What should I get for my gaming/every-day use laptop, the Lenovo Y510p or the Asus N550JV? [Please Help!]?

Jcb112

Estimable
Mar 12, 2014
1
0
4,510
Right now the specs that I'm looking at for the Lenovo Y510p are as follows:
- Intel Core i7-3630QM (2.40 GHz, 6 MB L3 Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)
- nVidia GeForce GT 750M (2 GB GDDR5) [Dual, as it has the swap-able "ultrabay" to insert either another GT750 Graphics Card, an Optical Drive, or another fan]
- 15.6 inch WUXGA (1920x1080) Full HD LED
- 8 GB DDR3 RAM
- 1 TB 5400 RPM

The specs for the Asus N550JV are as follows:
- Intel Core i7-4700HQ (2.40 GHz, 6 MB L3 Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)
- nVidia GeForce GT 750M (4 GB GDDR3) [Normal, single graphics card, not like the "ultrabay" above]
- 15.6 inch WUXGA (1920x1080) Full HD LED
- 8 GB DDR3 Memory Bus 1600 MHz RAM
- 1 TB 5400 RPM

I know they're quite similar, the major difference being however the "ultrabay" on the Lenovo.

Could you guys please give me an opinion of which one I should get? Right now the things that are bothering me is namely the "ultrabay" thing on the Lenovo. I'm not used to this dual SLI type graphics thing, and I'm not sure of the ultrabay's overall build quality as well. I'm not sure if having this extra thing swapping in and out would in the long run cause problems and such with the overall computer.

All I really want is a sturdy, long-lasting (3-5 Years) laptop that is reliable, can handle casual-semi intensive gaming (e.g. Civilization 5, Anno 2070, Battlefield 3, etc), and video/audio editing. You may add aesthetic qualities into your analysis if you'd like as well since I'd like to hear what you think about that too.

On a side note, at the mall I've been looking at, these two laptops are in the similar price range around 1197 USD. The Lenovo doesn't have Windows installed yet though, so with the price of Windows 8 added, it'll be around that price range as well, but with the computer alone its slightly cheaper.

Thanks for all your help, I'm really looking forward to see what everybody thinks about this.

Some References for people to look at as well (specs in these reviews may differ from above):
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-N550JV-CN201H-Notebook.98311.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Y510p-Notebook.97470.0.html
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/asus-n550jv.aspx
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-y510p.aspx
 

vash_021

Honorable
Jun 19, 2012
35
0
10,590
huge difference between the two
the asus only has 2gb of gpu not 4

while the lenovo has 2 750m in sli the newer version even has 755m sli

only thing that would concern me is the temperature from the ultrabay i dont know if its been fixed or not
 
You would be fine with a single 750M with aforementioned games. I don't have personal experience with the Lenovo, although there seems to be some concern among end users about heat. As for the Asus N550JV, I can speak from personal experience in that it's a pretty solid unit. The trackpad could be better, but the keyboard is fine, the construction quality is good, the screen is good, and speakers are good (for a laptop).

Unless you want to play more demanding games and at very high settings, I think the N550 will treat you fine. If your gaming desires are more ambitious, look to the Lenovo with the SLI setup. The only caveat to the SLI configuration (besides potential heat concerns others have mentioned) is that not all games are designed to take advantage of multi-GPU interfaces.