Lenovo Y580 for engineering/gaming?

[BlackCrimsonDragon]

I'm headed off to college in the fall and I need to get a laptop. I'm going into engineering and I enjoy gaming, so performance is key, but I also want to do this on a budget. After some searching, I came across the Lenovo Y580 on sale for July 4th:

Specs:

Model: Lenovo IdeaPad Y580
Processor: Intel i7-3610Q (2.30 GHz, 6MB)
RAM: 8 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 660M 2GB
Screen: 1920x1080 15.6", FHD LED Glare Wedge
HDD: 500 GB 7200 rpm
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray/DVD RW
OS: Win7 Home Premium
Price: $999.20 (before employee discount)

I've taken a look at the specs and price, and though they seem amazing, I've heard reports that the build quality isn't too good. I'm not expecting IBM ThinkPad quality, but I'm still worried this will break on me and I'll have no computer to rely on (I'd like to ship my desktop to college, but it's across the country and I'm not sure about dorm space at the moment).

Also, for an extra $160, I can go for the same specs with a 1TB 5400RPM HDD and a 32GB SSD. Is it worth it, or should I just stick to externals?

 

[Memophysic]

I'm an engineering student and this was my pick. The specs are just right, but be careful if you're going to carry it around a lot. You should invest into a good bag and pocket to make sure the laptop stays stable, since the build quality is the main downer on this laptop. Also, if you're going to do a lot of processor/graphical intensive tasks (like running latest games, software such as SolidWork or AutoCAD, etc) you should invest in an external cooler to put under the laptop.

The 849$ option without the blu-ray and with smaller resolution might be a good pick too to save some money (and if you really want to enjoy the graphic card buy an HD monitor).

I wouldn't go with the 1TB and the SSD, not right now. Specially since the 7200RPM on the 500 Go HDD has significant impact on everyday computing efficiency.

In short, it's great specs, but make sure it doesn't break!

 

[Komomu]

as you can see, this was an oldish post and I'm sure he'd have bought it already XD

 

[7ooda]

I'm an engineering student and this was my pick. The specs are just right, but be careful if you're going to carry it around a lot. You should invest into a good bag and pocket to make sure the laptop stays stable, since the build quality is the main downer on this laptop. Also, if you're going to do a lot of processor/graphical intensive tasks (like running latest games, software such as SolidWork or AutoCAD, etc) you should invest in an external cooler to put under the laptop.

The 849$ option without the blu-ray and with smaller resolution might be a good pick too to save some money (and if you really want to enjoy the graphic card buy an HD monitor).

I wouldn't go with the 1TB and the SSD, not right now. Specially since the 7200RPM on the 500 Go HDD has significant impact on everyday computing efficiency.

In short, it's great specs, but make sure it doesn't break!

windows didn't install on Ssd , Hdd 7200 will be faseter than ssd + 5400 rpm , and ssd is too small so if he want to install the windows on it , he will have a problem with speed loading for other programs and games , and you say that autocad need cooler , i don't think that is true because autocad not an very heavy program and the graphic card (gtx 660m) will not active when he working on autocad Except if he choose hight performance for it