3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 .... stop using DVD to backup lah

Strange, looking at total post, seems to be a regular in LYN, should be quite familiar with IT tech
Ok, TJ. No more spoon feeding

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Sep 24 2013, 01:10 PM

Acer
E1-432-29552G50k, Intel 2955U + Intel HD@RM1099, 2GB, 500GB, FreeDOS

Asus
X45A-VX078, Celeron 1000M + Intel HD@RM1199, 2GB, 500GB, FreeDOS, 1 year warranty

Dell
Inspiron 14-3421, 1007U + Intel HD@RM999[1.99kg], Linux, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 4-cell; W8SL@RM1099
Inspiron 14-3421, B997 + Intel HD@RM1199[1.99kg], Win8SL, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 4-cell

Lenovo
G405s, A4-5000 + AMD HD@RM1099, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS
G400s, i3-3110M + Intel HD4000@RM1299, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS; W8@RM1499

Prices are RSP, negotiable.
FreeDOS mean you need to get and install OS yourself.

Yes, if you are talking about Intel CPU for laptop, then quad core is only found with i7 with (MQ, QM, HQ ... (Q stand for quad core) suffix).

Cheapest 14" with i7 quad core:

Fujitsu
LH532, i7-3632M + Nvidia GT620M@RM2299 [2.1kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8

Lenovo
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT750M@RM2499, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS, 120wPSU, swappable ODD, 2 years warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Sep 24 2013, 04:06 PM

No, I mean the S410P look and feel more or less the same as S400 in terms of build, size, weight ...
As for reading review of S400, giving indication of S410P

Will:
look, keyboard, wireless, speaker, touchpad, webcam

Will not:
touchscreen, screen quality, battery running time, temperature

And there is no review out there yet from the sources I like

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Sep 24 2013, 04:23 PM

Depends on your priority.
The sellers are right in saying the Toshiba has longer warranty period (3 years carry-in). For Dell, you need to put in another ~ RM300 to extend warranty to 3 years on site.
On the other hand, there is quite a performance gap between GT740M and GDDR5 GT750M.
Weight the pro and con and decide accordingly.
Btw, if you only want GT740M, there could be cheaper alternative than the Toshiba

Dell
Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049

HP
Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8

If you don't need touchscreen, don't waste money there.

if you really care about accurate colour reproduction, then:

www.illegear.com
Illegear RE-15, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX765M + (1920x1080)@RM3799[2.6kg][Onkyo, SoundBlaster Cinema], 8GB, 500GB 7200RPM, FreeDOS, [CPU Options: i7-4700MQ - i7-4900MQ]

Opt for the 95% NTSC gamut panel, calibrated.

GE60-2OC, i5-4200M + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3099,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series KB

price is RSP, negotiable.

Forget about "good cooling system" with your budget lah Just get good external cooling solution (cooling pad, table fan ... ).
Again, for your budget, forget about 15" or above, stick with 14" and get as good a GPU as you could afford. StarCraft 2 could use a good GPU if you turn up the details.

Dell
Inspiron 14R, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT750M (GDDR5) @RM2499[2.32kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm), Ubuntu 12.04 , 6 cell; W8SL@RM2699

Lenovo
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT750M@RM2499, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS, 120wPSU, swappable ODD, 2 years warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

For your budget, the best GPU you can get in a laptop is GT720M (or AMD equivalent)
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphi...List.844.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Game...ds.13849.0.html
You can see how GPU at this range perform at various games here.
And you already found a few models with this GPU.
May also consider:
Acer
E1-472G-54204G75k, i5- 4200U + Nvidia GT720M@RM1899, 4GB, 750GB, W8
E1-472G-54204G50, i5- 4200U + Nvidia GT720M@RM1699, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS
Lenovo
G400s, i3-3110M + Nvidia GT720M@RM1449, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS
G500S, i3-3110M + Nvidia GT720M@RM1499, 2GB, 500GB, FreeDOS

if you could save a couple of hundred RM more, you could aim for laptop spec with GT740M, which give a jump in gaming performance.
Asus
K46CB-WX060H, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, 4-cell, OD
Dell
Vostro 5470, i3-4010U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8, 3-cell
Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049
HP
Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8
Lenovo
Z400 touch, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768, touch)@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty
Z500, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2299[2.2kg], 4GB, 1TB, backlit, W8; 2 years warranty
Toshiba
Satellite L40-AS109Xb/G/W, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, 3 years local warranty
Satellite L50-A100X/XW, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, W8SL; 3 years local warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

Student?
Then consider Dell.

Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049

Price is RSP, negotiable.
You could get cheap legal OS from school, so you may opt for the Linux spec and save some money there.
Extend warranty to 3 years on site for ~ RM300. Any hardware problem, call Dell, and technician will go to your place within couple of days to fix the laptop.
Grab a SSD (128G ~ RM300) and swap in to replace the HDD (will not void laptop warranty), install OS and apps on it (keep the HDD for external storage).

All in, within your budget.

S551LB-CJ075H, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT740M + 24GB mSATA + 1TB + (1366x768;touch)@RM3399[2.4kg], 8GB, W8, 3-cell
N550JV-CN077H, i7-4700HQ + Nvidia GT750M + (1920x1080; IPS matte)@RM3699[2.7kg], 4GB, 1TB, W8, backlit keyboard

Yes, i7-4700HQ is the quad core, i7-4500U is duo core.

Your friend may appreciate the larger work space afford by the FHD screen in N550JV. The IPS screen in N550JV also is better.
For programming and the games your friend play, the CPU & GPU in either model will be good enough.
The touch screen in S551LB will not be useful for your friend.
The S551LB come with a 24GB mSATA SSD for caching, so it will be slightly more responsive on start up and file access.
Weight the pro and con and decide

Are you talking about mobile CPU or GPU?
mobile CPU, Intel win.
GPU, AMD of course.

both are quad core.
Main difference is the CPU packaging:
HQ - FCBGA1364 (BGA - ball grid array)
MQ - FCPGA946 (PGA - pin grid array)

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Sep 26 2013, 05:32 PM

sifu, is Asus Malaysia setting up some special team to service these "business laptop / ultrabook"?
Don't think corporate market will touch these if still only carry-in warranty

sifu, I just grabbed a 128GB M5S this evening at RM320 (too tired to negotiate or search around in LYP)

Acer has improved quite a bit in terms of build and warranty service
The general idea is to judge model by model (of course we tend to remember bad experience )

Acer
E1-432G-29552G50k, Intel 2955U + Nvidia GT720M@RM1399, 2GB, 500GB, W8 (mention this precisely of the GPU in this price point )

Lenovo
G400s, i3-3110M + Nvidia GT720M@RM1449, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS
G500S, i3-3110M + Nvidia GT720M@RM1499, 2GB, 500GB, FreeDOS

Prices are RSP, negotiable.
The idea is to get a laptop spec with GT720M GPU to run your games.
The i3 in Lenovo G series obviously is more powerful than the Celeron in E1, but the E1 can handle the surfing and movie well enough, and come with OS.
FreeDOS mean you have to get and install OS yourself.

Certain laptop models has spec that come FreeDOS, like those that were listed for you.
If you never install OS yourself, then it is quite daunting but actually it's quite easy. The most challenging parts actually is to get all the necessary drivers (in the case of Lenovo, you have to go to its website to download (pick the right models, get the right drivers ... ), otherwise some components may not be working.
Yes, it's like doing a clean formatting and re-install your OS.
Yes, for RM1.3k, the best CPU & GPU combo you can get is i3+GT720M.

Acer is pretty ok now in terms of build and warranty support in Malaysia.
The level of details you want in Dota2 pretty much dictate how good a GPU you need to aim for.
Actually SSD do come with 1TB capacity, but it cost ~ RM1900 (Crucial M500) Prices of SSD has dropped a lot over the years, currently 128G ~ RM300, 256G ~ RM600. The benefits, even consider the relatively high RM/GB, in my opinion, is well worth it.

Acer
V5-473PG-54204G50, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M +(1366x768;touch)@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB,W8 *no OD

Asus
K46CB-WX060H, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, 4-cell, OD

Dell
Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049
Vostro 5470, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2249, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8, 3-cell

HP
Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8

Lenovo
Z400 touch, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768, touch)@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty

Sony
Vaio SVF14218SGW, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2399[2.4kg], 4GB, 500GB, W8SL

Toshiba
Satellite L40-AS109Xb/G/W, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, 3 years local warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.
Use the remaining of your budget to get the SSD, increase RAM (4G ~ RM100), extend warranty (Dell, to 3 years ~ RM300).