Thoughts on two laptops, Lenovo ideapad y410p and Acer Aspire V7-482PG-6662 Ultrabook

arandomguy

Senior member
Sep 3, 2013
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Content consumption usage and entertainment primarily with maybe light productivity. For gaming more concerned about games that tend to use the CPU somewhat more (specifically Civ 5 for example, as well as strategy games, MMOs, and RPGs in general). For videos somewhat concerned about decoding 1080p x264 10bit videos.

I have an actual desktop for heavier stuff (encoding, rendering, heavier gaming). This is really a supplementary system mainly for use a few hours a day for a few days of the week when I am out.

Price for both is roughly the same at $950 after taxes/shipping here. Essentially the price difference is negligible and not really a factor.

Lenovo Ideapad y410p
Intel i7-4700MQ
8gb DDR3L
1 TB 5400rpm
NVidia GT 750M 2gb GDDR5
1600x900 14 inch TN

Acer Aspire V7-482PG-6662 Ultrabook (Similar to the one reviewed on Anandtech)
Intel i5-4200U
8gb DDR3L
500 gb 5400rpm, 24gb SSD cache
NVidia GT 750M 4gb DDR3L
1980x1080 14 inch IPS touchscreen

The main trade off I'm having problems deciding over is the performance (mainly CPU) vs. better display (although I am concerned about the issue of driving the higher res display for gaming, and the possible interpolation issues of having to run lower than native).

I also like the better build on the Acer and the slightly smaller profile/portability. While on the Lenovo I like the battery management options (can set it to charge to a certain % to maintain longevity) and the that the battery is actually replaceable without opening. I also wonder if the Lenovo might have better thermals due to the slightly larger size. The initial storage setup on the Acer is better as well but ideally in the longer term I'd like to upgrade to an actual dedicated SSD which the Lenovo accommodates slightly better (can fit 2 drives). The Lenovo can also upgrade to SLI (~$230) supposedly in the future, although I'm not likely to use this option.

Which do you think would be more desirable from a resell or giving away (for a non gamer) in a few years perspective as well? The Lenovo has an optical drive whereas the Acer does not. However I don't really care about this at all won't be using it. Would this be a factor for more general users?

Just to summarize. I overall like the Acer more but I'm concerned about the lower CPU and slightly lower GPU performance combined with the need to drive a higher resolution display.
 
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jey1234

Junior Member
Sep 4, 2013
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I've actually been trying to decide between the same two laptops for the past week. I need one for college. I'm looking forward to any responses.

Also I read on another site that the GDDR5 video card memory on the lenovo is supposed to perform much better than the DDR3. Don't know if that's true but maybe that might help you decide.
 

arandomguy

Senior member
Sep 3, 2013
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The GDDR5 version on the 750m does perform better and should be more noticeable as resolution and AA go up. You can see in the Anandtech review for instance how much of a gain they go from OCing the DDR3 - http://www.anandtech.com/show/7238/acer-v7482pg9884-review-everything-you-need/4

To me the main difference is performance versus display. If the former is less important for you (for me due to the gaming requirement, not sure how much it would matter for a school work focus) I would get the Acer. The only negative on the Acer display is it is less bright compared to the Lenovo's if that is an issue (outdoor use for example).

The Acer also is slightly more portable, better built, less finicky wifi.

Although the Lenovo from what I heard has a better keyboard, slightly better thermals.

The storage setup, better out of the box on the Acer if you don't need the extra space versus better expandability on the Lenovo.

At the moment I ordered the Lenovo. They have a good return policy so I'll see how it is since my main concerns about it are more subjective and harder to quantify (eg. screen quality, build quality, finicky wifi, etc.).
 

jey1234

Junior Member
Sep 4, 2013
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I think I might end up doing the same. Order the y410p to see if I like it. btw did you get the one with the 24GB SSD? I read that Lenovo removes the adapter required for future SSD upgrades if the model you order doesn't come with one.

Thanks for the link. That was the review I had read. Would you know how significant the performance difference is between the i5-4200U and the i7-4700MQ? I love the y410p in terms of specs, my only issues are that it might be a bit too heavy and thick for commuting daily to school and it would be nice if it had a touch screen (though I don't know if it will be ever useful). And I thought the IPS display on the Acer was very bright. At least that's what I read on many forums.

And I read today that Lenovo announced some new haswell thinkpads. The S440 seems good. I spoke to a Lenovo agent in Canada and she said it will release arund mid-October. I am tempted to wait a couple weeks because I think most laptop manufacturers are stuck in a transition period right now and new and better models with haswell might come out in the next month or so. Of course it depends on how urgently you need a new laptop. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/09/lenovo-announces-haswell-thinkpads-and-a-really-really-wide-monitor/

Sorry if I hijacked your thread :)
 

arandomguy

Senior member
Sep 3, 2013
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No problem. Discussion often brings insight :p I'm actually thinking about directly talking to an agent as well now. I heard they can give you a few more configuration options than offered online (like a different wifi card upgrade) and maybe even a slight discount.

I didn't get the one with the SSD. The only thing I got was the 1600x900 screen upgrade. I heard about the SSD as well in that they remove the M.2 NGFF connector. The SSD they use is a smaller one not the 2.5inch SSDs you would typically think of it that go into desktops or laptops as main drives. My plan though was just to swap in a standard 2.5inch SSD (actually the M4 I currently have in my desktop when I upgrade that maybe later in the year if there is a good deal).

The main difference in performance I think is in multithreading performance. If you go by the Anandtech bench - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/982?vs=834. You'll see the single threaded performance is not that different (I like cinebench as a relative CPU benchmark personally, albeit the real world implication is probably not that useful). The reason it isn't as big as the spec difference might suggest is likely due to the thermal constraints on laptops in general so hitting a constant high boost speed on the i7-4700mq is probably constrained thermally. Multithreaded performance difference is quite big due to being 2cores4threads vs 4c8t. So the real world implication would be how much your usage benefits from the extra cores.

That's interesting regarding the brightness because I was purely going by the Anandtech review in terms of brightness. I have since asked in another forum about it as well.

In terms of portability though from what I understand although it is branded as an Ultrabook the Acer is actually quite big in terms of weight and dimensions. Albeit smaller than the y410p but it isn't one of the typical tiny Ultrabooks which is understandable given the GPU I think. So the difference isn't huge in that aspect.

Really if gaming wasn't a concern for me I'd just get the Acer (assuming you don't do any productivity requiring the extra CPU power).

I was actually originally going to wait for Kaveri even and see what those brought but a change in the situation makes that long a wait a bit less palatable. In general though from my experience is that "gaming" laptops at lower prices are somewhat hard to find. It seems most laptops with a rather decent discrete card are typically targeted well into the $1000 range but for my purposes (essentially an entertainment device, almost a toy) and that I have a desktop I use (and want to upgrade as well as a hobby) I didn't really want to spend that excessively on a laptop. On that note I had also considered the Clevo W350ST (can get it at reflexnotebooks in Canada) if you wanted another thing to look at as something higher priced.
 

jey1234

Junior Member
Sep 4, 2013
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Have you decided on a laptop yet? I noticed the Acer V7 just became available again in Futureshop, BestBuy and Staples this week.
 

Enigmoid

Platinum Member
Sep 27, 2012
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I have the lenovo y580 and I was able to install a mssd easily. Not sure about the lenovo y500 or y510p/410p
 

Imaginer

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 1999
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The Acer (by written specifications) has the better display, and is one of the top priorities in my mind when deciding a laptop.

And I think Acer is doing fine so far. My parents use an Acer netbook, I have used an Acer Atom tablet as a light dedicated client workstation for a milling machine.
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
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In the year 2013 I wouldnt buy a TN panel. It is a shame anyone still uses them. Not to mention it is also < 1080p. Sheesh... phones are better than 1600x900 nowadays.

also be on the lookout for notebooks/tablets using the i5-4210Y. It is the new haswell ultra low power processor. Best buy even has one listed for $700, although its not in stock. Also check out the VAIO Tap 11.
 
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