alternatives to Lenovo Y series for light gamer and amateur photographer

[lcaldwell04]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post here. I've been reading the forum for a bit, looking for user experiences with the Lenovo Y series laptops, specifically the y510p, the y50, and the y40.

At first glance, all three look like excellent machines. I'm a light gamer who doesn't need everything to run at the highest settings (but I would love to play Skyrim on a PC instead of on the PS3, and it'd be cool to the Witcher or Dragon Age series a go), and I'm hoping to buy something that's a bit more portable than my current machine, which is a still very functional HP HDX16.

I work in Adobe Lightroom from time to time (I like to take photos when I go hiking), so I want to be able to edit images, and I write quite a lot, so a decent keyboard would be nice. But I'm willing to sacrifice that for a little bit of portability and better cooling (my HDX16 can run hot after watching Netflix or HBO GO).

I was very near pulling the trigger on a y510p (dual GPU model) when I read about overheating issues. A little more investigation revealed that the y50 and the y40 have relatively poor screens (especially where color reproduction is concerned), as well as overheating issues. But the price on the y40 right now is almost too good to be true (a basic model under $800 on the Lenovo site). And I'd love to keep my budget right around $1,000.

I've looked at the ASUS ROG G750 series. Obviously those are great systems, but they're heavier than I want, and a touch too expensive (though I could spring for $1200 if the specifications were right). I've also checked out the MSI GS60 Ghost (too expensive) and the ASUS N550JK ($1099 at Newegg isn't bad, but how is that NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M? Am I overspending for my needs?).

My main question is: have I overlooked a great laptop that will work well for what I want? And, is the color reproduction issue with the Y40/50 something that can or will be resolved?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Ray Park]

If your main concern is the screen, you could replace it with an IPS screen for about ~$80 but it WILL void the warranty; I wouldn't expect a lenovo to break down in the first year. You could also set up a docking station and use a different monitor/multiple monitors. The ASUS and MSI are both good alternatives but as you mentioned are a bit stockier. A similar laptop to the Y-series with a great screen would be the Razer Blade but that would cost about double a lenovo.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BqVuCKew1E