About to buy a Lenovo Y50 - Got a few questions

[Laucien]

Hi!,

I did some research around the forum and read/watched a lot of reviews about this laptop but there are a couple of things I can't seem to find answers to so... help? .

I'll be in the States next week and I'm planning to buy the non-touch UDH version one in this link. My primary use will be browsing, media and some development work but I also want to be able to play when on trips or just away from my desktop. I know that I can't expect the GTX 860m to be able to handle 4K resolutions in games so I have no issue with setting the resolution to 1920*1080 while gaming but I do have a couple of questions about it:

• 
  ■Does playing at non-native resolution looks good enough still? How does it compare to a native 1080 display?.
  ■I've seen reviews showing some sort of letterboxing when having the Windows desktop set to 4k and trying to run a game at 1080, is that still happening?. What's the workaround?.
  ■I've read some bad reviews for the FHD model's screen with some of those also complaining about the UHD display but also other reviews saying the UDH panel is much much better... what's your honest opinion? Good enough or should I definitely stay away?.
  ■I'm planning to buy a bigger SSD and swap it. This one works, right?.
  ■I will also do a clean install. I know the laptop doesn't come with recovery discs and installation media so, how would I get Win8's product key for a new installation? Is it somewhere on the package?.
  ■I know it also has a one-click recovery partition and some others... should I want to keep them or can I just wipe the entire thing and start from scratch?.
  ■Totally unrelated with the above and I'm pretty sure it does but just to be sure... does the power adapter work with 220v outlets or do I need to connect it to a 110v one?.

What do you guys think of the overall system? My other option is something like this but it's slightly more expensive and has almost exactly the same specs save for a slightly faster CPU and a completely different screen.


Thanks guys!.

 

[Solandri]

If you're getting the 4k UHD version solely because the stock FHD screen sucks, be aware that the FHD screen is pretty easy to replace. A decent replacement FHD panel costs about $85.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BqVuCKew1E
http/forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/755626-y50-replacement-displays-compendium.html

Preserve the recovery partition if you can afford the space. Win 8 uses it if it ever needs to run a repair (where old versions of Windows would say "please insert Windows install disk"). I believe the product key is embedded in it as well. If you can't afford the space, you can transfer it to a 16GB or 32GB USB flash drive.

http/windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-usb-recovery-drive

 

[Laucien]

If you're getting the 4k UHD version solely because the stock FHD screen sucks, be aware that the FHD screen is pretty easy to replace. A decent replacement FHD panel costs about $85.

There's a bit of that in why I want the 4k version but it's also easier for me to get that one than the FHD and a display replacement. I'll be in the states for my vacation and having the screen delivered to the apartment I'll be staying it might be difficult. Plus I'm going to buy it in B&H and going from the prices on the site getting the FHD model + screen replacement would cost almost the same as the UHD one.

Preserve the recovery partition if you can afford the space. Win 8 uses it if it ever needs to run a repair (where old versions of Windows would say "please insert Windows install disk"). If you can't afford the space, you can transfer it to a 16GB or 32GB USB flash drive.

http/windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-usb-recovery-drive

Thanks, I'll do that. If I do a clean install using the recovery partition, do I get the ton of Lenovo bloatware? I want to do a clean install to remove that (and so I can set up the partitions to install linux as dual boot). Do you get the Windows product key or do you always have to do the installation through Lenovo's One-Click Recovery?.

Edit: Justn now saw your edit on the product key thing.

 

[Laucien]

So I've been watching/reading a LOT of reviews and impressions on the Y50. I've also been looking around for other laptops around the same price range and going from specs and build quality this one seems like the best one I could get. I can buy the Y50 UHD version with 16GBs of RAM, 256GB SSD and the 2GBs 860M for $1100.

I know I can't game in UHD resolution so, does the computer look good in the non-native 1080 resolution or should I spend a bit more and go with something with the same specs but that has a native 1080 display?. My second option is the ASUS GL551JM which has the exact same specs, a 1080 non-IPS (I think) screen and costs ~$100 more.

 

[Solandri]

If you want feedback from actual owners, that forum.notebookreview.com site I linked earlier is probably the best resource.
http/forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/754412-lenovo-y50-owners-information-thread.html