Looking for a Gaming laptop; Lenovo, Acer, or ASUS?

[GallagherRayS]

So like the title says Im looking for a gaming laptop that I can take to work and do some college work on. I found a few that have the specs I'm looking for within my price range ($1500 USD).

I have narrowed my search down to three laptops, my question is which of the 3 shoud I go with? Does it really just come down to the aesthetics of them?

Here are the ones I'm looking at-
Lenovo Y50 4K UHD - 59440638
ASUS ROG G501JW-DS71
Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition VN7-591G-729V

The specs are all about the same -
i7-4720HQ CPU's
4GB GTX 960M GPU's
16GB Ram
At least 512GB (Lenovo and ASUS both have 512 SSD, The Acer has a 1TB HDD+256SSD)
4K 3840x2160 Display

As part of this, another question is, should I wait for the new Skylake processors to launch with the new laptops or just get one of these Haswell loaded ones now.

 

[birne]

may i ask why you want a 4k display?
you are not going to be able to play games on that resolution with that card anyhow.
if it was me, i would take a fullhd screen and then put the money in the other parts.

 

[GallagherRayS]

may i ask why you want a 4k display?
you are not going to be able to play games on that resolution with that card anyhow.
if it was me, i would take a fullhd screen and then put the money in the other parts.

To be perfectly honest, I don't really need it. I just got my wife a MacBook Pro for mothers day and (while I'm not a mac fan) I was blown away by the 2560x1600 display. My first thought when I saw it was "my next laptop is getting a screen like that"

I guess I just don't know enough at this point, I know the MSI line has some great laptops in my range with slightly better specs and a 1920x1080 display. Will I really even be able to notice a diffence between a high quality 1920x1080 vs a 3840x2160 in a laptop screen?

On that note, if I did drop down the screen, what CPU/GPU would get the most bang for my buck? I've really been looking at lenovo, but most of their offerings seems to top out at the i7 4720HQ with a GTX 960m

 

[birne]

Will be able to see the difference, yes; but with a screen of that size it is not much notable. (My brother got himselfe a 4k laptop same size 15.6", and a month later he wished he got a 1080 screen because it was cool at start but that was it)
In question of the cpu, the 4720HQ is in that price range the top of the line. I believe the 4910MQ is the best laptop cpu you can currently get in that prize category ish.
With the graphics card, there are few options with a 970m, but they then have the 4710 instead of the 4720, but i dont know how much slower it really is.

 

[GreyCatz]

Greetings Ray,

I agree with birne on the resolution issue: 4K is wasted on such a small screen. As a Lenovo guy myself, I would love to recommend the Y50-70, but the ASUS ROG routinely gets best-in-test gaming scores on all the sites I've been to. It's not a mind-blowing difference, but if you're serious about gaming, it's the machine to get.

If, on the other hand, you really want an extremely capable and attractive everyday multi-tasker, the Lenovo is second-to-none in this segment.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

 

[GallagherRayS]

I really want to thank you, Birne and GreyCatz, for taking the time to help me out and your input. Ive been looking around some more throughout the day, and I've got to say I think I'm sold on the Lenovo.
I dont know why my brain couldn't think of the words, but you put it into text for me GreyCatz, I'm looking for a high end Multi-tasker that will play games.

I really hate to be a bother, I don't want to clog the forum with my posts, but I have 2 last questions.

1. Birne- you said to drop the screen down and get better parts, but right now Lenovo has the 4k display version on sale for only $50 more than the FHD IPS display. You guys sold me on the lack of a need for a 4k, but does that kind of price make it worth it?

2. No one really touched on this, and I dont want to sound like a nag, but should I wait for Skylake? Skylake is supposed to be going back to intel's normal 30% gains over previous gens (from what I've heard).
Kind of a tack on question, I've never really paid attention to processor releases and laptop prices, will skylake's release blast these laptops I'm looking at out of my $1400-1500 price range?

 

[GreyCatz]

I really want to thank you, Birne and GreyCatz, for taking the time to help me out and your input. Ive been looking around some more throughout the day, and I've got to say I think I'm sold on the Lenovo.
I dont know why my brain couldn't think of the words, but you put it into text for me GreyCatz, I'm looking for a high end Multi-tasker that will play games.

I really hate to be a bother, I don't want to clog the forum with my posts, but I have 2 last questions.

1. Birne- you said to drop the screen down and get better parts, but right now Lenovo has the 4k display version on sale for only $50 more than the FHD IPS display. You guys sold me on the lack of a need for a 4k, but does that kind of price make it worth it?

2. No one really touched on this, and I dont want to sound like a nag, but should I wait for Skylake? Skylake is supposed to be going back to intel's normal 30% gains over previous gens (from what I've heard).
Kind of a tack on question, I've never really paid attention to processor releases and laptop prices, will skylake's release blast these laptops I'm looking at out of my $1400-1500 price range?

Hello Ray,

1) It seems that in a few months from now, all laptops will be fitted with 4K screens whether it makes sense or not. I guess you could hook up the laptop to your 4K TV for improved viewing. Of the three laptops linked above, the Lenovo still seems to match your needs best (sadly this one is out of stock). I would also like to make a case for the Dell XPS 15:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300749&cm_re=dell_xps_15_i7-_-34-300-749-_-Product

At $2,226, it is quite expensive but Dells are very popular with reviewers due to their build quality and superior screens. Lenovos, including my own TN Y50, often come out slightly below average in screen tests unless they're touch-IPS, which unfortunately tends to produce significant glare. As you mentioned, Lenovo is currently offering 4K Y50s on their web site, with prices starting at $1200:

http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y50-uhd/

If I were you, I'd get one of those.

2) If you can wait until Autumn (and have the cash), the Intel Skylake does seem to promise quite an improvement. However, it's designed for high-end laptops and Xeon-style industrial rigs, so it's going to be expensive! Also, be advised that there will be the inevitable bugs and misses, and people on Intel's forums are still bitching about the current series (Haswell et al.).

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

 

[GallagherRayS]

Hello Ray,

1) It seems that in a few months from now, all laptops will be fitted with 4K screens whether it makes sense or not. I guess you could hook up the laptop to your 4K TV for improved viewing. Of the three laptops linked above, the Lenovo still seems to match your needs best (sadly this one is out of stock). I would also like to make a case for the Dell XPS 15:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300749&cm_re=dell_xps_15_i7-_-34-300-749-_-Product

At $2,226, it is quite expensive but Dells are very popular with reviewers due to their build quality and superior screens. Lenovos, including my own TN Y50, often come out slightly below average in screen tests unless they're touch-IPS, which unfortunately tends to produce significant glare. As you mentioned, Lenovo is currently offering 4K Y50s on their web site, with prices starting at $1200:

http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y50-uhd/

If I were you, I'd get one of those.

2) If you can wait until Autumn (and have the cash), the Intel Skylake does seem to promise quite an improvement. However, it's designed for high-end laptops and Xeon-style industrial rigs, so it's going to be expensive! Also, be advised that there will be the inevitable bugs and misses, and people on Intel's forums are still bitching about the current series (Haswell et al.).

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

Awesome, that helps me out a lot, I've been trying to google all of this, but there is just so much out there it's hard to sift through. This really makes my decision easier.

Thank you so much for your help and letting me pick your brain. I'm definitely going with the Lenovo Y50-70 - 59440638 (sorry, The dell is just a bit too far out of my price range), I guess if everyone is going to it I may as well get the UHD one since it's on sale.

Off to the lenovo web store! Thanks again GreyCatz and thank you too Birne. You made this decision way easier, Im sure I'll be more than happy with my choice.