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New notebook for gf

Brian

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Brian T|I Addict

Brian

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So my gf needs a new notebook with the following requirements:

+14-15.6" form factor no thicker than 1.3"

+High quality build (e.g. magnesium/aluminum)

+Discrete GPU (e.g. nvidia 650M)

+Intel CPU (no UV)

+Quality display at 1080P (min 250 nit with 600:1 contrast ratio)

+At home warranty service

+Reasonably priced from $900-$1500

Finally, it can't be really flashy or ugly. To give you an idea, I think almost every single MSI laptop out there is ugly. She likes Alienware but I think for her its far too flashy and bulky. So that leaves HP Envy, Some Asus notebooks, Lenovo Y500/Y580, Dell XPS 15, Dell Precision M4700 and a few others.

We prefer not to have to deal with 3rd party dealers and would instead prefer buying directly from the manufacturer. Here is what I've narrowed down so far:

Dell XPS 15

+Gorilla Glass

+1080P 350 nit

+Aluminum + Silicone build

+Discrete graphics (though weak)

+Very good form factor (comparable to MBP)

+Good keyboard + trackpad

+Dell warranty

-Price is high

-Graphics is weak

-Only 1 year standard warranty

Lenovo Y500

+15.6" 1080P display

+650M graphics (expandable to SLI)

+3 years accidental + in home warranty for only $120

+Nice thin form factor

+Backlit red keys

+Not a flashy design, looks decent but not as nice as the XPS 15

-Trackpad issues

-Keyboard issues

-Lacks eSata, firewire and displayport

-No optimus support thus weak battery life

Dell Precision M4700

+High quality build and nice form factor + design

+3 year standard warranty

+Discrete GPU (AMD/NVIDIA professional grade cards equivalent to 650M in performance)

+1080P 15.6" display

+Docking Port

+Display Port, Firewire etc.

+Quality keyboard

-IPS no longer available due to corner tint issues with the LG panel

-Graphics card are professional grade which is overkill for our use and cannot use consumer drivers

-Price is $300-$400 higher than Lenovo Y500

Asus N56VZ

+1080P 15.6" wide angle

+Beautiful design + form factor

+Nice keyboard + backlit

+Reasonable price

+Discrete graphics (650M)

+6 hour battery life

-Trackpad clickpad not so great

-Warranty isn't as good as others listed here

-Odd connector placement

-Lack of ports (e.g. esata, displayport etc though not very high on our list)

Do you guys have any other suggestions?

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svl7 T|I Addict

svl7

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Well, I'd go for the Precision, I think it's a very nice machine... too bad the IPS is no longer available, that would be a big plus. I think you can install the GeForce drivers on the professional, .inf mod might be necessary... Btw, you could test on the 680m whether you can install the professional drivers, would be interesting :)

Maybe @Prema can give some insights when it comes to installing the GeForce driver on a Quadro card... I can't remember whether he uses the GeForce or Quadro drivers on his K5000m.

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unreal25 T|I Addict

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Lenovo Ideapad Y500 actually isn't bad at all. I was worried about the gap in (build) quality between Thinkpad and Ideapad and for the short time I held Y500 it actually seemed like a quite decent laptop. Last time I checked an Ideapad (few years ago) I remember the cheap plasticky feeling which luckily wasn't there on Y500. :)

That said, it does not compete with business grade laptops. Dell Latitude/Precision are really good laptops. It's really unfortunate they can't be configured with IPS RGB LED screens anymore but they are still pretty good nevertheless. HP Elitebooks also similar and they look quite nice IMO, but I don't know much about the workstation models (and their web site is a useless piece of crap so GL finding anything there).

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Khenglish T|I Addict

Khenglish

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IMO the ASUS.

vs Precision:

The weaker support for the ASUS doesn't mean much since you know your computer stuff. Everything in the laptop is less than the $300+ you saved in the first place. The most expensive should be the motherboard at around $300. If something does fail you can just order a new part right away instead of shipping the system out for over 2 weeks for a refurbished replacement.

vs XPS:

The 630m is half as powerful as the 650m. That's a lot.

vs Lenovo:

Mediocre but not terrible battery life. ASUS likely lasts ~60% longer

vs Samsung:

The samsung has a somewhat stronger GPU, but it's an AMD, so battery life will not be good since not only does enduro hurt FPS, it also can't properly turn of the dGPU to save power. Plus it's so thin it probably has terrible thermals. I don't see a fan in the screenshots posted...

You can use the money saved on the ASUS to buy an SSD.

Another option is to give her your M18x and buy yourself a new one. You can take the best 680m's for yourself :)

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Maybe @Prema can give some insights when it comes to installing the GeForce driver on a Quadro card... I can't remember whether he uses the GeForce or Quadro drivers on his K5000m.

Just a simple .inf mod and you can install whatever driver you want. ;)

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Jimbo T|I Addict

Jimbo

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I thought the latest drivers had fixed most of the issues with enduro? They were claiming some insane FPS jumps for systems with 7970Ms.

I've seen battery life numbers around 8-11hrs, however, seeing as it's not even out yet take that with a pinch of salt.

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Brian T|I Addict

Brian

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Looks like the Asus is out of the running since it shows as discontinued which is a shame. The Samsung won't be considered because she has one right now and getting warranty work has been hell for her.

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Brian T|I Addict

Brian

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For those curious, I ended up with a Sony VAIO S 15 after thoroughly weighing all other options on the market. It offers solid build quality, fantastic design, very good keyboard, decent trackpad and excellent IPS display (though it has trouble with reds but can be calibrated to fix that). Sound is below average quality on the VAIO S as well but since headphones are used by my gf most of the time, this wasn't much of a factor. Furthermore, the VAIO S weighs only 4.9 lbs and has the option for a battery sheet/slice that increases battery life to 10 hours or so and weighs very little.

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Brian T|I Addict

Brian

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Let's hope you don't cancel this order again :P

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Nope unless Samsung releases the chronos with 8870m before it ships.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

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Brian T|I Addict

Brian

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@svl7 well unless enduro is still broken and the battery life blows, it'd be perfect for my gf. The chronos is only 1" thick and aroudn 5-6 lbs so its perfect for her. The biggest downside of samsung is the warranty.

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Nfinite-Tek Curious Beginner

Nfinite-Tek

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Sorry, kinda new here but as a gamer, (which I realize she is not) either way it doesn't matter, I've been trying out different manufacturers to see where the quality really is and from what I can tell ASUS has my vote from now on. High quality builds and haven't had a reason to use tech support because everything works!

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AetherTitan Curious Beginner

AetherTitan

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I bought the Y500 and am very happy with it, with the exception of the locked/whitelisted BIOS.

The backlight on the keyboard can be dimmed or turned off, so you can use it for business applications (I do, at least. It fits all my needs.)

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