Should I buy the Lenovo Ideapad Y50, Sager NP6658, or ASUS G550JK?

[Jonah T]

I am looking for a laptop to use mainly for high school work, but also want to be able to play moderately intensive games in my free time. I will also be using this laptop to edit music and videos. After looking around, I think I've settled on 3 top choices.

Lenovo Ideapad Y50
Processor..........................4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4710HQ (2.50GHz 1600MHz 6MB) or
..........................................4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4700HQ (2.40GHz 1600MHz 6MB)
Operating System.............Windows 8.1 64
Graphics............................Up to NVIDIA® GTX-860M 4GB (Maxwell)
Memory.............................Up to 16GB DDR3L
Display.............................. 15.6" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)
Optical Drive.....................Blu-ray / DVD-RW (available on select models)
Weight...............................5.29 lbs
Keyboard..........................Backlit AccuType® keyboard (personal note: awesome red color)
Camera.............................720P
Storage.............................Up to 1TB Hybrid SSHD with integrated 8 GB NAND flash or up to 512 ..........................................SSD
Audio.................................JBL® speakers with Dolby® Advanced Audio V2
Battery...............................Up to 5 hours WiFi browsing depending on configuration
Wireless............................Bluetooth® 4.0
..........................................WiFi:Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160
Ports..................................2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, Audio Combo Jack (headphone and mic) ..........................................HDMI-out, 4-in-1 (SD / MMC / SDXC / SDHC) card reader, RJ45, SPDIF
Aesthetics (my opinion).....8/10
Price..................................$1,149
EDIT: I have ruled out this computer from my list of options due to its price.

Sager NP6658 (xoticpc)
Processor.........................4th Gen Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4710MQ (2.5GHz - 3.5GHz, 6MB Intel® .........................................Smart Cache)
Operating System............Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial
Graphics..........................NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 850M (2.0GB) GDDR3 PCI-Express DX11 w/ ........................................Optimus™ Technology
Memory............................8GB DDR3 1600MHz [2x4GB] Dual Channel Memory
Display.............................15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare .........................................Type Sager Screen (pretty sure that means glossy)
Optical Drive....................8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive (Sager) (Dual Layer w/ .........................................Software)
Weight..............................5.51 lbs
Keyboard.........................Full Sized Isolated Keyboard with Numeric Key Pad Camera............................Integrated Digital Video Camera
Storage............................750GB 7200RPM [SATA II - 16MB Cache] or
.........................................1TB 5400RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s] (which one is better?)
Audio................................High Definition audio interface
.........................................1 x Built-in Microphone
.........................................2 x Built-in speakers
.........................................Sound Blaster™ Cinema
.........................................Amplified Headphone output
Battery..............................Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell or 6-Cell, says 8-Cell on customization page, .........................................and 6-Cell on tech specs page)
Wireless...........................Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
.........................................Integrated 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN + Bluetooth™ 4.0
Ports................................1 x HDMI 1.4a output Port (with HDCP)
.........................................1 x VGA Port
.........................................1 x USB 2.0 Port
.........................................3 x USB 3.0 Ports
.........................................1 x eSATA Port (USB 3.0 Combo)
.........................................1 x Headphone Jack
.........................................1 x Microphone Jack
.........................................1 x RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
Aesthetics (my opinion)....5/10
Price.................................$999

ASUS G550JK (ASUS' site)
ASUS G550JK (xoticpc)
Processor.........................4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4710HQ (2.5GHz - 3.5GHz, 6MB .........................................Intel® Smart Cache)
Operating System............WINDOWS 8.1 - 64-Bit (Pre-Installed)
Graphics..........................NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 850M (2.0GB) GDDR3 PCI-Express DX11 w/ .........................................Optimus™ Technology
Memory............................8,192MB (8GB) DDR3 1600MHz
.........................................Two 204Pin SODIMM Sockets
Display.............................15.6” FHD 16:9 IPS Backlit (1920x1080) Anti-Glare Matte Type Screen
Optical Drive....................Slim - 8x Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive (Dual Layer w/ .........................................Software)
Weight..............................6 lbs
Keyboard.........................Full Sized Illuminating Keyboard with Numeric Key Pad (personal note: ........................................awesome red color)
Camera............................Built-in HD Camera
Storage............................750GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache (SATA II - 3GB/s)
Audio................................Sonic Master External Subwoofer
.........................................Built-in Speakers And Digital Array Microphone
.........................................SonicMaster Premium
.........................................MaxxAudio support
Battery..............................4 Cells - Smart Lithium-Ion Battery Pack 59WHrs
Wireless...........................Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
.........................................Integrated 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n wireless LAN + Bluetooth™ 4.0
Ports................................2-in-1 Card Reader (SD / SDXC / MMC)
........................................3 x USB 3.0 ports
........................................1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
........................................1 x HDMI
........................................1 x Mini-Display Port
........................................1 x Combo Audio Jack
Aesthetics (my opinion)...10/10
Price................................$1,099

I'm not limiting myself to these computers, so any suggestions are welcome. On all of the computers I'm looking at right now, I'm going to have to look for as many discounts and coupons as I can to get them into my price range, which is below $900. These are my must-haves for a computer:

At least 3 USB ports (at least 2 must be 3.0)
A decent GPU (most preferably NVIDIA® GTX 860M)
15.6" screen (does not matter if it's matte or glossy) 1920x1080 NO 17"
Strong processor (preferably i7, but i5 is ok)
SD card reader
backlit keyboard (nice to have)

I'm pretty sure that those guidelines are impossible to find in a <$900 laptop, but determined to find the best that I can for the money.

Some more questions:
I'm new to buying laptops, so i don't know how fast everything goes. Do you think that there will be any promo sales of these laptops in the next few months? Also, I'm having trouble finding reviews for the NP6658. Can anyone tell me about the build quality, touchpad quality, keyboard, etc... for any of these laptops from your personal experience?

I won't be able to update or reply to this thread for a week or two, so I hope I have included enough info for you guys to give me some experienced advice.

 

[thedesigner]

I recommend getting the Sager all the way. I just received my Sager NP8268-S this afternoon and it's by far the best laptop I have ever seen and used to date. The build is SOLID and it runs so smooth that it's frightening. It boots up in seconds thanks to my SSD. I've owned many laptops both PC's and Mac's for video editing, animation, and running most Adobe applications and this thing is an absolute beast. I suggest ditching the HDD and going with a SSD to run your OS and apps - especially if you're working with video. The HDD is fine for a storage drive. I hope this is helpful. If you would like specific on my build I'd be happy to post but I think the NP6658 is a great choice too. I ordered mine through Frank directly through sagernotebook.com and he gave me a little discount. You just have to ask.

I ruled out that exact Lenovo Y50 build because the CPU is soldered CPU, the HDD, and because of the reviews shared by other designers.

Best of luck!

 

[Jonah T]

I recommend getting the Sager all the way. I just received my Sager NP8268-S this afternoon and it's by far the best laptop I have ever seen and used to date. The build is SOLID and it runs so smooth that it's frightening. It boots up in seconds thanks to my SSD. I've owned many laptops both PC's and Mac's for video editing, animation, and running most Adobe applications and this thing is an absolute beast. I suggest ditching the HDD and going with a SSD to run your OS and apps - especially if you're working with video. The HDD is fine for a storage drive. I hope this is helpful. If you would like specific on my build I'd be happy to post but I think the NP6658 is a great choice too. I ordered mine through Frank directly through sagernotebook.com and he gave me a little discount. You just have to ask.

I ruled out that exact Lenovo Y50 build because the CPU is soldered CPU, the HDD, and because of the reviews shared by other designers.

Best of luck!

After looking some more into Sager on xoticpc, I found that the NP7358 looks very good too, since it's a lot like the NP6658, but sports an 860M GPU for about $80 more. It also has a couple other nifty features like a fingerprint scanner and a bit bigger 8-cell battery.
Can you tell me some more about the discount that you got from Frank? I would like to get these prices as low as I possibly can.
EDIT: When checking out the customization page of the NP7358, I noticed that you can get up to 3 storage drives, with one HDD drive being the default option. If I cannot get the dual HDD and extra SSD right now due to budget limitations, will I be able to buy them separately at a later time and add them in myself?

 

[CRITICALThinker]

The chassis is accessible to upgrade if you are comfortable with that.http/www.sagernotebook.com/images/products/7358_4.jpg

The only issue is that you would have to re-install windows on the ssd if you wanted the benefits of the ssd.

 

[Jonah T]

The chassis is accessible to upgrade if you are comfortable with that.http/www.sagernotebook.com/images/products/7358_4.jpg

The only issue is that you would have to re-install windows on the ssd if you wanted the benefits of the ssd.

I've never done any tinkering with the inside of a computer before, but based on what I've seen, adding in or replacing the hard drive seems pretty simple, and I'm sure I can do it. Putting the OS on the SSD might be a little harder, but I know some more tech savvy friends that can help me out. Thanks for the answer!