Battle of Lenovo's

samz_manu

Estimable
Aug 19, 2014
11
0
4,560
Alright people. Hash this out for me coz I have racked my brains and there is no answer I am coming up with. I'm a computer science major who'll be doing a lot of programming for the next 2 years and then perhaps moving on to some computer engineering where I'll have to run 3D softwares and such. Now I realize none of these two laptops are ideal for it but these are the best ones in my budget of under $1000. I'm no gamer. Just a programmer.
Lenovo y40
or
Lenovo y410p!!!!!
Or any other suggestions!
 
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Guest

Guest
I think if you stretched your budget 99$ you could get a y50, just remember than lenovos Y series don't have CD ROMS built-in, in case you need one.
have a look at acer and hp's websites
You should have a look at sager too
there's also xoticpc, you can find good deals in there
 

samz_manu

Estimable
Aug 19, 2014
11
0
4,560


When was the last time anyone used a CD? Lol. Don't care much for it. I have heard a lot of people point me towards sager but as I said I'm no gamer. Don't really know how well gaming laptops do. The battery life, the weight, the reliability etc. I'm looking at a MSI GP70 Leopard 010 though. Would that be more in line with my requirements?
 
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Guest

Guest


in that case just look for a good screen, a decent CPU and GPU, pretty much anything should handle student's programming easily. Battery life, thickness and weight should be your main priority!

 

samz_manu

Estimable
Aug 19, 2014
11
0
4,560


What's the hype with sager? I am not a gamer or a tech wiz so I don't really know. I know you can customize their laptops but even their base models are beyond my budget.
 
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Guest

Guest


You're probably thinking, if lenovo Y50 with an 860m costs 1200$, why are sagers/msi/alienware/asus much more expensive if they have an 870m or an 880m?

For starters, Some laptops from the 7XXX series are well under your budget with an 860m at 900-1200$ depending on customization/OS.

The hype about sager is their quality is good, they are 100% reliable, good build quality, prices often match or are under competitors, good cooling, nothing is soldered to the motherboard and so it's upgradeable, doesn't look as gay as AW (although it could use more of an MSI/Asus look).

Now getting back to prices, Remember an I7 4700 is ~300-350$. 4810mq alone is 440$, an 870m is 410$, an 880m is worth ~600-650$ new and bought from Nvidia/Intel directly in big quantities, that's the reason you see big price tag differences, an 860m is 200$. If Lenovo y50 which is 1200$ had an SSD, an 880m and an i7 4810mq it'd probably cost around 2000$ without any extra customizations.

let's see Y50 base model 1.349$ (1.099$ with coupons, but we'll discount them later), around 500$ are spent solely on GPU + CPU (300$+200$=500$), then 1349$-500$=849$ are spent on the chasis, wireless adapter, etc. let's say it had a 880m + 4810mq, that alone is 1000$, add 849$ and that's 1849$, add an SSD, two fans, CD-ROM, Intel Dual AC, 10$ IC Diamond if applied by yourself, better screen (Y series biggest complain is the screen) and even with the 250$- coupon you've hit 2000$ or higher.

If an 860m is enough for you (it should actually be enough for most people) for atleast 2-3 years at decent settings, plus another three years on low. then go for it, it's based on maxwell and has better battery life than more powerful models. You can check Sager, they have models with 860ms too at 900-1200$ depending on customizations, but that lenovo model is quite good too

forgot you were talking about the Y40. Nevertheless the same operation applies
 

samz_manu

Estimable
Aug 19, 2014
11
0
4,560


That was a very detailed and informative answer. Thanks a lot. I'd shoot for the Sager but as a new customer I'm a bit cautious and would like the tried and tested. Lenovo's have skimped out on their screens and do look washed out but I could always get a better screen. I'm going to go for the Y40. Has a weaker CPU compared to Y410p but is more portable and has a better battery life. Both of which are big factors to a college student like myself who couldn't care less about its gaming capabilities.