Lenova for Gaming

pajunior

So I'm looking at getting a new laptop and I wanted to get one for a bit of gaming. Doesn't have to run everything at the highest settings but I wouldn't mind trying out some of the newer games on PC. Trawling around online has lead me to two different laptops which look reasonable.

First the dell Inspiron 15R. Looks reasonable value, at €849, for the components but nothing special.
http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15r-se-7520/pd?oc=n0015s30&model_id=inspiron-15r-se-7520#TechSpec

Then i found the lenova Ideapad Z580. First one for €679
http://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/lenovo-ideapad-z580-intel-core-i5-3210m-4gb-ram-500gb-156-inch-laptop---red/1116894352.prd

And another for €819, which takes it from i5 to i7 and from 4gb ram to 8.
http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product/15_16_inch/80006637/lenovo_15_6_z580_m81dfmh_i7_3612qm_8gb_750gb/details.aspx

The components look good I'm just wondering if people have had any experience using Lenova a traditional business provider for gaming. Reviews are a bit mixed so I'm not sure.
Also would people consider the more expensive Lenova to be worth it? Do many games get much benefit from an i7 and over 4gb of ram?
Thanks for any advice.

Jarren

What games are we talking about here?

areyawell

All about the graphics card. If you could get an i5 with 4gb ram with high end graphics card would be well worth it. Those graphics card will only run new games on low settings

pajunior

Jarren wrote: »

What games are we talking about here?

I mostly play strategy games and rpgs. I play Civ 4 which will run on just about anything I've played Dragon Age, Oblivion and similar. I suppose if I was to get new games it would include Skyrim, Mass Effect maybe a fps but I'm not pushed about them.

areyawell wrote: »

All about the graphics card. If you could get an i5 with 4gb ram with high end graphics card would be well worth it. Those graphics card will only run new games on low settings

Hmm I knew the Dell one wasn't great but I thought that the Nvidia GT 640M was decent. I'm really not up to date on gpus for laptops.
I'm not looking for a top of the range laptop (simply out of my price range) but are there better gpus that I should look out for?

Jarren

GTX 660m is high end gpu

www.computeruniverse.net/products/90470085/lenovo-ideapad-y580-m772dge.asp

Not a great screen resolution on that lappy but well specced otherwise.

areyawell

Jarren wrote: »

GTX 660m is high end gpu

www.computeruniverse.net/products/90470085/lenovo-ideapad-y580-m772dge.asp

Not a great screen resolution on that lappy but well specced otherwise.

Yea looks like a great laptop for the price.1366 x 768 or 720p is pretty standard on a laptop. Never seen a 1080p for around the 1000 mark. Maybe its changed now?

Atticus Jung

areyawell wrote: »

Yea looks like a great laptop for the price.1366 x 768 or 720p is pretty standard on a laptop. Never seen a 1080p for around the 1000 mark. Maybe its changed now?

Certainly has. There's a number of manufacturers that have 1080p gaming laptops around the 1k mark now.

This one is 1080 but has a glossy screen for €999. its the same as above with better specs. 8 GB RAM, 32 GB SSD, 1.0 TB HDD. http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90470082/lenovo-ideapad-y580-m772jge.asp.

MSI GE60 and the Asus N56 are two other models, but the lenovo is probably the best value. With the others, if you stay under €1000 you wont get as good GPU.

pajunior

Thanks for the responses, with a bit more digging I've spotted this one from laptops direct. http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Samsung_NP550P5C_Core_i5_Laptop_in_Black_NP550P5C-S03UK/version.asp

Looks pretty good to me, is the GeForce GT 650M is decent?

Jarren

Yeap,it is very good medium range graphics card

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html

Atticus Jung

Jarren wrote: »

Yeap,it is very good medium range graphics card

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html

With the above lenovo you can drop the SSD and CPU to i5 and and it comes to €829. Its not clear if it keeps the 1080p screen and only has a 750 GB hard drive, but still has the slightly better 660m GPU in it. Just another option.
http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90470084/lenovo-ideapad-y580-m772ege.asp

nbar12

you should check out the HP Pavilion DM7. It has been built for gaming.

Jarren

link ^ ?

longhalloween

nbar12 wrote: »

you should check out the HP Pavilion DM7. It has been built for gaming.

Can't find anything on that. Some websites say it's discontinued

Torqay

longhalloween wrote: »

Can't find anything on that. Some websites say it's discontinued

With a Nehalem Core i7? Most definitely discontinued. And certainly never build for "gaming".

Atticus Jung

Op can you let us know what you go for in the end? If you have a 800€ budget its a very tough decision. Spec wise among others choices im sure you have come up with, you have to choose from...

MSI, i5 and great screen
http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90462353/msi-ge60-i547.asp

Lenovo, i7 and even better GPU
http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90470085/lenovo-ideapad-y580-m772dge.asp

or samsung, I5 and 650m.
http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Samsung_NP550P5C_Core_i5_Laptop_in_Black_NP550P5C-S03UK/version.asp

And probably the HP Pavilion if the poster has a link.

nbar12

Torqay wrote: »

With a Nehalem Core i7? Most definitely discontinued. And certainly never build for "gaming".

I had to promote and sell HP laptops at Christmas and during the training we were told the DM7 was built for gaming! Safe to say though I can't remember the laptop selling once and to my surprise people who were looking for gaming laptops did buy Lenovo in the end. Unfortunately I don;t have any models for you to review but You're on the right track getting a Lenovo for gaming.

Torqay

nbar12 wrote: »

I had to promote and sell HP laptops at Christmas and during the training we were told the DM7 was built for gaming!

The best specced HP Pavillion Dm7 I can find is a Core i7-720QM with Intel GMA. Nothing for gamers and long since discontinued.

If you mean the Dv7, however, that's a somewhat different story. The top model, when you were in training, shipped with a Sandy Bridge Core i7-2670QM with a NVIDIA GeForce GT630M, which again is nothing to write home about. The latest top model features an Ivy Bridge Core i7- 3720QM and a NVIDIA GeForce GT650M, which is not a bad package although very pricey and hardcore gamers really want better than a GT650M.

Bottom line, HP doesn't do gaming laptops.

nbar12

Torqay wrote: »

The best specced HP Pavillion Dm7 I can find is a Core i7-720QM with Intel GMA. Nothing for gamers and long since discontinued.

If you mean the Dv7, however, that's a somewhat different story. The top model, when you were in training, shipped with a Sandy Bridge Core i7-2670QM with a NVIDIA GeForce GT630M, which again is nothing to write home about. The latest top model features an Ivy Bridge Core i7- 3720QM and a NVIDIA GeForce GT650M, which is not a bad package although very pricey and hardcore gamers really want better than a GT650M.

Bottom line, HP doesn't do gaming laptops.

ok

Occono

But you really have to quantify the hardcore statement there: it's about resolutions, not games, for the most part. Most high-profile games are tied to console constraints and not really that demanding, especially for 1366x768.

À 630m is fine for around 1366X768. If you want 1920X1080 or better, you'll need much better I suppose.

pajunior

Atticus Jung wrote: »

Op can you let us know what you go for in the end? If you have a 800€ budget its a very tough decision. Spec wise among others choices im sure you have come up with, you have to choose from...

MSI, i5 and great screen
http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90462353/msi-ge60-i547.asp

I'm fairly sure I'm going to get the MSI above, can someone confirm if it would have a German keyboard or a UK one? I can't see it confirmed on the site.

Jarren

German

pajunior

I ended up going for the Samsung, I will often have to do typing without access to a keyboard so the German keyboard made up my mind.

Also I'm finished with shopping, never could stand it.

mcguinj

pajunior wrote: »

I ended up going for the Samsung

I am also interested in this laptop. Would you mind commenting on your experience with it so far?

ED E

Torqay wrote: »

Bottom line, HP doesn't do gaming laptops.

IMO Bottom line, after the HP/nVidia failfest dont buy anything but low low end from HP. We still have dv6000s coming in.


I dont see the question posted already, so does it have to be a laptop? 800 will get a pretty nice gaming rig and a 24" monitor.

EDIT: Just saw the OPs last post ^^