Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 Laptop: i5 3230M 2.6GHz CPU, 6GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, Dual NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI, 15.6" LCD (1920x1080), Backlit Keyboard, WiFi N, 6 Cell, Win 8 $900 + Free shipping (expired)

Quote from ctsinc : I disagree with the guy that recommended an i5 over an i7. He also asserted you wouldn't get twice as much performance from the dual GPU setup, which is in fact exactly what you would get. If the cost is less of a concern for you than the performance while encoding, I feel you would be happier with the i7 version of this laptop, not to mention you'll have an optical drive readily available to you, as well.

I did not suggest that an i7 would not provide greater performance. I am suggesting that he spend his money elsewhere, where the real bottlenecks would be, especially the hard drive.

That is completely untrue. SLI would NOT offer twice the performance. Dual-GPU configurations rarely scale that linearly. If you look at these charts from NotebookCheck, you will see that going from a 650M to a 660M is a 12% boost, and from a 660M to a 670M is 17%, from a 670M to a 675M is 19%, and from a 675M to the this 650M SLI/670MX is a final 9%.

(112/100) * (117/100) * (119/100) * (109/100) = 1.6997 ~ 1.7 => 70% increase in performance

650M to 660M [notebookcheck.net]
660M to 670M [notebookcheck.net]
670M to 675M [notebookcheck.net]
675M to 650M SLI/670M [notebookcheck.net]

Quote from ctsinc : The i7 would definitely be a better setup. With encoding you'll definitely make use of the additional cores, while also allowing the system to be used fairly fluidly, presuming no IO contention. I disagree with the guy that recommended an i5 over an i7. He also asserted you wouldn't get twice as much performance from the dual GPU setup, which is in fact exactly what you would get. If the cost is less of a concern for you than the performance while encoding, I feel you would be happier with the i7 version of this laptop, not to mention you'll have an optical drive readily available to you, as well. if you have the money and hope for a solution immediately, the other configuration would probably make you happier.

I really, really appreciate the help from both of you guys. I have been looking for quite a while. I'm on the fence because as you both of pointed out, this is probably a bit more than I need. I just have not seen many 15" Full HD, quality performance notebooks since I started looking just prior to Black Friday. Granted there have been a few, but I've missed out going back and forth...

The option of adding an mSata drive (driving the price even higher....) would be a better solution for me than a dedicated SSD anyway, from a storage standpoint.

Rep'd guys. Thanks...

actually if you make the correct math, performance increase should be 70%

112/100 * 117/100 * 119/100 * 109/100 = 1.6997 = 1.7 => 70% boost!!

Quote from totherescue : That is completely untrue. SLI would NOT offer twice the performance. Dual-GPU configurations rarely scale that linearly. If you look at these charts from NotebookCheck, you will see that going from a 650M to a 660M is a 12% boost, and from a 660M to a 670M is 17%, from a 670M to a 675M is 19%, and from a 675M to the this 650M SLI/670MX is a final 9%. 12+17+19+9=57% increase in performance 650M to 660M [notebookcheck.net] 660M to 670M [notebookcheck.net] 670M to 675M [notebookcheck.net] 675M to 650M SLI/670M [notebookcheck.net]

Isn't it odd that the regular price is only $999 ? With those specs, it seems like it should be higher.

Quote from sinosudial : Isn't it odd that the regular price is only $999 ? With those specs, it seems like it should be higher.

It's odd that you want to pay more.

Quote from kyfelix : It's odd that you want to pay more.

Quote from MaidenDrummer : actually if you make the correct math, performance increase should be 70% 112/100 * 117/100 * 119/100 * 109/100 = 1.6997 = 1.7 => 70% boost!!

Why would you divide by 100, and then multiply them..? They're already percentages.. The charts show % increase or decrease in performance in terms of +/-%, so if there was a chart that showed them on the same scale, the 650M SLI configuration would be +57% over a single 650M..

Quote from kyfelix : It's odd that you want to pay more.

Hey, I'm all for the deal ... great price, great specs. It just seemed a bit odd.

Quote from totherescue : Why would you divide by 100, and then multiply them..? They're already percentages.. The charts show % increase or decrease in performance in terms of +/-%, so if there was a chart that showed them on the same scale, the 650M SLI configuration would be +57% over a single 650M..

He's actually right. For example, let's consider a fictional benchmark starting at 1000:

650m = 1000
660m = 1120
670m = 1310
675m = 1559
SLI = 1699

650m to 660m = 12% increase. 660m to 670m = 17% increase. 670m to 675m = 19% increase. 675m to SLI = 9% increase.

650m to SLI, however, is 70% increase [(1669-1000)/1000*100%]

Quote from blackb1rd88 : He's actually right. For example, let's consider a fictional benchmark starting at 1000: 650m = 1000 660m = 1120 670m = 1310 675m = 1559 SLI = 1699 650m to 660m = 12% increase. 660m to 670m = 17% increase. 670m to 675m = 19% increase. 675m to SLI = 9% increase. 650m to SLI, however, is 70% increase [(1669-1000)/1000*100%]

Ah, right. I was just taking the relative percentages, and didn't regard the underlying raw data. Makes sense. Still not double the performance, of course. I will go correct my post.

Can anyone more knowledgeable about hardware help me out?
So at first glance, to me this seems like an amazing deal. But noticeable qualms are the HDD RPM and maybe the processor (I don't know much about i5 vs i7). In fact I don't know too much about hardware in general but it seems like having two GPUs would make this very powerful for gaming. Because I couldn't find a similarly spec'd one on the Lenovo site I don't see any reviews for how it performs on the latest games. Is this laptop worth it?

Quote from g0jack : Can anyonepowe knowledgeable about hardware help me out? Sfirstfirst glance, to me this seems like an amazing deal. Butbeableable qualms are the HDD RPM and maybe the processor (I don't knowmuch h about i5 vs i7). In fact I don't know too much about hardware in general but it seems like having two GPUs would make this very powerful for gaming. Because I couldn't find a similarly spec'd one on the Lenovo site I don't see any reviews for how it performs on the latest games. Is this laptop worth it?

Yes, this is a fine deal for ultra powerful entry level gaming. It has a upgradable sli GPU which is a very rare feature on gaming laptops. There are no complaints about the 1080p and i 5 ivy for this price since the I 5 and dual core I 7 are largely the same chip with very minor differences.

Quote from kyfelix : It's odd that you want to pay more.

It's actually cause these are junk with really bad problems that are simple to fix but lenovo wants to get rid of their defective inventory . Just google touchpad problems for y500

how does this deal compare to a deal last year that I missed?
http://slickdeals.net/f/5549826-L...ows-8-900?

I have the Y500 - the build quality is okay, pretty much what you'd expect or maybe slightly better, considering the price.

Really powerful machine, it couldn't be much faster than it is.

I have the single 650M and it overclocks really well without ever getting much hotter than ~60C. Pretty impressive. Compared to laptops I've owned the in the past the cooling system is really well designed. For one, it doesn't vent much out the bottom - so you don't necessarily need a cooling pad like so many older laptops (e.g. the Dell M1530).

Great laptop for the price. Expect to use an external mouse. I have the newer model with the Synaptics trackpad that isn't broken, but it's still a cheap POS and uncomfortable for any extended use.

Quote from Sottilde : I have the Y500 - the build quality is okay, pretty much what you'd expect or maybe slightly better, considering the price. Really powerful machine, it couldn't be much faster than it is. -------////////////// but it's still a cheap POS and uncomfortable for any extended use.

and that's all she wrote!


pretty much summed it up there.. still unless your going for a customizable laptop.. this is a good alternative.