pcfan1

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Jul 2, 2012
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Hi everyone, i'm currently looking at buying a new laptop for the new school semester starting in 3 to 4 weeks. I Study computer science and need a pretty powerful laptop to do my work on when i'm not at home. I'm a guy that also likes a good gaming session with friends so if it could run some high-end content it would be nice! Thanks for the suggestions it is much appreciated :)

Also, i'm a student so I can use the "student rebate" some websites have!

Have a nice day!
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Approximate Purchase Date: in the next 2-3 weeks

1. What is your budget?
Roughly 1000$ CAD

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15-17" , the bigger the better programming-wise

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920x1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Mostly desktop replacement + occasional movie watching in bed

5. How much battery life do you need?
3h+ , the more the better

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)?
I'd like to run battlefield 3 on medium/high and battlefield 4 on medium (not a necessity but would like it)

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Coding, web surfing, HD movies

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500GB+

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
www.ncix.ca , www.newegg.ca , dell.ca , any reputable website

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3-4 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD writer , Blu-ray reader (not a necessity)

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.
Intel processor would be appreciated but not needed.

13. What country do you live in?
Canada, Quebec

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I'd like my laptop's OS to be windows 7.
Also, i'd like to have the number pad on my keyboard.
_________________________________________
 
Solution

5400RPM isn't too bad. You won't void your warranty by sticking a different mSATA SSD in. Remember...

pcfan1

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Jul 2, 2012
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i did some more research and came across this one for 980$... here are the specs :

System Components
Processor
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor( 2.40GHz 1600MHz 6MB)

Operating system
Windows 8 64

Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT750M 2GB GDDR5

Memory
16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz

Display
15.6" FHD LED Glare Wedge 1920x1080

Keyboard
English-French

Hard Drive
1TB 5400 rpm

Battery
6 Cell Lithium-Ion

Network Card
Intel Centrino Wireless N-2230

Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version 4.0

Warranty
One year

Form Factor
Notebook

Camera
Integrated HD Camera

HDMI
HDMI (Out)

optical device
Ultrabay SLI Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce GT750M GDDR5 2GB
 

amuffin

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Jul 29, 2011
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That actually would be a great setup for gaming, programming, multimedia, CAD etc. Though you won't get the 3+ hours due to the dual GT750m's. Then again, I don't even get more than 2+ hours doing CAD/3D stuff with my i7-3610QM and 7850M.
 

pcfan1

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The only draw-back to this laptop is the slow-ish HDD ... some of them come with a 16GB SSD "cache" making the HDD problem less present. but at the price of 980$ for this laptop i think that's pretty much the best i'll be getting ... and the SLI GT750M should allow me to play the upcoming BF4 when it releases right? i was not able to find a review of the SLI GT 750M to see the performances and such
 

pcfan1

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another concern i have is with some of the reviews of the Lenovo Ideapad Y500 laptop about the keyboard/touchpad quality ... although those seem to be fixed now ... the big concern is the 5400 RPM HDD since programming requires alot of writing... also ... there is a mSATA slot in the motherboard and i am wondering if i install a after-market "non-Lenovo" SSD ... will it void my warranty?
I understand that if i replace an already existing lenovo part in the laptop by a non-lenovo it will void warranty but what happens if the mSATA slot is empty on arrival , do i have to purchase a lenovo SSD in order to not void the warranty?
 

amuffin

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5400RPM isn't too bad. You won't void your warranty by sticking a different mSATA SSD in.
 

amuffin

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5400RPM isn't too bad. You won't void your warranty by sticking a different mSATA SSD in. Remember, Lenovo doesn't even make the HDD's and mSATA SSD's!
 
Solution

pcfan1

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Great! Thanks amuffin!! I ordered the laptop and it is being shipped :D ... that moment when my laptop is going to be more powerful than my 1yr-old-ish tower (i5-2500k , 8GB RAM , GTX 570) lol
 

amuffin

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It isn't really going to be that different :p

You know you can always overclock.