Help with laptop choices.

ae182

Honorable
May 7, 2013
3
0
10,510
Hello, I am trying to customize my own pc but I am somewhat computer illiterate. I understand the basics but lack knowledge in the fine details about certain things. I am going to be using this laptop for music production, casual gaming, and general school/work. For music production I use Pro tools, Ableton, and FL studio, if that helps at all. Price isn't too much of a concern, looking to keep it at least under 2,000. Here is what I have set up right now, bold is what I have selected with the other options in there as well.

Asus N76VJ-DH71

Screen:
17.3" 1600x900 HD+ LED Backlight, Matte-type [-$65.00]
17.3" 16:9 1920X1080 Full HD LED backlight Ultra Bright, 72% NTSC Color Gamut, Matte-type
17.3" 16:9 1920X1080 Full HD LED backlight Ultra Bright, 90% NTSC Color Gamut, Glossy [+$85.00]

CPU:
3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3630QM, 2.4~3.4GHz, 22nm, 6MB, 45W [-$249.00]
3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3740QM, 2.7-3.7GHz, 22nm, 6MB, 45W
3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3840QM, 2.8~3.8GHz, 22nm, 8MB, 45W [+$200.00]
3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3920XM, 2.9-3.8GHz, 22nm, 8MB, 55W [+$491.00]
3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3940XM, 3.0-3.9GHz, 22nm, 8MB, 55W [+$771.00]

RAM:
8GB DDR3 1600/PC3 12800 Dual-Channel (4G X 2)
12GB DDR3 1600/PC3 12800 Dual-Channel (4G + 8G) [+ $49.00]
16GB DDR3 1600/PC3 Dual-Channel (8G X 2) [+ $85.00]

Primary Hard Drive:
750GB Seagate Momentus XT 7200RPM 32MB, 8GB SSD Hybrid Drive, SATA III 6Gb/s

Secondary Hard Drive:
1TB (1000GB) 5400rpm 2.5-inch 9.5mm 8MB SATA II 3Gb/s

Optical Drive:
6X Blu-Ray Re-Writer/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive

WiFi:
Intel Advanced-N 6250 2.4Ghz/5.0Ghz Dual-Band 300 Mbps + WiMAX / WiDi

Price: $1,569

I cut some of the different choices out because there is a huge list and it would take up a lot of space, but if anyone has any suggestions about hard drives or anything let me know. I know SSD is faster but it is significantly more expensive. I don't understand where the secondary hard drive comes in though. Any help would greatly be appreciated and thanks in advance.
 

ae182

Honorable
May 7, 2013
3
0
10,510


nVidia GeForce GT 635M 2GB DDR3 DX11 w/Optimus Technology
I didn't include some things because it was the only option I was given. I just had questions regarding mainly the screen, CPU, hard drive, and was looking for any suggestions.
 

g-unit1111

Distinguished
Moderator


Same thing with the hard drive - a Momentus isn't any better than a standard 7200 RPM hard drive, and that 5400 RPM hard drive will be ridiculously slow. That's the only thing I don't like about my new Y500 but I will be rectifying that shortly.
 

ae182

Honorable
May 7, 2013
3
0
10,510




I figured there would be problems with the hard drive. I know that for gaming/multimedia 7200 is better than 5400 but that's about it.
hmm, I was thinking of purchasing the Y500 but I have heard there were issues with the trackpad and battery life. For gaming you probably wouldn't use the trackpad, but if I was doing school/work on it I may. I would also be concerned if I needed to take it somewhere and use it and there was no place to charge it, but maybe since I won't be gaming at that moment it won't be a problem.