NOTE: There is a new deal for the Lenovo Y580 with 1080p screen
| CPU | I5-3630QM |
| GPU | GTX 660M |
| RAM | 2x4GB DDR3 |
| HDD | 1TB 5400RPM |
| Screen | glossy 1080p, 90% sRGB |
| Keyboard | Backlit |
| Weight | 6.15 lbs (2.8 kg) |
The excellent Lenovo Y580 with a blu-ray player and 500GB 7200RPM HDD. The Y580 has a good build quality, good gaming performance with the GTX 660M and I7, nice glossy 1080p screen with good viewing angles and 91% sRGB color coverage, blu-ray player and 500GB 7200RPM HDD and a backlit keyboard. There is another model with a 5400RPM HDD, 16GB mSSD and no blu-ray, but I think it is less cost effective.
The Y580 can run 4-5 hours surfing the web through WiFi which is quite good. So, all in all, you get a very good package if you want a 15.6″ gaming laptop with a lot of features AND a good battery performance.
More power option, also from Lenovo itself, is currently the Y500. Also, see more recommended gaming laptops under 1000$
Currently there’s a weekly deal for this laptop on lenovo’s site, bringing the price down to $870:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=20998NU&category_id=AC523278A4F13F27A84F5F5622D1AC7A
However, the monitor is no longer FHD but rather HD (w/ integrated camera). Is it still a good deal or should I wait to get FHD? Thanks!
Oh, and I just realized the $900 deal still works. Which is better? (An integrated camera is not a big deal for me, but would be a minor plus).
definitely the 900$ Y580 with FHD screen
why do you think it doesn’t have a camera?
Haha, thanks. Good to know. I guess it always pays to read and compare the build information.
As a side note, I’m curious how much you would say an upgrade from HD to FHD is worth on a 15.6” screen (in dollars)? ~$100?
OK. Last post (I swear). New weekly deal with B&N exclusive:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/barnesnoblegold/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=59359510&category_id=AC523278A4F13F27A84F5F5622D1AC7A
Upgrade of +16G SSD for $900 (same price).
sound interesting, but I can’t see the deal – are you sure it’s 900$?
actually, if you buy a good laptop LCD yourself, it shouldn’t be more than 70-80$, but since you can’t change it yourself, it worth even 150$ in the Y580 case, in my opinion. The difference is big
You have to be logged in to your student email account to see it, but then the link should work. What cooling pad would you recommend I buy with the laptop to keep it from overheating?
there are several basic ones that are good and cheap
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/recommended-cooling-pads-for-laptops/
http://www.costco.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Y580-Intel-Core-i7-3610QM-2.3GHz-Blu-Ray-Combo-Drive.product.100012257.html?catalogId=10701&langId=-1&keyword=y580&storeId=10301
So everyone think that the deal on Costco is a good one?
no, I’m not even sure that these are correct specs – also, Alley below says that you need the costco membership..
So Costco may ship one with incorrect spec listed on website?
I do have Costco member ship
apparently, it is the “20994JU”.
Anyway, just call them and ask to make sure you know the details and final price including everything
it would be nice to inform us what were your finding (-:
I think the costco one is not available at stores. Its for online ordering only.
Seems like an excellent offer, only if you have an existing CostCo membership… else it adds on $46 non-member charge. Also any idea whether this is a 750GB 7200rpm HD or the 5400 rpm version (probably the latter methinks)
I’m not even sure it is a 750GB one. According to the Lenovo products line:
http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/ipbook.pdf?AID=10499647&PID=4003003&SID=160rrl95qa4kg&CJURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lenovo.com%2Fpsref%2Fpdf%2Fipbook.pdf
(search for y580)
you only have one laptop with I7-3610QM, and 32GB mSSD cache drive and FHD screen and it has a 1TB HDD (5400RPM) – I think they have some mistake in the listing.
and thanks about the costco membership, I didn’t know that
Happy to help. Am in the market for a decent gaming laptop at the $1100 area. Maybe a Sager 9130 with 670MX for medium to high gaming performance. Think it ll hold up well?
have you checked the high end gaming laptops section?
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/high-end-gaming-laptops-recommendations/#SecondTearGamingLaptops
The Forces are now shipping with free windows 7 for black friday – you get GTX 675M + I7 + Windows for 1100$-1150$. The GX60 also ships with Windows 7 and gives you a hell of performance/price ratio (1200$) – would be my choice if you can get it to 1200$
Preference for Nvidia GPUs with low power consumption + thermals. Hence the 670MX (as opposed to the 675M).
Am able to get the Sager 9130 with i7, 750 GB HD (7200rpm), 16GB RAM, GTX 670MX 3GB, stock FHD screen for around $1184 (includes free shipping + cash discount). Can handle a Win7 self-install & make do without an SSD for now.
Am just hoping for a good build quality, adequate ventilation etc…
the GX60 should be faster. It even rivals the gtx 680M laptops. read:
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/the-msi-gx60-a10-4600m-radeon-7970m-is-now-available-for-purchase-new-bar-for-1200-gaming-laptop-performance/
I think that the 675M is a better option. If you find the laptop to be too hot, just underclock the 675M, but better have the option for higher performance if it’s for the same price.
Hmmm, worth a look then… will check out the GX60 as well. Just some additional queries though
1. The CPU is said to be the bottleneck (with 7660G onboard chipset), but the combo is upgradeable. Any news whether AMD is planning a better series of CPUs soon?
2. Whats the performance of this one like at less than 1080p settings? Can we set it up so that it uses the 7970 instead of the onboard gfx ?
1. well, the “Kaveri”, or whatever it will be called, should ship in 2013. I think that also the HD8000 GPUs should ship in 2012.
TH says AMD says it will bring 15% performance improvement:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AMD-Steamroller-Piledriver-Kaveri-processors,17217.html
I can’t tell much without further readings – but don’t except miracles.
1b. According to benchmarks – what do you care?
2. What do you mean? If you will play games, the 7970M will be the one that does the work, not the iGPU. Also, you can set it through the Catalyst control center
Oh ok, I saw some reviews which said there might be some switching issues between the chipsets while gaming. Either way this looks more interesting. Let’s hope they’re not all sold out
yes – there were and there are, but the latests drivers fixed to issues:
1. the fact that AMD’s mobile GPUs didn’t have unified drivers from AMD – you needed to count on the laptop manufacturer which is a terrible thing.
2. The problem you’ve described with the switching, which is much improved now and AMD promises more improvements in next drivers.
y580 or MSI ge 60? (in terms of durability)
durability – like smashing it on the wall?
I don’t know which will hold more years, if that’s your question. The Lenovo should be good enough.
Judging by the reviews, I’d go with the Y580.
Add a cooling pad too.
Note that there is now a good price on the Asus G75VW (it’s in the deals section). If you are ok with 17.3″, not too good battery performance and high weight (meaning – you are not too mobile), it’s an excellent gaming machine with an excellent screen and cooling system
GE60 review:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-MSI-GE60-i789W7H-Notebook.77855.0.html
durability not like smashing the wall. just that it doesnt die after 1-2 yrs of usage.also i wont get any benefit of warranty coz the laptop wil be used in India .
the only thing thats stopping me from y580 is the temp issues stated by many users.
only and only for this reason i was considering MSI coz ive seen some good cooling feedbacks even after heavy gaming. is my reason fair? or i am being too negative?
P.S. already checked the asus deal.(I browse your website daily atleast twice
). dont want 17.3.
oh, sorry, didn’t see this
the Y580 has a good deal now – it should hold several years if you are gentle enough. Try to keep it on lower temps as much as you can (a cooling pad is a good idea)
The MSI GE60 will get hot too under full load, as Inspirons too.
I don’t think that another 1-2C should matter that much
Hey there,
FYI, I see that microsoft dropped the price to $799. I dont know if there is a catch but im almost pulling the trigger on this! I wanted to wait for thanksgiving because there may be a good laptop deal but this seems like a steal to me! What do you think?
there is a catch – it is out of stock
like newegg, the best prices are for items you can’t get
thanks for the update – I’ll update too
Hi Junky,
How different are the processors between the Microsoft store version and the one from the lenovo store? Apart from the SSD availability, and the processors, I don’t see any difference.
Also, I have an option of getting the MS store one for $830, thanks to a friend who works there. Think I should go for it?
1. +100MHZ per core for the I7-3630QM (lenovo site). Practical impact: None really.
2. No, there isn’t fundamental difference – only the additional niceties.
3. yes, for 830$ it’s a grab. certainly. I would swap the mSata drive for a bigger one, however, after the purchase
The Microsoft Store only has a Intel Core i7-3610QM, not the Intel Core i7-3630QM. Still a good deal though
but it comes with a 32GB mSSD, 750GB HDD (vs 500GB)
I put in an order earlier last week for the Intel Core i7-3630QM with 32GB mSSD + 1TB for $950 using the Canadian coupon code you put up. Thanks for the deals!
This site is great for looking to get a good laptop at a certain price ranges… had a couple friends ask me about buying laptops, and I referred them to here.
excellent deal for Canada indead!
and thanks
I am unable to reply to that last link of yours (no reply button!) but now my confusion is that the PU model is not even listed in that specs sheet. So what about that? That could be the difference between the 2 models – the one with the burner has the 2.3 GHZ and the one without has 2.4 GHz – thats the catch!!
But how do I confirm – shall I just go with the 209945U, blu ray burner would be so cool
It’s not listed because they haven’t updated it yet.
I’ve updated the description, but I’m not sure it’s true.
Also, I’m pretty sure it was “bluray player” sometime ago – my bad I even didn’t notice it.
By “not sure its true” are you saying that the 209945U could still just be a ROM? Or are you referring to the 20994PU?
I think like you said I would go with the 209945U, the 100 MHz like you said is not that important.
No. I’m pretty sure it’s a bluray burner.
The tech specs say the this model has a bluray burner and also, the model on the notebookcheck is panasonic UJ260 which is Bluray burner, so I’m pretty sure about that.
The only thing is that the 20994PU might also have bluray burner, but that would strange.
Funny how this info is classified (-:
Thats decided then, 209945U it is. Thanks again
Glad I could be of some service in return for all your prompt assistance !
you are half of this post’s comments (-:
Yea, you can’t really go wrong with the 45U. Even if you don’t need the burner – sell it.
Yes sir
One small question – given that the blu-ray/dvd-rw and blu-ray/dvd combo are one and the same (and all other parameters equivalent), it is better to go for the 20994PU than the 209945U as the processor on the former is better right?
Please let me know as I am planning to place the order tonight
Thanks,
Ananth
Also, that last comment about MIR, I dont know what that is, is it still applicable? As far as I have researched a B&N login gets this laptop at 939$, please correct me if I am missing something
1. As far as I know – B&N has some discount
2. MIR = mail-in rebate. You fill up some forms and get the stated sum back. People say there are problem with it and besides it takes time and effort.
3. Yes, the I7-3630QM is “better” – it’s clocked 100MHZ higher
Thanks again Junky
Your promptness is much appreciated, will go for the PU model and forget about MIR for now.
Thanks a ton for all the help you have provided.
Ananth
Oh, you can get the I7-3610QM for 60$ less? then do it, the 100MHZ don’t worth it..
No Junky, both the 20994PU and the 209945U retail at 999 (then 939 after applying the B&N 60$).
Link – http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=AC523278A4F13F27A84F5F5622D1AC7A&action=init
Thats why I thought the extra 100MHz cant hurt?
Also would you know if the Blu-ray is a burner too or just ROM?
I know they are both 999$, just wasn’t sure why you asked.
The 100MHZ won’t hurt, no.
Just ROM
I was just wondering if there was a catch. If the odd is the same they there seems to be a cpu difference yet at the same cost. Being fairly new with this whole thing I wanted to ask you. Check in with the expert just to make sure
No Y580 model is a blu-ray burner then right? I am seeing a lot of weird posts on some forums that it is a burner, just did not want that to be a difference in the 2 models
Just check this out:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?s=361a07cb28a762193c819bd2e293cfe6&p=52892174&postcount=85
Looks like the discount for the Y580 – 59359513 is up from $400 to $430 (price $899->$869). Your link still shows the 899 price, but the main page had a this link. http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/barnesnoblegold/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=59359513&category_id=AC523278A4F13F27A84F5F5622D1AC7A#.ULJR0YeQl24
Pulled the trigger incase this is an error.
I think you are talking about Barnes&Nobles discount?
or this
http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/pdf/system_data/y580_tech_specs.pdf
Yes, you are right – this is a bluray burner!!
Thanks for the comment
Sorry, here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/97y82zc
that’s true – someone else also wrote it, but you get it in the form of prepaid Lenovo visa card or something like that. You don’t get your cash back. I’ll add it anyway
and thanks!
I believe it also qualifies for the limited four day MIR making it $899.