it needed to) and ordered it from Amazon.

Either way it's a good buy if you can get a decent deal/promo price on one.
 
[quote name='ShockandAww']I've got the Y580 and like it quite a bit. No big issues here. I'd get a cooling fan to set it on if you're going to be gaming much on it. Only thing I'd say is don't order it directly from Lenovo because they bs about their shipping times. You're probably in for a wait. I ordered from them, got sick of them changing the shipping dates on me and so canceled (which was an annoyance that took much longer than it needed to) and ordered it from Amazon.

Either way it's a good buy if you can get a decent deal/promo price on one.[/QUOTE]Yeah I had also read somewhere that some people were getting the run-around from Lenovo when it came to shipping. Luckily for me, I received shipping confirmation and the tracking number today. UPS says it should be here by the end of Thursday :D
 
I have basically the same laptop, but samsung. SSD makes the thing tons faster, and it can play ANY game i throw at it. I ditched my desktop completely for this thing
 
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