Gaming laptop, live in canada, need help choosing specs!

[dtmwerks]

Hi uesp forums. Looking for a gaming laptop, originally just for browsing, watching videos, dota 2, sc2, but then I was looking at most new laptops these days for gaming. I7, 1gb graphics card, 8gb ram, so I'm thinking wow, it'll probably be able to run skyrim too. I just don't want to stress my laptop out too much though.

Let me stress, I don't know much about computers. I don't know the difference between all the i7 processors. Are they all quad core? 6 core? My rule of thumb is the higher the number the better. But all I see is i7 3350 vs i7 3360 for example and just have no idea what those numbers are.

Old computer I built is i5 2500k, 1gb nvidia graphics card, 8gb ram (1 year old) so that's kind of the performance I'm used to. I also don't understand the point of brands for laptops, because there's no brands for custom desktops, since it's just a collection of parts. And when I look at the parts for laptops...same thing. Everyone uses i7 for example. Anyway, can anyone recommend a laptop, or the parts I need? Emphasis on brand quality and longevity. Willing to spend up to $1200 I'd say. Give or take...

While money isn't the biggest issue here, I'm worried that if I go crazy with 2gb graphics card, 16gb ram, crazy i7 processor, that it'll stress out the laptop too much and reduce it's life span. Is that true? Unlike a gaming desktop where you can repair it rather simply, laptop repairs and problems are a lot more expensive and tedious. I filled out a form on reddit for what I'm looking for in a laptop.

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LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

*Country of purchase: Canada. Can pick up in US if saves me enough money. Live near border and can get it delivered to sister who lives across the border
*Budget range: $1000-1200
*Purpose (netbook, ultraportable, mainstream, gaming, desktop replacement, etc.): A little gaming (dota 2, starcraft 2), browsing, watching videos, normal stuff like that.
*Screen size preference: 13-17 inch. Whatever normal range is.
*OS preference (Windows/ Mac/ Linux): Windows, but I can get my own windows 8. Brother in law ACTUALLY works at microsoft (not pirating!)
*Gaming requirements (example games and desired fps/settings): starcraft 2, dota 2, 60fps 1080p good refresh rate and response time. 60fps is the "best" right? I have games like skyrim, but I feel to play a game like THAT optimally, I'd have to pay a lot more for a laptop, so I don't need to play that, this is just for on the road.
*Performance requirements (video, CAD, etc.): 1080p, whats CAD. I don't need any designer software if that's what this is asking.
*Method of computer support (office supplier, college bookstore, self support): Self support I guess? Personal use
*Brand preferences and reasons (already owned accessories, familiarity, business compatibility): Asus has never let me down, love their stuff! Don't mind trying other things though.

Which of the following qualities would you prefer? (Choose one, the other, or balanced)
*Long battery life -vs- Low weight: Balanced
*Build quality -vs- Low price: Build quality
*Low noise/heat -vs- High performance: Ooo tough one. Can't I get both? Lean towards low heat. I've had bad luck with laptops in the past getting too hot.

Would you pay a premium for something that has:

*High resolution screen: maybe
*A great keyboard: maybe
*A great touchpad/mouse buttons: I'll have my own mouse so no.
*Great audio: maybe

List any features that are critical: (e.g. Optical drive, USB 3.0, SD card slot, ethernet port, HDMI port, bluetooth, VGA port, removable battery, glossy screen, matte screen, etc.) Good warranty. ethernet port. At least two USB slots (pretty standard I assume). Wireless card so I can connect to the internet... Oh and a camera for skyping. Built in mic would be handy too.

Any help is appreciated!

[MARS]

A gaming laptop is always a bad idea. Do you absolutely need a portable device as your main gaming platform? If not, I'd consider a desktop, which I can help you with.

[Archea47]

I think you should decide what you want for screen size. Some people consider 14" too small and probably more people consider 17" too large (and the selections for laptop bags are slim)

If you like ASUS there is of course this in 15.6":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834230589

If you look at the reviews though you'll notice what ASUS is famous for. Don't get me wrong - I'm an Asus customer both for laptops and motherboards. I tend only use their stuff personally and don't recommend them to others though for their poor customer service.

Lenovo has this awesome laptop, though it's 14", for ~$800 (retail is supposedly $1300):
https://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/con ... 3A&redir=y

FWIW I trust lenovo support and almost all the stuff I recommend to clients is lenovo. That computer is smaller than the ASUS and it has a 650M instead of a 660M but it's also $400 cheaper and you don't have to pray that you won't need ASUS support

[dtmwerks]

A gaming laptop is always a bad idea. Do you absolutely need a portable device as your main gaming platform? If not, I'd consider a desktop, which I can help you with.

Yes unfortunately I am on the go a lot this year due to my job. I have a gaming desktop at home already. I work quite a bit so hopefully I shouldn't be stressing my future gaming laptop too much with non stop gameplay.

[MARS]

I see. I'll just let the experts advise you, then.

[Archea47]

Whenever gaming, and especially with a laptop, you should be monitoring your CPU and GPU temperatures. If you're not running hot, gaming on your laptop shouldn't be harmful (unless of course the hard drive or wireless card is overheating, but that's usually an issue of cheap hardware)

For monitoring temps and overclocking GPUs (along with taking screenshots and video) I use MSI Afterburner (free). Monitoring the CPU can be tricky because different programs support different chips. I use RealTemp on Intel and CoreTemp on AMD (both also free, though watch out for the installer on CoreTemp - by default it'll install toolbars or some such so opt-out)

[dtmwerks]

I think you should decide what you want for screen size. Some people consider 14" too small and probably more people consider 17" too large (and the selections for laptop bags are slim)

If you like ASUS there is of course this in 15.6":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834230589

If you look at the reviews though you'll notice what ASUS is famous for. Don't get me wrong - I'm an Asus customer both for laptops and motherboards. I tend only use their stuff personally and don't recommend them to others though for their poor customer service.

Lenovo has this awesome laptop, though it's 14", for ~$800 (retail is supposedly $1300):
https://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/con ... 3A&redir=y

FWIW I trust lenovo support and almost all the stuff I recommend to clients is lenovo. That computer is smaller than the ASUS and it has a 650M instead of a 660M but it's also $400 cheaper and you don't have to pray that you won't need ASUS support

Wow that Lenovo is a really good deal. I might spring for the IdeaPad Y500 or Y580 for the bigger screen. Just a few questions.
Last processor I had was an i5 2500k 3.3ghz 4 cores. Are these i7 4 cores I'm seeing at 2.4 ghz going to be slower? Or are they pretty much better in every way.

What is the difference between the 650m and 660m? Both are 2gb, isn't that all that matters? (I know I'm wrong, hoping you'll explain why lol)

I'm on this page http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... d=products

I'm correct thinking that the Y500 and Y580 are the same as those 400 ones just with bigger screen?

Also, what am I losing by getting a Y580 for example vs the asus you recommended. Mostly the same specs in a lot of laptops, so whats the difference just cause its ASUS vs Lenovo?

And lastly what I'm worried about, how long will this deal last for? I'm saving a lot of money on that weekly deal and Lenovo.

[Archea47]

First in reference to the 660M vs 650M ... Yes, they're both 2gb of memory - but that's just one component. The 660M uses DDR5 which allows a base memory clock of 2000MHz, where the 650M most commonly (there is a DDR5 model but it's more expensive: read hard to find) uses DDR3 with a memory clock of 900MHz. I'd rather have a 1gb 660M than a 2gb 650M just for that reason, but given that the 660M has 2gb also it's a no-brainer if you can afford it. The standard/common model 650M also comes in with a core clock of 750MHz vs. the 660M's 835MHz.

As for the i5-2500k (sandybridge) vs the i7-3630QM (ivybridge), the i7-3630QM is superior. The 2500k uses the outdated (that processor has actually reached EOL) 32nm lithography where the 3630QM uses the more efficient 22nm. Although the max clock on the 2500k is 3.7ghz and the max clock on the 3630QM is 3.4ghz, they score 6406 and 7701 respectively on passmark. Long story short, the i7-3630QM is a better processor. You get a bit more overhead from the virtualized cores of an i7 vs. i5 (not a strait comparison between these two chips because your 2500k is the outdated sandybridge) but that gives you more options for virtual machines and better performance from hyperthreading-enabled programs.

If you can afford it the Y580 should be a great choice.

As for when the deal ends ... they've had that deal on the Y400 since Christmas so I wouldn't be too worried, but I can't make any promises (not affiliated with Lenovo sales)

In comparison to the ASUS
The Y580 vs the G55VW-DH71
Price: $949 vs $1,199 ($250 in favor of lenovo)
Processor: Both have same
Graphics: Both have 660M (same)
RAM: Both have 8gbs of 1600MHz [sweet] DDR3 RAM (same)
Display: Both have 1080p LED screen (same, unless there's an advantage to lenovo's 'Glare Wedge')
Optical Drive: DVD-RW+BluRay vs DVD-RW (lenovo has benefit of BluRay)
Hard Drive: 1TB 5400RPM vs. 500GB 7200RPM (lenovo has twice the capacity, Asus has a faster speed but less dense platters ... neither specify the exact model so with the variable of cache size it's impossible to tell which would actually be faster. I call this one probably a wash, though the 1TB of course has more space, should create less heat and sustain writing better. Just it *might* not be as fast)
Warranty: 1 year on both (I would greatly prefer lenovo here)
Wireless: Both have b/g/n and bluetooth (probably same card)
Battery: 6cell vs 8cell (ASUS might have greater capacity but weigh more ... though the reviews suggest the ASUS battery has issues)

All in all, even if the lenovo weren't $250 cheaper I would go with the lenovo for the warranty. They're otherwise essentially the same, with the lenovo having BluRay, better customer service and 500GB more HD space, though the Asus might last longer on battery and might have a faster hard drive.

[Eltee]

I'm Canadian. I just got a Lenovo Ideapad Y500, and it totally rocks. 8GB RAM, 2GB video card, 1TB hard drive, 15.6 inch screen. And I got it for $950, though I think it regularly sells for like $1200. It can play the [&@%!] out of Skyrim on high graphics.

[dtmwerks]

If you're gonna game on a laptop, I recommend a laptop cooler. They can be pretty cheap. I have one and I have found that it lowers temperature around 10 to 15 degrees. Pretty useful if you ask me.

Sounds good, can you recommend a good one? Works for all types of laptops?

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And I think I'm pretty much sold guys. I'll download all the software you were talking about Archea to monitor cpu and gpu temperatures when the laptop arrives! Um, this price and website is for US though? Should I buy from the website direct and see if they ship to canada/how much it is? I can always get it shipped to my sister in the states, but then I might not get it for a month or so.

**edit**

ok so i found a link to canada site, it's the same price which is a pleasant surprise but I find hard to believe: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... D3494BC0ED

same thing right?

Also..showed the laptop to my techie cousins, and one of em said the hard drive is bad. can anyone expand? 5400 rpm he says is too slow and will affect everything like startup, battery life, gaming. but he's a macbook pro fanboy so just wanted to check here on your guys' opinions.

And last questions.. it says it is a notebook, is a notebook worse than a laptop? anything else I should be worried about before purchasing? 1 year warranty should be enough? 1080p, all good. what's the refresh rate?

[Archea47]

ok so i found a link to canada site, it's the same price which is a pleasant surprise but I find hard to believe: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... D3494BC0ED

same thing right?

Also..showed the laptop to my techie cousins, and one of em said the hard drive is bad. can anyone expand? 5400 rpm he says is too slow and will affect everything like startup, battery life, gaming. but he's a macbook pro fanboy so just wanted to check here on your guys' opinions.

And last questions.. it says it is a notebook, is a notebook worse than a laptop? anything else I should be worried about before purchasing? 1 year warranty should be enough? 1080p, all good. what's the refresh rate?

Looks to be the same laptop, except it says it has an English-French keyboard

About the hard drive ... I addressed that in my last post Size has a large effect on read and write speeds - it's not just RPM (the larger the size, the more dense the platters and thus more data passed over per revolution). There are other variables too that we can't really speculate on without part numbers, which they don't provide. I wipe hard drives pretty often and a 1.5TB hard drive vs. a 120 gig hard drive, both otherwise ~ equal, has sustained write speeds of ~10 times faster. And FWIW the larger and slower spinning drive should create less heat and use less power (so yes, as he said it should affect battery life but in a positive way). If the two laptops did have 1TB hard drives and the same cache size etc. and one was 7200 and one was 5400 personally I would prefer the 7200, but we aren't talking apples to apples here.

And notebook vs. laptop is just a matter of marketing language in this case. Traditionally (8 years ago) a notebook was a tiny laptop but obviously 15.6" isn't tiny ... I'm on a 15.6" right now

As for macbook pro's ... here's what you get for the same price from Apple http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834100230

In regard to refresh rate ... I have no idea. It's a laptop, but it'll be at least 60hz. When 120hz monitors started coming out years ago 60hz got a bad rap (and they still do, and sometimes for good reason) but a lot of that is because of poor hardware in the monitor/tv not actually being able to keep up. The 660M should have it keeping up just fine (as with any laptop, disable power saving for max FPS)

Lastly - addressing 1 year of support ... well is it enough as you ask? How can I know I don't have any invoices on me but I believe an extra 2 years on some $2200 lenovo business laptops I negotiated the purchase of was ~ an extra $300/unit. As I pointed out in my previous post the ASUS also has a 1 year term, and in the past even with 2 year terms I don't use ASUS support because I don't want to ship them my laptop for 6 weeks. For the big stuff lenovo IME has at-home support (they come fix it) if it's necessary

Laptop Coolers
Been using them for ~8 years. I think you should buy the laptop cooler that best fits your laptop. When you do get a laptop, make note of where the ventilation is on the bottom. Then note whether that's an intake or exhaust on the laptop, possibly where the laptop cooler draws or blows its air, and whether it's going to push or pull air at that vent on the laptop. Send some pictures of whichever laptop you get and we can help pick out the right one for you

[dtmwerks]

Ahh the deal on the US site is gone for the one I want. But it's still on for the canada one. Sorry been busy for last couple of days, but going to speed this along so the deal doesn't run out on me.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... D3494BC0ED

Canada site, going to get this one, but it doesn't say if it has a camera built in or not.

Also techie cousins won't leave me alone about the SSD thing, but apparently I can just buy it separately and install it into the lenovo myself or get someone to do it.

The thing I'm worried about is that they say in a year it's going to be a lot slower while things like MBP last a lot longer. Any truth to this? Like I said, reviews for Lenovo for great, and even though my cousins know their stuff, their personal experience may differ. But still looking for any more input to ease/validate my concerns

edit: also, any accessories you think are important? or just the cooler that I'll buy from somewhere else.

[Archea47]

Yep, it has a 720p webcam in it

You can swap out the hard disc for a SSD at any time you want (it's usually the easiest part to change on a laptop). OEM versions of Windows are typically tied to the motherboard so you should (it's been my experience, but don't quote me on this) be able to install 8 again on your new laptop using the product key from the copy that came on the laptop. Of course, if you still want 1TB of storage with a SSD here's what that costs http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227797 or to be fair Samsung has a 512gb for ~$500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820147194

As for accessories the only one I can think of that you'll need is a mouse, but there's no reason to buy that from Lenovo. You also might want an external hard drive to transfer files to it, but again you probably either have one already or can get it elsewhere

[dtmwerks]

So on the canada site...the Y580 availability...it says it "ships in more than 4 weeks"

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... ction=init

If that is what it's sounds like....I'm just going to get it shipped to my home address in Vancouver (where I'll be in 4 weeks, I'm in calgary right now, I move around a lot)

I called their sales number and just got put through a machine....guess I'll call back tomorrow. Will it really take THAT long for their laptops to become available and ship?! Jeez...

Also, I've put the macbook pro debate to a rest, but now I'm considering an alienware m14x....

Specs comparison:

Alienware specs m14x
$1350
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.1GHz w/Turbo Boost 2.0)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with Optimus™
500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s
14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
Killer Wireless-N 1202 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 4.0
None
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner, DVD+-RW

Lenovo Y580 specs
$1000
Windows 8 64 bit
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor( 2.40GHz 1600MHz 6MB)
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M 2GB
1TB 5400 rpm
15.6" FHD LED Glare Wedge 1920x1080
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200BGN
Blu-ray/dvd r-w

Like I said, probably only playing non graphic intensive games. I really don't want to stress out my laptop playing skyrim, but I will play oblivion, dota 2, sc2 on it. The other thing that annoys me is that alienware doesn't offer 1080p. Is it easy to tell between 900p and 1080p? I do like the alienwares wireless though. The only reason I'm considering this is because it looks pretty and people tell me it's built better and more designed for gaming purposes.

Any truth to this or not worth it.

I feel like I'm deciding between a 268hp toyota, and a 220hp benz that looks amazing. But not like I'm driving around showing everyone my Lenovo. Thoughts??

Btw, thanks so much everyone for your help.

superedit: getting lenovo. will call them about availability.

[Archea47]

FWIW I don't think playing Skyrim will be much of a stress on the Y580

[dtmwerks]

Sigh, I'm freaking out now. They discontinued that exact laptop I wanted on the Lenovo site.

edit: The reviews are starting to turn me off of Lenovo now. So I guess I'll ask you guys personally since a lot of you have had Lenovos yourselves.

Is the touchpad and keyboard really that bad? Mainly the touchpad. I will be gaming often with a mouse, but when I'm in bed, or too lazy to find/plug in the mouse wherever I am, I'm seeing some ridiculous horror stories about the trackpad. Clicks not working, clicks going off randomly, frustrating erratic behavior of the trackpad. Any truth to this? If it was just one or two reviews, I'd chalk it up to factory defect, but wow, people really don't like that.

Or is this issue only with the y500 and not the y580?


edit 2: I was about to say **** it and just buy the lenovo, if really the only thing I don't like is the trackpad, I can return it. Apparently the return policy is I can only return it if it's unopened! ><

[Archea47]

I don't have much experience with their touchpads, sorry. The e520 and the x220 thinkpads have nice keyboards but I've never had my paws on a Y5xx

[dtmwerks]

Alright that's fine. I talked to a representative and he said if I didn't like it, I can get full refund within 21 days of playing around so that's a huge plus!

One thing I'm having trouble finding information on is on lenovo laptops if I can reprogram keys into volume buttons. Just up...down...mute...

Salesperson confirmed ideapads currently don't have volume keys anywhere which I find absurd!

[dtmwerks]

Bump update. I'm allowed to do that right? Just in case people don't read this anymore. I bought laptop, it arrived, so far very nice other than windows 8 can be very counterintuitive at times. I bought the "IdeaPad Y500 Laptop - 59360243 - Dusk Black"

http://shop.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops/id ... eries/y500 (middle laptop)

Ok, now to deal with everything that I was suggested to do.

For monitoring temps and overclocking GPUs (along with taking screenshots and video) I use MSI Afterburner (free). Monitoring the CPU can be tricky because different programs support different chips. I use RealTemp on Intel and CoreTemp on AMD (both also free, though watch out for the installer on CoreTemp - by default it'll install toolbars or some such so opt-out)

So I should dl MSI afterburner AND realtemp since I have an I7? They both do different things?

And you guys can recommend a laptop cooler right?....here's a picture of the bottom of laptop https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 5114_o.jpg

As for whether intake or exhaust...it's VERY quiet right now and I can feel almost nothing. Have to test out later whether I can take the vent out to clean out the dust too.