Looking to buy a Laptop in Canada

[adamjosiah]

Hi everyone,

As the title says, I'm looking to buy a laptop. I can compare specs myself but the stuff I'm unsure about are how different brands and models compare with things like durability, screen quality, etc.

My max budget is around $1000 (CDN)

Things I'm looking for:
- Watching HD movies (a decent screen)
- Light graphic design (Photoshop)
- General internet use (multi-tab browsing, Youtube, skype)
- Light gaming if possible (RTS games and Sim City on medium settings)
- Prefer matte to gloss

One option I found was this: http/www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/dell-dell-inspiron-17-3-laptop-silver-intel-core-i7-4510u-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-1-i5748-10001slv/10298309.aspx?path=36c5a5f7d7fb05977ccf0a9823b7981fen02

I liked the 17.3" screen, Intel Core i7-4510U and GTX 840M for the price. Not sure if there's better quality options out there though.

Please let me know what you think, thanks!

 

[darkbreeze]

This is probably the best bang for the buck unit available in your market. Lenovo has exceptional customer support and I haven't personally encountered any display panel issues with any of their higher end units, beyond the expected failure rate for any brand, along with a very good set of features and highly capable hardware that probably exceeds your criteria:

http/www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318092


That Dell unit you linked to is probably fine too. Dell makes good units, has good customer support (For the most part) and has pretty decent panels.

It might be worth your while to check these models against what's available from the actual Dell and Lenovo official Canadian websites as both OEMs often run sales for much less than what you can get identical units through third party vendors for.

 

[nkhaira]

This is probably the best bang for the buck unit available in your market. Lenovo has exceptional customer support and I haven't personally encountered any display panel issues with any of their higher end units, beyond the expected failure rate for any brand, along with a very good set of features and highly capable hardware that probably exceeds your criteria:

http/www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318092

Lenovo y50 would be a much better option since that laptop has only a GT840
Y50 has the same CPU but a more powerful GTX 860M

 

[darkbreeze]

It's also a fifteen inch. He wants a 17". The Y50 also has some heat issues on the higher end GPU models. Additionally he indicated only light gaming which does not necessitate a GTX 860. An 840 is more than capable enough for Sims and similar low demand titles.

 

[nkhaira]

It's also a fifteen inch. He wants a 17". The Y50 also has some heat issues on the higher end GPU models. Additionally he indicated only light gaming which does not necessitate a GTX 860. An 840 is more than capable enough for Sims and similar low demand titles.

I guess out of all the 3 Laptops (Including one OP Recommended) the one OP liked it most likely the best since it supports 17.3in Screen, its a Dell, and supports GTX840m more powerful than the GT840M

OP, I recommend the Dell you picked out

But if you don't care about the 15in screen on Lenovo Y50, I would go for the Y50 because of the GTX860M gives you a lot of breathing room and you could do the Sims on even higher settings

 

[darkbreeze]

Any of them are probably fine, but considering the Sims will run on integrated HD or R6 graphics, the 840m should be capable of running it or similar low demand games at very high settings.

Another thing to consider here is the fact that the Dell you linked to only has a 1600x900 resolution while the Lenovo units, including the Y50 15" models, all have 1080p. The Dell won't display HD video at it's native resolution. It will have to scale HD video which may somewhat affect quality.

If you don't mind the 15" screen versus the 17" screen and higher gaming capabilities are desired, then the Y50 might be a good choice with the GTX 860m GPU but if watching video is a higher priority the 17" model is going to be a better experience.

 

[adamjosiah]

Now that I'm looking closer I don't think the one I linked is a GTX 840, as it listed as just "NVIDIA GeForce 840M". The Y50's I found are a bit over my budget, but between the 1080p panel and the performance breathing room - it may be a better choice.

 

[nkhaira]

Now that I'm looking closer I don't think the one I linked is a GTX 840, as it listed as just "NVIDIA GeForce 840M". The Y50's I found are a bit over my budget, but between the 1080p panel and the performance breathing room - it may be a better choice.

Then Yes it is most likely the GT840M
I'd personally go for the GTX860M, just so you have more breathing room and can play sims at even higher settings, also play other games if you wish on good settings
Though darkbreeze is right about how the other laptops will run the Sims fine too, As I said before the Y50 gives you more breathing room and most likely longer life than the others since it has a bit more powerful parts

 

[adamjosiah]

Great, thanks for your help