I was asking for advices on previous thread, and have been recommended a few laptops: Thanks

Ideapad G780, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT630M + (1600x900)@RM2699[3.0kg], 4GB, 750GB(5400rpm)
Inspiron 15R (Special Edition), i7-3612QM + AMD HD7730M + (1920x1080; anti-glare) + 32GB SSD + 1TB HDD(5400rpm)@RM3199, 8GB,backlit keyboard optional
Vostro 3560, i7-3632QM + AMD HD7670M + 32GB SSD + 750GB(7200rpm) HDD + (1920x1080)@RM3209[2.57kg], 8GB, W7HB; colors: red/silver/bronze
N56VZ-S4079V, i7-3610QM + Nvidia GT650M + (1920 x 1080) + BluRay@RM3599[Bang&Olufsen], 4GB, 1TB, W7HP, subwoofer and backpack

I went examining the display set of these and I also run into the MSI CX70 mentioned above. I find:

1. The G780 glossy screen is distracting.
2. The Inspiron and Vostro is good, the problem is I run a lot of spreadsheet, and these model don't have num key, which means I need to bring along a num pad everywhere.
3. The Asus looks nice, but the trackpad .... I can't drag and drop, and generally have a hard time getting used to it.
4. The MSI has a nice keyboard, but does not seems to be common ... worry about support.
5. I have no problem with the weight of all models.

Really appreciate your opinions:
1. Between the Inspiron and Vostro, which one has a better specs on paper?

2. The problem is all the display set don't have spreadsheet installed, so I can't really tell. Is 1600x900 on a 17.3" display the same number of lines with 1920x1080 on a 15.6"?

Thanks for help

Thanks for your pointers All of you have been of really great help

1 last thing, will all these models be pre-installed with Win8 once it is released this month? (I am aware of the USD14.99 upgrade option, but prefer a clean version rather than upgrade
I remember the last time when Win7 was released, laptop OEM seems to switch from Vista to Win7 quite quickly.

Buy a laptop with Win7 (any version), you can upgrade to Win8 Pro for RM50 give or take.
But looking at Dell pre-order, to move from Win8 to Win8 Pro, we need to fork out > RM300 more. What the
Maybe Win7 HB could be the cheapest entry point, eg. if you are thinking about the Y580 ?

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Oct 19 2012, 09:46 PM

Not sure about what you hear, caused all the Dell that I came across are pretty okay.
Anyway, T.J. recommended that you take 3yr on-site warranty. Basically, any hardware failure, you call and tell, Dell technician go to you (your home, your office ... ), fix the problem on the spot. Best peace of mind you can get for IT purchase in Malaysia

Apple do provide pretty good user experience for the premium they charge
But is your old man a business man? Or is this for his leisure usage?
My personal experience is that for business, it's better to get windows based laptop, or he may run into situation whereby certain file types not handled well in OSX.
And why the 15" screen if he travel around much? May be you could show him some of the 13" ultrabook? There are some very good looking / specs models

I am not a pro here, but I think sleek and sexy ultrabook are:

13"
Asus
[Ultrabook] UX31A-R4005V, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD + (1920 x 1080)@RM3499[1.3kg], 4GB, W7HP, 4-cell (6840mAh) battery, 2 years international warranty
[Ultrabook] UX31A-R4003V, i7-3517U + Intel HD4000 + 256GB SSD + (1920 x 1080)@RM4499[1.3kg], 4GB, W7HP, 4-cell (6840mAh) battery, 2 years international warranty

Dell
[Ultrabook] XPS13, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3299[1.36kg], 4GB, W8, backlit, spill resistant keyboard, build-in battery, no ODD
[Ultrabook] XPS13, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 256GB SSD@RM3999[1.36kg], 8GB, W8, backlit, spill resistant keyboard, build-in battery, no ODD

HP
[Ultrabook] Envy SpectreXT 13-2018TU, i7-3517U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3399[1.39kg], 4GB, 4 cell 45WHR, no ODD, backlit keyboard

All these use Intel built-in graphic and SSD, can last hours.
If your father just sit in the coffee joints, then maybe you can look at some of the 14" as well

Asus do have a 13" ultrabook with HDD
[Ultrabook] UX32VD-R3001V, i5-3317U + Nvidia GT620M + 24GB mSATA SSD + 500GB HDD@RM2999[1.3kg], 4GB, W7HP, 6-cell battery (6570mAH), 2 years international warranty

SSD is very much part of the "sexy" appeal (as in "whoaa, so fast"). HDD is the bottleneck of performance. Unless your father is into movies, uncompressed image format, uncompressed music format, 256G SSD is pretty good. If he like, upgrade to 512G SSD, which cost around RM1300.

Asus K43 is 14", around 2kg. You may also want to look at the following 14"
HP
[Ultrabook] Envy4-1043TX/1053TX, i5-3317U + AMD HD7670M + [32GB mSATA + 500GB(5400rpm)]@RM2599[Beats][1.75kg], 4GB, W7HP
Lenovo
[Ultrabook]S400, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 24GB mSATA + 500GB(5400rpm)@RM2099[1.8kg], 4GB, W7HB

Did you look at the old XPS or the new one on Dell site? I find the new one has a understated elegance about it.

The Asus Zen, Dell XPS, HP Envy & Spectre all have pretty decent speakers for their size. But if your father really like to listen to music from laptop, other than a headset or portable speakers, your best bet is those laptop with built-in 2.1 sounds. But those models normally is not very "sleek & sexy"

If you are not in a hurry, wait for those new fancy W8 models. Lots of sexy, not sure if they will be practical

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Oct 22 2012, 09:57 PM

If you buy laptop with Ivy bridge processor, (eg. i5-3xxx, 3rd gen), it basically come with Intel HD4000 graphic built-in. If the most graphically intensive thing that you do with your laptop is Youtube and HD football matches, HD4000 can handle it easily.
If you have a laptop with Sandy bridge processor (eg. i5-2xxx, 2nd gen), it come with Intel HD3000, which is worse than HD4000.
HD4000 is scalable with CPU, ie HD4000 with i5 is slightly faster than HD4000 with i3.
i5 can definitely handle your MS Excel and Word.

This is not a sale thread per se
If you mean LYN, then search the garage sales thread. There are plenty of sellers of these model. Negotiate price and deal with the reputable sellers.
If you mean LYP, then go and ask around. You normally don't see them put on display though.
You can find the SRP here: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2026498

Look for good warranty support rather than perceived "long lasting" and reported "quality".
Statistically there are bound to be "lemon" for any brand, no matter how good the quality control.
We don't want to be the unlucky one (touch wood), but if, just if .... good warranty support could still save the day. Dell and slightly lesser extent Lenovo on-site support is good in Malaysia. (Can personally vouch for them)
Asus ... there are lots of bad experience shared by users. Search in LYN and
Cannot comment about Acer or Toshiba. But I just prefer technician come to me, rather than my bringing the machine to service centre

Check the garage sales threads in LYN for quote
On-site warranty extension for additional 1 year from Lenovo, last time I bought together with new laptop, was < RM140. Not sure if there is any changes

I seriously urge you to take warranty support as main consideration since it is for productivity and mission critical functions (SAP). ASUS warranty support in Malaysia is checkered, to put it nicely

Dell and Lenovo, on the other, provide next business day, on site (their technician go to your office / home), extendable (some model go up to 5 years) warranty support.

13"
Dell
Vostro 3360, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000@RM2249[1.67kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W7HB; colors: red/silver/bronze
Latitude E6330, i5-3320M + Intel HD4000@RM4380[1.65kg], W7P (32-bit), 3 years Pro support; [CPU options: i5-3320M-i7-3520M]
Latitude has better build quality.

Lenovo
ThinkPad X1, i5-2520M + Intel HD3000@RM5999, W7P, 320GB (7200rpm), spill-resistant keyboard, gorilla glass, ext optical drive, AC/DC combo adapter
ThinkPad X1-12943MA, i7-2640M + Intel HD3000 + 160GB SSD@RM7099, 3 years warranty, W7P, gorilla glass, ext optical drive, AC/DC combo adapter

The CPU is still sandy bridge rather than ivy bridge.

14"
Dell
Latitude E6430s, i5-3360M + Intel HD4000@RM4300, 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7P (32-bit)/W8 Pro, 3-cell; [CPU options: i5-3360M-i7-3520M], HD+ screen upgradable

Lenovo
[Ultrabook] Thinkpad X1 Carbon, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD (1600x900)@RM5399[1.36kg], 4GB, W7P, backlit keyboard, no ODD
[Ultrabook] Thinkpad X1 Carbon, i7-3667U + Intel HD4000 + 256GB SSD (1600x900)@RM6599[1.36kg], 4GB, W7P, backlit keyboard, no ODD
[Ultrabook] ThinkPad T430U, i5-3317U + Nvidia GT620M + 24GB mSATA + 500GB HDD@RM3799, 4GB, W7P, 3 years on-site warranty
[Ultrabook] ThinkPad T430U, i7-3517U + Nvidia GT620M + 24GB mSATA + 1TB HDD@RM4399, 8GB, W7P, 3 years on-site warranty

Buy when you need it. If you need to start using it 1 month from now, there will be a lot more models being launched.
Win8 is perfectly usable without touchscreen. Spend a bit of time to get to know the keyboard combination, and you find yourself using the touchpad less and less
All those new models with touchscreen won't be cheap as well, at least initially.
And next year new CPU and GPU will be launched. Unless you have a deep pocket, staying at the cutting edge all the time is not easy
Just survey and buy the best laptop you can afford now and it will serve you well for a few years

Since you like listening to songs using laptop, you may appreciate this:
Dell
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2049[2.38kg], 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7HP/W8

It's built-in skullcandy speakers is better than normal laptop built-in speakers (but off course any decent 2.1 speakers you plug in is going to be even better )

Can get it directly Dell online (upgrade to 3 year NBD onsite warranty, and negotiate a bit to bring it down to your budget , or search LYN garage sales forum.

screen size - cx70, 17"
screen resolution - y580, FHD
screen matte - cx70
keyboard - cx70 (my personal preference, it's strange to say other laptop have better keyboard than Lenovo on budget line
touchpad - draw (personal opinion). cx70 button is stiff, y580 - hard to click and drag due to design.
speaker / sound - draw (personal opinion). y580 has JBL, but you have to listen to cx70 to believe the quality (it max volume is louder than y580. while still staying crisp and clear). But you always better off getting a proper desktop speakers system.
CPU - Y580
GPU - Y580 by miles
Heat - draw, both are hot under load. But I heard (no personal experience) cx70 could under-throttle under load (not good for gaming).

For gaming, Y580. I just get a matte screen protector to reduce the glare.

In term of built quality, G55VW is way better.
G55VW is more understated (not much bling bling). But the heatsink (better design), keyboard (more durable), screen (matte) are clearly cater for gaming use.
N56 is more multi-media focus (the external sub-w ...)

There is nothing hidden about the Y580.
Its speakers are JBL, N56 has the external sub-w for free though.
Due to the GTX660M, Y580 will generate more heat under heavy load. Just provide some external cooling (cooling pad, table fan ...) when you are gaming and it is good to go.
Y580 has a few different spec, one with only DVD, the others with BluRay. And all versions in Malaysia should come with FHD screen.
Lenovo keyboard is also nice.
If you want Win8, just make sure you get the Win8 spec, it's cleaner than doing an upgrade from Win7 (which you have to pay additional RM50 to Microsoft).

Y580 really is the most bang for buck for gaming for 2012. Well, some are waiting for Y500

Don't expect Thinkpad built quality in ideapad
Thinkpad, if you talk about the T / W series, has internal roll cage, and will withstand lots of abuse. (I had drop a T410 4 ft onto the floor, bang on the keyboard of T420 that sent the whole laptop jumping (after a shitty tele-con) and no problemo . Spill resistant keyboard. Trackball (the red colour thing). Matte screen. Backward compatible ports.

For ideapad, you normally get better speakers (but you will be better off with dedicated desktop speakers), more game-oriented GPU and Glossy screen. And I am a lot more gentle with my Y580

If your concern is built-in ventilation, look at Asus G series or Alienware. But most gamers use cooling pad or other ingenious solutions

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Added on November 16, 2012, 11:31 amInspiron 14SE is quite a good laptop for the price (~RM2k).
GPU is ok for light gaming. Speakers are better than run-of-the-mill variants. Keyboard are nice. Built quality is above average for consumer class laptop. And Dell warranty is good. Extend to 3 yr onsite if you can.

Negative - depend on your requirement, actually
If you are a heavy gamer, then the GPU is not the best. If you want FHD screen, not available. If you want light weight, you better off with ultra-book. If you are business class user (need backward compatible ports, docking), not available.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Nov 16 2012, 11:31 AM

I assume you are looking at 14". There is hardly any 14" FHD in Malaysia. You have to go 13" (strange but true) or 15" to get FHD. There are a few HD+ (1600x900) 14", but those are business class (Thinkpad, Latitude ...)

Look at the comparable:
Dell
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2049[2.38kg], 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7HP/W8
Dell has much better warranty support in Msia. Upgrade to 3 year on site warranty.

The Asus A series has maintained the same design language for some time. The component (CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD ...) has evolved over the years.
Talking about "long time" design, look at Lenovo Thinkpad

Are you looking for long battery life? Then you better off looking at ultrabook.
The K46 is using i5-3217u, which is low voltage version of 3rd gen i5. This will extend usage hour. But anytime the Nvidia GPU kick in (playing game), you should not expect any miracle.

The Spec you quote is 14R, not the 14R SE Make sure to extend the warranty, then negotiate a bit
In Malaysia, I only buy Dell and Lenovo with on site warranty. Getting old to spend my time going to support centre

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Added on November 16, 2012, 5:06 pmUltrabay 650M SLI. You could swap your ODD out and put in another GT650M. If driver support is good, my guess is you are looking at performance on par with GT675M.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Nov 16 2012, 05:06 PM