Looking for a new laptop!

Jon Oon

Estimable
Feb 15, 2014
4
0
4,510
1. What is your budget?
Up to $1000 USD. But preferably less.
As a rough idea: Lenovo ideapad y510P (899) or z510 (649)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Not fussed. Would not mind a better screen, but would consider saving a little here.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement, but not overly cumbersome! I do bring it on trips every now and then.

5. How much battery life do you need?
I'm willing to sacrifice here. 1-2 hours is already reasonable, I'm almost always plugged in.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Rarely play games on my laptop. At the moment I casually play league of legends and Dragon Age 2, thinking of taking up Lord of the Rings online, or another similar MMORPG
Am happy to play at low-medium graphics settings.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Atm, nothing else. However I am going into an engineering course, so may need to use some engineering software in the near future.
I also am a notorious multitasker - at the moment I probably have 30 chrome tabs open, 4 MS word documents, 2 excels, 2 PDF's, itunes etc. alot of tasks tend to be open at once.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Not fussed at all. I like the idea of having a normal hard drive + a small SSD for quick start ups. but not necessary. I have alot of external storage.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
None

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
As long as possible. I am buying only to replace an old one that is failing.
On average my laptops don't seem to last me much longer than two years (Both Acer's before).
I'd like this one to last longer if possible, but I do use my laptops alot and they go through a tough life.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
As long as it can read CD's and DVD's, that is all I need!

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I have so far had pretty bad experiences with acer laptops being quite unreliable and overheating my past two laptops have been Acer's and have not lasted nearly as long

13. What country do you live in?
Australia - But will be purchasing my laptop in the states, so international warranty is very important!

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I really want something that will be reliable! Having to get my laptop fixed in Australia generally = 2-3 weeks without a laptop, and I have nothing else, so it is never very convenient for me to get it fixed.
 

Jon Oon

Estimable
Feb 15, 2014
4
0
4,510


what do you think about the Z510?
A fair bit cheaper, and only difference seems to be integrated graphics rather than dedicated.
I've heard the intel 4600 HD Graphics is not too bad and can run games fairly well?

I've also heard having integrate graphics means the laptop is less likely to overheat, and thus be more reliable (also, one less thing that can go wrong). Both my previous laptops had huge overheating issues (Current Acer aspire 4755g with Nvidia geforce gt540M 2gb)

update: Also another competitor has been the Asus N550JV. I've heard Asus makes the most reliable laptops!
 

Jon Oon

Estimable
Feb 15, 2014
4
0
4,510
Ah I see.
I was a bit unsure whether the intel 4600HD would run a game like LOTRO.

Are there any other similar laptops? Unfortunately the Lenovo warranty for the Y510P does not apply in Australia (would have to bring back to US or somewhere that the y510p is produced - not available in Australia)

Was considering Asus N550JV or perhaps one of the Toshiba Satellites.
A bit confused with so many options!
 

LummusMaximus

Honorable
Well, write up a little specsheet comparison. It's something i will do occasionally. Draw up the important bits (CPU, GPU, Screen res, battery life etc.) and give each a point for every category it wins. This can help you really work out what is best for you, or just best in general.
 

Jon Oon

Estimable
Feb 15, 2014
4
0
4,510
I do that too actually, unfortunately it is hard to tell how reliable the laptop will be!
The lenovo looks great on specs, but I haven't had an experience with lenovo's.
On the other hand, have heard great things about Asus, but again no experience!