Hello all

I will be in the market for a lappie sometime in the near future (not too sure exactly when as I have the urge, but not yet the need for one) and after some digging around, I've narrowed it down to these three locally available models:

1) MSI GE-40
2) Lenovo Y410P
3) Illegear RE-13 Pro

I'll list the pros and cons (for me) of each model:

GE-40

Pros
Balanced in pretty much every sense
- Price (Midway point RM 3,650 - Garage Sales)
- Dimension/Weight (2 kgs)
- Screen (1600 x 900)
- Batt life

Cons
- Despite the higher resolution screen, reviews have said that the screen leaves much to be desired.
- Malaysia not having the SSD option (could be circumvented by buying it separately and manually swapping out the ODD)

Y410P

Pros
- Cheap! (RM 2,900.00)
- Design in my eyes look better than the GE 40
- Did I mention cheap?

Cons
- Heaviest and fattest (2.5 kg)
- Screen (1366 x 768). Seems like the local version don't have the 1600 x 900
- Stock HDD is only 5400 RPM
- batt life

Illegear RE-13 Pro

Pros
- Lightest (Not thinnest though)
- Best Screen (1920 x 1080 IPS)
- Ability to somewhat customise how it looks (Lappie without logo anyone? Now that's smexy )

Cons
- Frightfully expensive at RM 4,200 for the base spec relative to the other two
- Goes up even higher if you wanna customise the innards

Other notes

I'm leaning towards the GE40 tbh as it looks to me to be the most balanced in every way. If the Illegear wasn't so expensive for the base spec, or if I feel richer and have bought all my other needs first, it would definitely go into my list of "highly considered".

However, I am not an expert and my knowledge is gathered from stalking key individuals in the forum (yes I'm creepy like that)

So, comment and advise away! Which of the three would you blow your money on? Did I miss anything important when comparing the three? Should I wait for something that will be released late this year or early next?

GE 40 @ RM 3,650
Y410 @ RM 2,900
RE-13 PRO @ RM 4,199

PS: I'm looking for a balance between weight/performance/price. I already have an ok rig at home and I don't really play games that are too demanding. Mostly will be used for heavy multi tasking and maybe some autocad/solid works (when I eventually get around to it) with a little bit of AI and PS thrown in.

Unless if you really need the HD+/FHD screen. Just stick to the Y410p
Use remaining budget to upgrade to SSD, and the rest for warranty extension/accessories (or even an external monitor)

User of the GE40 here. I have mine with a 128GB SSD, 256GB SSD and a 1TB HDD.

Just fyi, weight wise the GE40 is the lightest of the lot at 1.9kg.

With Illegear, get the most basic spec and do the upgrade yourself. Get it naked if you can. Their upgrade pricing is really expensive, better to just source it yourself.

With that out of the way, you need to ask yourself what are you going to use it for? What do you value?

My reasoning for the GE40. The best balance between performance, battery life and weight. The screen does leave a lot to be desired, but that is if you have an IPS next to it. On its own you don't really notice it.

Whats your budget?

Dont compare the specs first.

Well, I could always hook it up to my TV I suppose. It's just that the weight and thickness of the Y410 is a bit of a turn off But it is cheap though. Kinda like best bang for your buck kinda cheap. Sigh.

Thanks for your input though

I know you use the GE40 *insert maniacal laugh here*

That's a lot of disk space you have there man. That I didn't realise

Anyways, regarding the Illlegear, if I were to get it as bare as possible though, wouldn't upgrading it myself void whatever warranty they give?

On a different note, is RM 550 really worth it for the bump to the display and GPU?

HD+ --> FHD
GTX 760M --> GTX 765M

I'll be using it mostly for work...and a bit of play. Somewhere in the 60/40 distribution? For work it'll be mainly used for Excel (Many many many open at the same time). For play; AI, PS, with a bit of gaming on the side. Mostly RPG, and old ones at that - Skyrim, D3, Dragonage (Not too demanding I think). Much later on I'll also hope to use it for Solid Works and AutoCad (not too much on AutoCad though). Finally probably some Matlab thrown in.

I need it to be as light as possible (within reasonable means of course) since there is a chance I'll be travelling a lot for work. I was from the old skool Inspiron 1520 (the only gen with a dGPU I think), and that piece of machine is not light...especially if you take the public transport. Especially so in Malaysia, with the crowd and heat.

Thank you for the feedback regarding the screen btw. Much appreciated. So the screen isn't so bad if you're out and about then? Is the difference moving from a FHD to an HD+ very jarring or is it acceptable?

Don't really have a budget? Though I think the most I would fork out for a lappie at this point in time is RM 4,000. Since I don't think anything more than that is justified for someone that's not really a hardcore gamer.

-----

So guys, am I missing any other notebooks worthy of note? How bout future releases? Since I'm not really in a rush to buy one atm.

I guess the main questions I have now would be:

1) Is the price bump of RM 550 worth it to get a FHD/GTX 765M from an HD+/GTX 760M
2) For those that travel a lot, does 500g ~ 600g make a lot of difference?
3) Owners of Y410Ps, how do you find the screen and the overall weight/size of the machine? I've also heard it has heat issues?

Thanks a lot guys for the input. Much much MUCH appreciated

why not this
?

Acer V7
Intel i7-4500 / 8GB DDR3L / 500GB + 24GB / GT750 4GB / BT 4.0 / HD Webcam / 15.6" IPS Full HD Multi Touch LED / W8 / Black (support WIDI)


Dolby Home Theater v4 surround sound effect


Ultrabook with Intel 4th Gen i7, 30% thinner than normal noteboook, 15.6" Touch @ only 2.2kg,


rm 3399

This post has been edited by devour: Jul 26 2013, 04:50 PM

The FullHD IPS display on my RE-13 is so beautiful..

RE-13 is the best choice i guess, if you have the budget

Hi TS,

Thanks for putting your opinion for side-by-side comparison.

For your info putting your own parts won't void your warranty, we even guided our users to do this on their own.

ILLEGEAR is considered "Not Expensive". If you own one then you'll understand.
A GTX and IPS screen, at that base price is already a good deal.

You may say, illegear base specs won't have say, ssd's or even OS or Enough HDD space or RAM comparatively for it's price vs other brands, but that's what that makes it even better.
You will know exactly what you've paid for. ( i doubt the quality of other brands because they give good specs for lower price even if it's mass produced )

Think twice before reconsidering, knowing what's in your machine and EASY maintenance and Adaptability ( you can buy and add your own ssd, ram, hdd ) without voiding warranty as said by Prince J.
I asked this before i bought my RE-15.

That saying, budget matters so it's clear, go for Lenovo/MSI.
I'd say MSI>lenovo.

Ehhh it's out already?

Yeah man, just out

Wow, this is a nice laptop too.
The GT750M is DDR3 or GDDR5 version?

Acer good or bad? @@

Just remember that moving from HD+ to FHD increases the processing power needed for gaming from the GPU.

But base on your work with AI,PS and what not, you would appreciate the higher resolution as well as an IPS screen.

Both the GE40 and RE-13 are similar in weight, so you won't feel much difference there.

One thing you can have going for the Illegear though is you can spec it without any HDD and RAM and what not.. so you can easily just use some old parts for now as make shift if budget is an issue.

Why dont try the newest Alienware? Mx14 is around the same price range as illegear re-13.

If you are not a hardcore gamer, my advise is Lenovo Y410P. Cheap and good. But you dont expect top performance. xD

He doesn't want something too heavy. Unfortunately the Mx14 is like almost 4kg for a 14" machine.

4GB of GDDR3

crappy.
nowadays need at least ddr5 for mobile GPU to play games @ satisfying setting( to me la).

wow you can add parts to the laptop yourself? where to get the parts? is it as widespread as desktop parts?