Asus after sale service is not so good compared to others. Some time you need to depend on your luck to have a smooth claiming process.
Lenovo Y50 screen is not good. If I'm not mistaken the screen response time is 48hz instead of 60hz
4k Budget got quite a lot choices, Acer V Nitro (which you don't want), ILLEGEAR Z5 or Aftershock (Clevo model)
All these offer fhd with IPS option also.

P/S: If you can wait and not in rush, try wait for new 960m or 965m card laptop. If the price is also around 4k then go for that. If it is above 4.5k then just stick to 860m laptop

Gigabyte is too OP for you already IMHO. Their price is mostly luxury range (still got some decent price range one). ILLEGEAR is Malaysia brand, Aftershock is SG brand. Both are using Clevo. Clevo is quite popular in oversea for their good built quality.

GST starts on April. So if you're not in rush, you can always wait a bit longer to see how thing goes.
Also, DO NOT GET MSI GE60 Apache Pro. It has serious heat issue (personal experience, my friend is using it). The CPU and GPU can heat up to 90+ degree C under full load. For that price range better get dual fan model.
Acer V Nitro is best bang of buck currently.

For the GPU, I would top up RM700+ to get GTX970m rather than 965m. IMHO, if I got the money, I would go for 970m/980m, if not just get 860m or 960m (if the price is quite similar, <RM100 different). I doubt 960m is able to play mid high settings on up coming demanding game also, so no point paying more to get it. I would only get it if the price is not much different with 860m

P/S: Just to let you know, ILLEGEAR S5 is having 970m and 965m variant. The price different is just about RM200, so either buck up more to get a top range decent gpu, or just stick to mid range gpu like 860m. 965m seems to stuck in between. (I'm not advertising on ILLEGEAR, just show you an example. Other brand I believe will be doing the same also)

Lenovo with what spec ? If it is 860m then it is too OP ad imho.

Make sure the screen response time is 60hz lo.. i think some model is using 48hz

For me Acer V Nitro is best bang of buck for 860m. Well it is your choice though. Hope you enjoy it

It depends on the hdmi port you're using. If it is hdmi 1.4 which is almost a standard on all laptop, you can get 60hz for 1080p, 30hz for 4k. hdmi 2.0 will allow 60hz for 4k.
So if you're going for smooth 4k, then sorry for the case, you can only get half of it. Lenovo screen suck.
If you're going for 1080p, you can just get other model which provide the same spec with lesser cost. I believe 1080p is also 48hz, and it is not IPS also. So viewing angle and color contrast will not be good.

Just ask Lenovo for a confirm answer, what I said is not guarantee to be true.

Either one is fine, since I think you probably know what is the pros and cons of these two laptop. GT72 is using IPS screen right ? I think MSI high end model shouldn't have heat issue, so it is okay to get it.
If warranty and after sales service is essential for you, get MSI better, cause MSI should have service center at Kuching or area around there.
ILLEGEAR so far I just know of Damansara and JB have service center. Their pick up service didn't cover Kuching though.
But you can check out AW17 or 15 also, the price spec ratio is also very tempting. Quite worth it IMO.
Asus is also another option if you can ignore Asus poor warranty and after sales service.

P/S: I assume you're going to be in Kuching longer than in Sunway. If it is not, then ILLEGEAR can consider, 7k can get quite a good config also, PM Prince J for a quotation. Maybe there is still CNY promotion going on

Edit: as Prince J mentioned, ILLEGEAR do cover Kuching area for pick up service. So you can consider getting laptop from them also

This post has been edited by miong93: Feb 23 2015, 10:55 AM

Oh, then sorry for the wrong info. Edited my post.

Well the most straight forward way is to ask Lenovo.
if not just go to a display unit and install HWInfo and check for the screen display option. There will indicate the response time.
And I believe FHD is not guaranteed to be 60hz. FHD mean 1080p, the response time can still be <60hz

If you play Dota 2 game only, then 740m should be fine enough. But since you got the budget, can get better.
Programming as in what language ? .NET ? Java ? Objective-C ?
I suggest you to get i7, RM3.5k for i5 is not worth it. Get i7 HQ or MQ type processor. I'm a Mobile Developer, I multitask a lot so quad core is better than U-Type dual core.
If you want gaming model, get Acer V Nitro. Current best bang of buck. If you can top up more to RM4k, get ILLEGEAR Z5 (I'm a Z5 owner)
If not you can get Dell inspiron 7447 or similar model. Just make sure it is 8GB ram and i7 quad core processor. GPU can be 840m or 850m if you just play dota 2 only.

Mobile Development requires quite an amount of RAM, my Android Studio and Visual Studio already consume about 3.2GB ram total with plugin installed. And I multitask a lot especially Emulator.

Note: Most laptop now is using BUILT IN battery, you can't detach it.

Is it possible for your cousin to top up to 4k ? So he can get Z5, with the CNY promotion (till 5 March). It is quite a good deal, got free SSD + wifi card upgrade + ic thermal
Currently for RM3k range gaming laptop, the best bang of buck is Acer V Nitro, but since you don't want Acer then no choice.
gtx860m laptop mostly is >RM3k
gtx850m laptop mostly is RM2.5-RM3k
If he just want an entry level gpu, get Inspiron 7447.

Just make sure, if you're getting >RM3k laptop, it is i7 quad core, 860m or abv gpu and doesn't have heat issue.

Btw, Gratz on your Z5. I'm a Z5 user also

Well, if you insist on MBA 13'', then we can't do much though, since you already decided.
If you're still willing to change your choice, DEFINITELY DON'T GET MBP or MBA for gaming
The price and spec is just too OP.

With about RM4k, you can get Acer V Nitro or ILLEGEAR Z5. Both is better than MBA in term of spec itself. There is still other option like Asus ROG G551 or Lenovo Y50
I personally suggest getting Acer or Z5 as Asus service is not good and Y50 screen is not good.
Reason for Acer is best bang of buck. Z5 is more expensive but the best cooling compared to other same spec laptop.
All these laptop comes with i7 quad core, which is better than i5 or i7 dual core. In term of clockspeed and computation. And all these laptops come with GTX860m which is way better than integrated GPU.
To put it short, all these laptops offered way BETTER spec than MBA. In term of RAM, CPU, GPU, Display etc etc.

If your casual game is Facebook game then MBA is your choice, if you are willing to spend for an OP laptop. If your casual game is those demanding game or any game which requires a discrete GPU, then MBA is a no go.
Even Dota 2 need a discrete GPU to play it decently (min 60fps).

P/S: Get MBA if you're using a lot of Apps Store apps and is familiar with its OS, what is so good about Apple product is their ecosystem. If you're not into it, then better get other brand laptop.

This post has been edited by miong93: Mar 5 2015, 12:29 AM

If she is into programming, get a bigger screen like 15''. I'm a programmer myself also, the extra inches is very welcomed when you're multitasking. Especially you're googling for codes and coding in the same time. I even dual monitor when I'm coding.
Gigabyte is too OP for you. Gigabyte model mostly is gaming model.
Dell latitude may be a good choice. Or any laptop with i7 quad core and 8gb ram if you want cheaper option (Dell inspiron 7447).
Dell latitude is business grade laptop, so it will be very expensive compared to consumer grade, but it is worth it. The built quality is better than consumer grade laptop.

Well it depends. When you're in 2nd or 3rd year, you will most likely do more intense work.
Getting i7 quad core with RM3k budget is possible and encouraged. At least you don't plan to use it after you graduate.
When you're doing your coding assignment, most likely you will open a lot of browser tab as well as your IDE.
Visual Studio is quite resource hungry. (Assuming you're using it)

This post has been edited by miong93: Mar 5 2015, 01:04 PM

Well there is a lot of option. For business grade you can get Thinkpad or Elitebook.
It is okay if you want to get a normal i5 dual core processor. I just feel that since you're willing to pay RM3k, may as well get the best you could.

Well I suggest Dell cause of its warranty. They got good services so when claiming for warranty is easier.
You can check out Lenovo or Asus also. But Asus after service is not good. Not sure they improve it already or not. Lenovo sometime got hinge problem.
But compared with other brand, Dell laptop may offer lower spec. But the good service make up to it.
So it all depend on which 1 suits you or your friend better.

Business grade laptop is more durable than consumer grade laptop. The built quality is better. But most business grade laptop spec is lower than consumer grade laptop. If you want high end business grade laptop, it will cost quite an amount.
Dell Inspiron 7447 is consumer grade laptop.

P/S: My ex-boss is still using his Dell latitude. 6 or 8 years old already the laptop. Running windows 8.1 without any problem.

RM2600 for Inspiron 7447 i5 version ? Well it all depends on you. You can pm myway to see his price. His offer is quite tempting most of the time.
I personally will just spend RM3k to get i7. The least I would get is i7 U series processor which is dual core.
It is all up to you though

Well he got a lot of jalan. Just ask him got i7 unit or not lo. I personally prefer i7 since I multi task a lot (mobile programming). With virtual machine and IDE running. I need quite an amount of ram and processing power.

GTX840m or 850m is entry level GPU. So maybe it can play on low/medium settings on those demanding game. Maybe some can play on 1080p, but mostly can't.
I personally won't go for MSI low end model as it is too OP. MSI low end model tend to have heat issue.
Dell Inspiron 7447 is okay, but try to get i7 quad core if possible, or i7 U series.

Dota 2 on medium or low settings is possible, but if it is GTA 5 I'm not sure cause it is a demanding game.
You can get Lenovo y400p if there is sales.

Your demand is quite high, thin and sleek design doesn't exist in low end laptop. If you want the laptop which is as thin as MBA or MSI GS60 or 20mm+, it is quite impossible

This post has been edited by miong93: Mar 5 2015, 07:19 PM

Well as I told you, even if you don't want to play game, it is better to go for other laptop instead of MBA. MBA is just TOO OP. With that price you can get better laptop. Most of today laptop is using aluminum so it won't be too heavy. My ILLEGEAR Z5 is 2.4kg with power adapter and battery. May I know what gender are you ? Sorry no offense but if you're a boy/man, carrying 2.4kg shouldn't be a problem at all.

When your laptop is on for 24/7, your GPU won't be on forever as long as you quit your game application. When under normal usage your GPU won't be used (except you explicitly turn it on).
If you're going for SSD, with your RM4k budget, you can get Acer V Nitro with 1TB HDD and add in SSD yourself. And it will be cheaper than MBA also.

IMHO, if you got 4k budget, DEFINITELY get a i7. MBA i7 is just too OP, not worth the price. Acer V Nitro, Lenovo Y50, Asus G551, ILLEGEAR Z5 all of these budget gaming laptop comes with i7 4710HQ which is quad core and way cheaper than MBA i7 version. And these laptop got dGPU somemore. If you really really want light weighted laptop, maybe can go for Lenovo Y50 (but the screen is not good, 40hz only).

P/S: I only encourage Apple product if you're going for its ecosystem, which mean you are mostly using its Apps Store application and familiar with its OS. If you want to play games which is outside from Apps Store, mainly console ported game like BF4 all those, you better get other laptop. (You can still use BootCamp to use Windows OS though, but I'm not sure your hardware can keep up with those game requirement or not, especially MBA doesn't have FAN built in)

P/SS: If you're using Windows OS on MBA, doing heavy multi-tasking or heavy processing may not be as fast as other laptop.

This post has been edited by miong93: Mar 6 2015, 02:16 PM

Ya ke ? Melaka campus still okay. Mostly is international student who is using Mac, cause of its world wide warranty. Most Mac user do hackintosh one. Seldom see people stick to only Mac OS. Too limited liao.
People want spend on Mac we also can't do much what. Just hope when actual performance we won't regret lo.

Well I agree most of your point.
1. I got no idea there is discount for MAC machine, I only know of Dell giving this promotion.
2. Well it is good under normal usage, when under load it is not necessary good. But most probably also around 3-5 hours right ?
3. Yes I know this. No need to rephrase it to me again
4. I DIDN'T MENTION about gaming at all.
5. Well for me 2kg and 1.35kg is not huge different. The laptop now is mostly using aluminum unlike last time.
6. Agree
We're talking about MBA aka Macbook Air. I agree Pro is quite good, but most developers are using it is because you NEED an Apple machine to be able to develop Apps for iOS/OSX platform. You also need an Apple Developer ID. Application based developers are using it because it is a requirement for developing Apps on iOS/OSX platform. People tends to go native development (purchase mac) instead of x-platform solution like XAMARIN because in long run it will be cheaper.
If you're developing things related to server, mostly people will avoid Mac and use other stronger machine like Thinkpad or Latitude or even workstation (with Linux as OS / Windows).
When you're performing stress test or penetration test on your server or application, you definitely won't use Mac most of the time.

Well you have a strong point though. No need to argue more as different person have different perspective. Thanks for clarifying to me on the goods on Mac, I meant it

This post has been edited by miong93: Mar 6 2015, 09:43 PM