Having a little trouble deciding on an IdeaPad

Hey everyone,

I've recently decided that it's time to upgrade to a new laptop and I was hoping that someone could offer me some advice. I've been looking around at a few manufacturers and lines and I've almost definitely settled on an IdeaPad.

In General, I'm looking for a machine that will handle regular gaming (on decent to high video settings) and image editing, but something that I can also take to school with me that has a dependable battery life when away from an outlet.

The one that really caught my eye was the Y410p shown here (the 59369921 model with the 1600x screen), but it's really at the higher end of my price range.
IdeaPad Y410p High-Performance 14" Multimedia Laptop from Lenovo | Lenovo (US)

I've also looked at some of the Y400s as well as Z400 & 500s due to the ~$200 price difference.

I'm not sure if upgrading to the new Haswell processors will justify putting out the extra money, or if going with the new Intel HD4000 Graphics will stand up in place of the Nvidia ones offered.

Any help would be appreciated! I just want to make sure I don't make the wrong decision. Thanks in advance!

 

if you want to play games, you need dedicated graphics card.

with that in mind you kind of need to know what games you want to play. ideally, you would pick out the games and then do your homework.

if you want to play all games at decent to high, you are looking at a pricey laptop. and if you want to get a gaming laptop, the prices only go up and up. currently i think lenovo has a good deal on the y410p and y510p. either way, close up to a thousand dollars.

for example, i need something that can handle my work load (quickbooks, photoshop, access) and school and gaming. the games i play are guild wars 2, skyrim, max payne 3, diablo 3 and star craft 2. i wanted the best bang for my buck and chose the dual graphics y510p because it fits my needs - fast, powerful, and cheaper than the rest and most importantly, it's mobile. i'm never home these days otherwise i would just get a sleek ultra book. my desktop pc is a gaming machine with SLI GTX 680 and i got a 27 inch dell. i'd be gaming on that all day if it were not for my absence at home.

 

Okay, yea that makes sense. At the moment, the only game I'm playing is Minecraft which, honestly, isn't terribly resource intensive but my computer struggles with it. I've been wanting to pick up some of the games that you listed (Skyrim, SC2), but my integrated graphics and core 2 duo wont like it. I'm also going to using Photoshop fairly frequently.

Have you had any issues with your y510p? Does it overheat or get loud easily?