Laptop Buying Advice: Toshiba or Lenovo

[Pluvius]

Hello tech experts!

I'm a developer and my current laptop is out of date and I'd like to buy a new one.

Usage:

Linux (lots of compiling), emulation of embedded systems (qemu kvm), virtualization, general programming, GPU programming and gaming (skyrim for example)

Here are the laptops that caught my attention: (I'll present two Toshiba laptops i7, i5 and then the same for lenovo)

* Toshiba Satellite i7
Intel Core i7 3630QM
up to 3.40 GHz - 6 Mo cache
8 Go DDR3
HD 640 Go SATA
AMD Radeon 7670M 2 Go


*Toshiba Satellite i5

Intel Core i5 3210M
2.5 / 3.1 Ghz Turbo - 3 Mo cache
8 Go DDR3
HD 640 Go SATA

AMD Radeon 7670M 2 Go

*Lenovo i7

Intel core i7 3632QM
2.10 GHz - 6 Mo cache
8 Go DDR3
HD 1 To SATA

Nvidia Geforce GT635M 2 Go

* Lenovo i5

Intel Core i5 3210M
2.5 Ghz - 3 Mo cache
6 Go DDR3
HD 1 To SATA
Nvidia GeForce GT630M 2 Go

I'm usually a Toshiba guy and have absolutely no idea about Lenovo. Please feel free to give hints and advices.

Thanks in advance

 

[inzone]

I bought a Toshiba several years ago while working as a Dispatch Supervisor for a large cable sub-contractor (for Comcast) and with close to 100 techs on a daily basis in the field I needed a second computer to go with the desktop and didn't want the POS the company offered so I bought my own. The nice thing was that you can select the components to suit your needs and they ship it right away. Have you visited the Toshiba site and checked it out , by picking the components you can make sure that the laptop will be able to do what you want it to do. You can select a discrete video card for gaming and plenty of ram and a good cpu for work.
The Toshiba Sattelite i7 looks good to me.

 

[yumdumpster]

I just bought a y500 and im pretty happy with it. I dont do anything that would stress the CPU particularly hard so I got the version with the i5. For 1000 you can get the one with an i7 2 gt650m's in SLI and a 1080p screen. I shopped around for months prior and nothing even comes remotely close to this for the price-point. It is relatively light and thin and decently powerful.

It plays Skyrim on High for me with about 80 graphics mods installed as well, usually stays up around 40-50 fps.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7616798&CatId=4935

The only issues that I really have with it are that the ultrabay makes it so there is no CD-Rom, and it only has 3 USB ports. I went ahead and bought a USB hub so it resolved that issue and I have a USB CD-Rom as well.

The constructions is really good, and the keyboard is amazing. All in all I would say it is a steal for 1000 dollars.

 

[olin9]

You can get the Y500 with I71080 1 TB -16GB ssd with GT650m fro $879 on sale $470 off.

You can also get a 2nd GPU foor SLI fo $137 on sale $92 off.

All on the lenovo site.

Mine runs fast and i have not even used the 2nd GPU yet.

 

[yumdumpster]

Personally I wouldnt order straight from Lenovo, I placed an order for a Y400, their site said that it would ship 3 days later, the next day i checked the order information and it said the estimated shipping date was 3/27 well over a month in the future. I called into Lenovo and got the run around, so I cancelled my order, then bought a y500 from Tigerdirect and had it the next day.

 

[olin9]

Yes, the order was late by 6 days. But with a sale like that, it was worth the wait. The Y500 is a fast laptop able to play most of the newest games at the highest settings.

I tried MechWarrior Online last night with just one GPU and with 1080 i was getting 33-52 fps.

Newegg has some good deals also, not as nice as Lenovo site at this time. But, plan on 2-3 weeks to get your order. The savings of $470 for the laptop and $92 for the extra GPU with free shipping was too good of a deal to pass up.

 

[Pluvius]

Thank you guys, you rule! I'm going to buy the Y500!

 

[Pluvius]

Hello again! at my local distributor they told me that the Y500 is out of stock currently (I live in Tunisia) and have to wait for 20 days or so, but they have this one available ; Lenovo Z580A-i7

Intel core i7 3632QM
2.10 GHz - 6 Mo cache
8 Go DDR3
HD 1 To SATA
HD LED 15.6 pouces
Nvidia Geforce GT635M 2 Go
Free Dos

along with all the other Toshibas that I've posted in my first post, what do you think about it?
Would it be better than the 7670m that come with this toshiba:

Toshiba Satellite i7
Intel Core i7 3630QM
up to 3.40 GHz - 6 Mo cache
8 Go DDR3
HD 640 Go SATA
AMD Radeon 7670M 2 Go



thanks a lot!

 

[inzone]

Tough choice , the Lenovo with the 3632QM seems to have a lower core speed but the video card being Nvidia based will have the Physics capability and Cuda cores.

The Toshiba with the 3630QM has a much higher core speed (3.40ghz) and has the Radeon 7670M video card which is a very good card but lacks the added features of the Nvidia card.

Do they by any chance have the Lenovo or Toshiba laptop with a 3630QM and the Nvidia GeForce 635M 2 go ?

The thing to consider is for gaming do you play games that are Nvidia friendly or AMD friendly since these two companies compete regularly , their driver optimization is what sets them apart in certain games.
Also with your work would you make use of the Cuda cores?

 

[Pluvius]

Tough choice , the Lenovo with the 3632QM seems to have a lower core speed but the video card being Nvidia based will have the Physics capability and Cuda cores.

The Toshiba with the 3630QM has a much higher core speed (3.40ghz) and has the Radeon 7670M video card which is a very good card but lacks the added features of the Nvidia card.

Do they by any chance have the Lenovo or Toshiba laptop with a 3630QM and the Nvidia GeForce 635M 2 go ?

The thing to consider is for gaming do you play games that are Nvidia friendly or AMD friendly since these two companies compete regularly , their driver optimization is what sets them apart in certain games.
Also with your work would you make use of the Cuda cores?

inzone, thanks for taking the time to help me.

To answer your question:

- Unfortunately, there's no 3630QM with nvidia 635QM, I've seen something similar on the "Toshiba Direct" website but again it doesn't ship in North Africa (bummer)
As for the uses, please allow me to put them in priorities:

- High Priority: programming and virtualization, embedded systems emulation, lots of compiling too (I use gentoo linux)

- Low priority: gaming, music production and GPU programming using CUDA

If you do have any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer, thanks again!

 

[olin9]

I would just wait the 20 days for the Y500. will Lenovo website ship to your area? What about Newegg?