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The 2012-2013 Gaming Laptop Thread | Read OP before asking questions!

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C

CoachKevin

Member
mrklaw said:
Aesthetics aside, if the trackpad and keyboard are similar to the y580, then its a good buy. the trackpad is huge and the closest I've used to a MacBook Pro (king of trackpads). Don't know if it has a backlit keyboard like the y580.
Click to expand...

It does, but it is fucking red...

Still looks nice:
IdeaPad-Y500-Laptop-PC-Front-Back-View-1L-940x475.jpg


Does anyone own this laptop and can comment on heat? Can you use it on your lap at all? Ventilation good?
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
uncleniccius said:
Country where it will be purchased:UK
Maximum budget £1000, but I'd prefer £900.
Max size 15.6'
Planned usage: Mostly for studying, but I hope to play Sim City/ a few strategy/indie games on it.

I didn't think the 8xxx series was available yet, it seems that the card above is similar to a 660m. Will this meet my needs? Is an I5 enough?
Click to expand...
Deaf Spacker said:
I'm considering getting a desktop pc but lack of space and the fact that I'd need a monitor is making me reconsider. I'm currently using a MSI GE6200X which is pretty decent but it's going to be given to my girlfriend provided I can get a better performing laptop for myself.

I have a budget of £800 but I can stretch it if the performance is worth it. I'd prefer the same screen size as my current MSI, the full HD resolution is nice but not absolutely necessary.

Can anyone help?
Click to expand...

Take this:

CPU -> i7-363QM
Memory -> 8GB Samsung 1600MHz
Memory - Hard Disk -> 750GB WD Scorpio Black (7200 rpm)
TOTAL: £811.00 inc VAT

Nice Laptop.


CoachKevin said:
How would you guys rate the Asus N56 (which seems to be hard to find now with the 650m) and the Y500?
Click to expand...
The Y500 has GDDR5 VRAM. Prioritize that. As to your earlier question, learn more about the Y500 here.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
If he has £1000 to spend, I'd be tempted to put an SSD in as the primary drive, and then a standard HDD for storage.
 
B

Blablurn

Member
it makes me sad that there are better laptops than mine for less price. yeah, i look at u y500. but yeah, thats technology. still annoying.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Alright guys, bit the bullet and ordered a y500 from Amazon.

Crazy you can get Dual 650m's, 16GB Ram, 1Tb hard drive for under $1100. Will let you know how it is when I get it and shoot some videos:

 
G

GiJoccin

Member
CoachKevin said:
Alright guys, bit the bullet and ordered a y500 from Amazon.

Crazy you can get Dual 650m's, 16GB Ram, 1Tb hard drive for under $1100. Will let you know how it is when I get it and shoot some videos:

Click to expand...

that's what im using now

works great

trackpad kind of sucks though. it's definitely use-able, but i use a mouse most of the time. the trackpad jumps down when you try to left click unless you have your finger on the trackpad at the same time (thinks your finger tracked down instead of recognizing that you're clicking.

i haven't had any problems with the keyboard at all like I've read about online.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
GiJoccin said:
that's what im using now

works great

trackpad kind of sucks though. it's definitely use-able, but i use a mouse most of the time. the trackpad jumps down when you try to left click unless you have your finger on the trackpad at the same time (thinks your finger tracked down instead of recognizing that you're clicking.

i haven't had any problems with the keyboard at all like I've read about online.
Click to expand...

Cool, ended up getting one for $889 and canceled the other one. Just has 6GB of RAM that I can easily upgrade and I was going to go with a flash HD anyways.
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
mrklaw said:
If he has £1000 to spend, I'd be tempted to put an SSD in as the primary drive, and then a standard HDD for storage.
Click to expand...

Yeah I purposely chose that HDD to leave plenty of wiggle room. With another £200 to spend, it's either save it or go for an SSD.

Blablurn said:
it makes me sad that there are better laptops than mine for less price. yeah, i look at u y500. but yeah, thats technology. still annoying.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain. With laptops, the cycle never ends. Everyone (including me) who potentially buys a laptop this Summer will be saying the same things before the year is out. But if we just keep on waiting and waiting for the next new piece of tech, we end up never buying anything.

DTKT said:
Could anyone recommend a macbook equivalent in terms of portability and form factor?
Click to expand...

I don't think there is one. Samsung is getting close though.
CoachKevin said:
I would spend the extra $20 for this. And shipped from amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATANVLQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Click to expand...

Extra $20 you say? His is $1,199.99 while yours shows me $1,117.99...

Of the two, I would take the one that ships direct from Amazon, and that happens to be the cheaper SKU. 12GB of RAM is already an obscene amount, so stepping down from 16GB is inconsequential.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Would you guys recommend the Lenovo y580 over the y500? Seems to get much better battery life and the white backlit keyboard vs the red seems like a better option. And would the 660 work well for Adobe Premiere work?
 
B

Blablurn

Member
K.Jack said:
Yeah I purposely chose that HDD to leave plenty of wiggle room. With another £200 to spend, it's either save it or go for an SSD.



I feel your pain. With laptops, the cycle never ends. Everyone (including me) who potentially buys a laptop this Summer will be saying the same things before the year is out. But if we just keep on waiting and waiting for the next new piece of tech, we end up never buying anything.



I don't think there is one. Samsung is getting close though.


Extra $20 you say? His is $1,199.99 while yours shows me $1,117.99...

Of the two, I would take the one that ships direct from Amazon, and that happens to be the cheaper SKU. 12GB of RAM is already an obscene amount, so stepping down from 16GB is inconsequential.
Click to expand...
i agree with u. rather having some fun now than never.
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
CoachKevin said:
Would you guys recommend the Lenovo y580 over the y500? Seems to get much better battery life and the white backlit keyboard vs the red seems like a better option. And would the 660 work well for Adobe Premiere work?
Click to expand...

The differences are subjective. Absolute gaming power or battery life? Red backlighting or white? Do you need a DVD-ROM?

And the GTX 660M is just a higher binned/clocked GT 650M. There's no real differences, and either will be enough for Abobe Premiere.
 
5

52club

Member
CoachKevin said:
It is sold out via amazon 1-2 month ship window.
Click to expand...

Usually those ship dates from amazon are bs. I went ahead and placed the order. I'll cancel if the wait becomes too much, or request a price match if I see it cheaper else where.

Thanks for the help.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
GiJoccin said:
that's what im using now

works great

trackpad kind of sucks though. it's definitely use-able, but i use a mouse most of the time. the trackpad jumps down when you try to left click unless you have your finger on the trackpad at the same time (thinks your finger tracked down instead of recognizing that you're clicking.

i haven't had any problems with the keyboard at all like I've read about online.
Click to expand...

No issues with the SLI? I was seeing some threads on the Lenovo forums about it? Any issues at all with the laptop?

And have you been able to find a second battery for it?
 
M

MrXee

Unconfirmed Member
Not sure about USA shipping but there's a y580 armed with a GTX660M for 889$ on NCIX (Canada) right now. Thought it could interest some people following this thread...

I'm not sure about the 8GB maximum RAM limit and the slow(ish) 5400rpm 750GB HDD though but it looks like a pretty good deal:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=77163
 
G

Guffers

Member
Hi guys, thanks for the really helpful thread it's been a great read.

Currently I have a Dell XPS 17 that I bought in 2011, it has the GT555m and an i7 quadcore and performance is fairly decent. eg. Tomb Raider runs over 30fps at 1600x900 with most things on normal or high. The only game that required serious tweaking to become playable was the Witcher 2.

My wife has been making noise about wanting a laptop for herself so I was thinking I just hand her my Dell and get myself a newer gaming laptop. I wanted some opinions on whether or not this is a good idea with the next gen consoles on the horizon? If I spend a couple of grand and get something with the 680m am I going to be fairly comfortable for the next two or three years? Or would I be better off sticking with the XPS for another year and buying a newer laptop once we see how console ports are faring?

I'm looking at games like Watchdogs and thinking that the GT555m is probably not going to cope and I doubt I'll be buying a console for the first 1-2 years of the next gen.

Some opinions from guys with medium/low systems like mine would be a huge help. Cheers!
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
I opened up the Lenovo Y500 that I ordered on accident to check it out. Holy shit is this a nice laptop. Sure it is on the big side, but the brushed aluminum and beautiful monitor surprised me. For $1000 I am very impressed for what this thing is packing.

Also it fits perfectly on my old macbook stand for dual monitor work.
 
T

thespot84

Member
so i'm poking around at the idea of a <$800 lenovo for work (photoshop, big excel and access databases, light coding, research and writing) and play (rare gaming, mostly dota2):

So far I've narrowed it down to the thinkpad t430u, the ideapad u410, and the ideapad y400:

here's a comparison:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s29/...bd4ee6e0eaeb/668f7e33b152340f39829b336c606671

in general, the t430u loses in specs but the thinkpad series is supposed to have amazing build quality. Also of note is the battery life, 7 hours on the thinkpad, 8 hours on the u410 and 3 hours on the y400 (i think this is pretty important). The t430 and u410 are both .8" (21mm) think and 4 pounds, the y400 is 1.3" (~34mm) thick and 5 lbs.

Does anyone have any experience with any or all of these? While form factor and battery life are important I don't want to be left short with the graphics cards and RAM if it won't suit my needs.

Also, for those looking, the prices on the lenovo site are the best I've found, and the u410 and y400 seem like a screaming deal at $750.
 
K

KO Traveling Hobo

Member
I'm not sure if this is the right thread for this, but my sister wants to know if a Chromebook would be right for her, and if not, then what would. All she'd use it for is internet Netflix streaming, youtube, internet browsing, and probably generic bargain bin games like you'd find on bigfishgames(time management, cooking, babby's first point'n'click, etc).
 
T

thespot84

Member
is she pretty budget restricted? Also, in the case that she HAS to create anything, like a resume or something, is google docs/drive good enough for her?

EDIT: I ended up going with an i-7 y500 for $850 during the stpatrick's sale at lenovo (http://lnv.gy/UzvpZA). I'll need to do some spreadsheet work so the 1080p and numpad sold me eventually. I think the deal ends today for those interested.
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
although i love the power of the y500, i hate the damn windows 8 interface so far. its a real pain in the ass.
 
K

KO Traveling Hobo

Member
thespot84 said:
is she pretty budget restricted? Also, in the case that she HAS to create anything, like a resume or something, is google docs/drive good enough for her?
Click to expand...
She's incredibly stingy when it comes to luxuries. I don't think she wants to go over 300, which I think is why the Chromebook jumped out at her.

She says she's not too keen on being restricted to google docs/drive, unfortunately.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Got the 256GB flash drive installed into the Y500. So far so good. Installing the latest Nvidia drivers and downloading Saints Row: The Third to test out the GPUs.
 
T

thespot84

Member
KO Traveling Hobo said:
She's incredibly stingy when it comes to luxuries. I don't think she wants to go over 300, which I think is why the Chromebook jumped out at her.

She says she's not too keen on being restricted to google docs/drive, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

there's always zoho lol

basically ask if what she really wants is a snappy tablet with a permanently attached keyboard. It has a tablet processor, and for the most part tablet specs. here's a good review: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019...-more-productive-alternative-to-a-tablet.html

if she can live with google docs (which get a little better all the time) it's probably the way to go.

I see a <$300 windows notebook being more of a burden than anything else. for instance, Lenovo has a deal bringing their cheapest to $320: http://lnv.gy/V9auKq

That celeron for windows 8 scares me, and so does that screen. plus it's big. I imagine she'd appreciate some mobility, this thing doesn't have it. I'd venture a guess and say it's gonna be the same at other manufacturers.

Just my 2c.

CoachKevin said:
Got the 256GB flash drive installed into the Y500. So far so good. Installing the latest Nvidia drivers and downloading Saints Row: The Third to test out the GPUs.
Click to expand...

is there a way to turn sli off for better battery?
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
I don't know how, but due to messing around with the sli settings, the games that I've played look like crap now. I need a manual for this.
 
K

KO Traveling Hobo

Member
thespot84 said:
there's always zoho lol

basically ask if what she really wants is a snappy tablet with a permanently attached keyboard. It has a tablet processor, and for the most part tablet specs. here's a good review: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019...-more-productive-alternative-to-a-tablet.html

if she can live with google docs (which get a little better all the time) it's probably the way to go.

I see a <$300 windows notebook being more of a burden than anything else. for instance, Lenovo has a deal bringing their cheapest to $320: http://lnv.gy/V9auKq

That celeron for windows 8 scares me, and so does that screen. plus it's big. I imagine she'd appreciate some mobility, this thing doesn't have it. I'd venture a guess and say it's gonna be the same at other manufacturers.

Just my 2c.
Click to expand...
That review was solid, but I'm about as ignorant as my sister when comes to this stuff so I'm still fuzzy on some of the basics. Will she be able to download her games and whatever programs, or is it like a phone where you're limited to apps? I'm sure there are tons of game apps that are right up her alley, but that might be too much change for her.

For the Lenovo, can you explain what worries you about the screen? And I know Celeron is scraping the bottom of the barrel, but do you think it could handle Netflix streaming(HD or otherwise)?

My sister and I appreciate your help.
 
W

wetflame

Pizza Dog
uncleniccius said:
Country where it will be purchased:UK
Maximum budget £1000, but I'd prefer £900.
Max size 15.6'
Planned usage: Mostly for studying, but I hope to play Sim City/ a few strategy/indie games on it.
Click to expand...

K.Jack said:
Take this:

CPU -> i7-363QM
Memory -> 8GB Samsung 1600MHz
Memory - Hard Disk -> 750GB WD Scorpio Black (7200 rpm)
TOTAL: £811.00 inc VAT

Nice Laptop.
Click to expand...

I'm after something pretty similar, my old laptop died after about 7 years, I've never really been at the forefront of PC gaming but I'm getting a bit of spending money soon so would like to finally get myself something that can run something recent - like Bioshock Infinite. I'm in the UK too, similar budget (although hopefully staying closer to the £800 mark than £1000). Is this laptop going to be good for me too?
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
wetflame said:
I'm after something pretty similar, my old laptop died after about 7 years, I've never really been at the forefront of PC gaming but I'm getting a bit of spending money soon so would like to finally get myself something that can run something recent - like Bioshock Infinite. I'm in the UK too, similar budget (although hopefully staying closer to the £800 mark than £1000). Is this laptop going to be good for me too?
Click to expand...

Yeah, definitely.
 
T

thespot84

Member
KO Traveling Hobo said:
That review was solid, but I'm about as ignorant as my sister when comes to this stuff so I'm still fuzzy on some of the basics. Will she be able to download her games and whatever programs, or is it like a phone where you're limited to apps? I'm sure there are tons of game apps that are right up her alley, but that might be too much change for her.

For the Lenovo, can you explain what worries you about the screen? And I know Celeron is scraping the bottom of the barrel, but do you think it could handle Netflix streaming(HD or otherwise)?

My sister and I appreciate your help.
Click to expand...

while both things your looking at have low-res screens, the lenovo screen or any other 15.6" screen with that resolution won't look very sharp (same # of pixels over a larger area = fewer pixels/inch). She may or may not care about that.

Also, know that all the HD content you watch on any screen with that resolution will get downscaled, and won't be HD anymore. Unavoidable though unless you step up to a better resolution.

I haven't used a chromebook, but I believe if you were to go to the app store on chrome on your computer you'd get a feel for everything that's available to you. In that sense, yes, it's like a phone where you're limited to apps. You cannot run windows or mac software on it. Anything that works in browser (facebook games for instance) are fine.

as for the celeron, i've seen a few reviews that say it's fine for streaming.

For alternatives, I just noticed the lenovo S series at 13.3" is under $400 right now on sale (with tax more like $375). Dell has nothing small for less than $400, and neither does HP, to give you a feel.

There are also a lot of notebooks on newegg, you can sort by price, screensize, processor, OS etc.

lastly, I'd recommend going to a store and just playing with what they have there to get a feel for size and features. I like to hold things before I buy them, but that's just me.

edit: if you want to compare processors, i'd use this list (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Sorting-by-processor.2675.0.html) just use ctrl-f in your browser to find the ones you want to compare, select them, then choose 'restrict' at the bottom, and it'll show you benchmarks.
 
K

KO Traveling Hobo

Member
thespot84 said:
while both things your looking at have low-res screens, the lenovo screen or any other 15.6" screen with that resolution won't look very sharp (same # of pixels over a larger area = fewer pixels/inch). She may or may not care about that.

Also, know that all the HD content you watch on any screen with that resolution will get downscaled, and won't be HD anymore. Unavoidable though unless you step up to a better resolution.

I haven't used a chromebook, but I believe if you were to go to the app store on chrome on your computer you'd get a feel for everything that's available to you. In that sense, yes, it's like a phone where you're limited to apps. You cannot run windows or mac software on it. Anything that works in browser (facebook games for instance) are fine.

as for the celeron, i've seen a few reviews that say it's fine for streaming.

For alternatives, I just noticed the lenovo S series at 13.3" is under $400 right now on sale (with tax more like $375). Dell has nothing small for less than $400, and neither does HP, to give you a feel.

There are also a lot of notebooks on newegg, you can sort by price, screensize, processor, OS etc.

lastly, I'd recommend going to a store and just playing with what they have there to get a feel for size and features. I like to hold things before I buy them, but that's just me.

edit: if you want to compare processors, i'd use this list (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Sorting-by-processor.2675.0.html) just use ctrl-f in your browser to find the ones you want to compare, select them, then choose 'restrict' at the bottom, and it'll show you benchmarks.
Click to expand...
You are awesome. Thanks for all the info. I'll run it by her and see what she thinks.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Need some advice, guys. My brother's getting a desktop and is getting rid of his laptop. I was hoping to get a desktop myself but if I can get a good deal on this, I'm gonna take it up. That said, I need a good idea of what to offer him. Keep in mind, I doubt he'd try to sell it online or use it after this, so I should be able to get a deal out of him, but I also don't want to take complete advantage of that fact.

The laptop is about a year and 3 months old
i7 @ 2.2 GHz(w turbo boost up to 3.1 ghz-i have no idea what that means-)
AMD Radeon HD 6650M
6GB Ram
Windows 7 64-bit

I was hoping you guys could give me a rough idea of how much I should offer him.
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Dragonzord said:
Need some advice, guys. My brother's getting a desktop and is getting rid of his laptop. I was hoping to get a desktop myself but if I can get a good deal on this, I'm gonna take it up. That said, I need a good idea of what to offer him. Keep in mind, I doubt he'd try to sell it online or use it after this, so I should be able to get a deal out of him, but I also don't want to take complete advantage of that fact.

The laptop is about a year and 3 months old
i7 @ 2.2 GHz(w turbo boost up to 3.1 ghz-i have no idea what that means-)
AMD Radeon HD 6650M
6GB Ram
Windows 7 64-bit

I was hoping you guys could give me a rough idea of how much I should offer him.
Click to expand...

Those are decent specs, but it's likely out of warranty, so that drops the value.

I think $400 would be fair, or $300-$350 if you wanna shoot for the minimum he'd take.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Been testing out some games on the Lenovo Y500 and it is doing pretty good. Sleeping Dogs ran good with high textures, and everything set to high except shadows and 4x AA in 720p.

I guess I need to understand it won't stand up to what my desktop GTX 570 could do. Bioshock Infinite will be a good test.

One question, is it better to run at 720p with higher quality visuals or at 1080p with things turned down?
 
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