buy Y710...good choice?

[mrulo]

    Hello, I'm thinking on buy a lenovo y710 with T9300. I want your opinion about the machine......Thanks!!!

[MIH]

Did you find it on Lenovo's site? if not, what are the specs for the computer?

[Fulong]

@mrulo

In answer to what specifications I think mrulo is talking about, it's a Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 Notebook PC - Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz, 802.11a/g/n Wireless, 2GB DDR2, 500GB HDD, Dual Layer DVDRW/Blu-Ray Drive, 17" WXGA+, Integrated Webcam, Windows Vista Home Premium.

As for my opinion about the Y710 IdeaPad, well... I wouldn't honestly be able to advise someone until I first understood the purpose of purchasing a mobile computer by that individual's intended purpose, right? I understand he's just asking in general, but I'm sure he must have a purpose other than just buying a mobile PC, right?

I would point out, the Y710 cost a lot more than the Y510 model. The size and weight are also different, and maybe Lenovo X300 or even U110 comes to mind here.

What about the following?

-- Is weight a concern?
-- Will size matter for traveling?
-- Battery life in hours or full workday?
-- What about eSATA port?
-- DVI-D/S-Video/1394 port?
-- DVDRW/Blue-Ray Burner?
-- 802.11.n?
-- Bluetooth connectivity?
-- Gigabit Ethernet?
-- HDMI complaint and HDCP capable?
-- 17" 15" 11" screen size?
-- Media Card Reader (SD/SD SDHC, Pro, MS/MS Pro, MMC, XD, CF card)?
-- Express Card Slot 34/54 Support?
-- Dual internal SATA-II hard drives needed, 120GB/250GB/500GB?
-- Built in 2MP web camera for Skype VoIP services?
-- Do you need a service plan? 1/3/5 years and international?
-- Need 64bit or 32bit Windows Operating system?
-- DDR2/DDR3/DDR4 or 512MB/1GB/2GB/3GB?
-- 48 bit Logical Block addressing (for larger 160GiB memory storage HDD)?
-- PCIe 3.0 8GT/s (Backward Compatible) if available?
-- What screen resolution do you want or need, 1024x768, 1280 x 800, 1680 x 1050 or 1920X1200?

If your just going to watch 16:9 HD, why not settle for a 16" model, which is very rare, but available?

Can you be a bit more specific here? I would like to be of help, but I just think this question sounds more like someone who doesn't actually know what they want.

And besides, there a lot of reviews on notebooks on the Internet, right?

I would suggest, that you "think about the main purpose" of what you "intend to use" the mobile computer for. Then you can also think about the time that you will plan to keep it, as it's common to replace a mobile computer in order to get new hardware, such as 802.11.a/b/g/n wireless built in, PCI Express, USB 3 and or USB Cable Free connectivity, etc...

Once you got the list of features and function you need, it then becomes a matter of want your really willing to afford I would say. That's where shopping around would be of help here. Yesterday, TigerDirect was selling the Lenovo Y510 1.7GHz/2GB DDR/160GB HDD/etc... for $499 USD. The sale is over now. I think for most students, home users and general purpose, this Lenovo Y510 offers more good points than what the competition has to offer, especially at this price range.

The Lenovo Y510 Veriface Recognition software works well for me, and adds to Lenovo's innovation as a leader in the industry.

See: e1.video.blip.tv/1000002165038/Notebooks-LenovoVeriFaceRecognition903.flv
(save video to Hard Drive, then open in FREE VLC Media Player if you already don't have a FLV player installed)

[mrulo]

    Hello Fulong/MIH, thanks  for your reply. Well, my intention with the laptop is to replace my old desktop pc. I'm an ingeenier, and I use some programs, many of those programs use a lot of memory, like cad's. As this laptop is a desktop replacement, I need at least 17"  size screen. Besides, some times I need to move with the computer and solve some problems, but I don't think that the battery life could be a problem for me. I have $1800, more or less, to invest in the computer and I am planning to keep it for a long time, so I want to buy the best (faster and with a long durability) computer that I can buy with this money. When I was younger, I used to play some games in the pc, now I don't have time for that, so I don't think I will use it for gaming, but, if I'd wanted.... . Finally, there is another notebook in my mind, is a tosh x205-sli5, it cost more or less the same, but I am not sure which to buy, because I'm new in buying notebooks....and I don't know which are the best brand.

Thanks a lot!!!

[MIH]

well considering that you're going to be using the computer for cad work, then I suggest a different computer. The screen resolution for the y710 you pointed out only has a 1440-900 max, which isn't that good for a 17" screen imo. Also, you might want a laptop with a graphics card configured to handle cad software, such as the Nvidia Quadro line of graphics cards. They do tend to run a bit more expensive however but the performance you get out of the card makes up for it.

I have the mid-range Y710 that I purchased from Lenovo for about $1600 and I use Solidworks on it and it tends to run a bit choppy sometimes, but that could also be a problem with Vista. My screen res is also 1920x1200 which looks awesome on the 17" screen.

What kind of CAD software do you use and what kind of modeling do you do? If its extensive and detailed modeling then you might want to go with a different computer, but if its simple and light modeling work, this computer might work out.

[Fulong]

@mrulo

Just make a list of all your software that you need to use for the type of work that you do. Then check this list for all the requirements, which I would assume an "engineer" that you are would be the type to have done this already, right?

Once you got the list, it's a simple matter of checking the requirements of your software with the requirements of your future mobile computer's hardware.

As for holding on to a mobile computer, I would argue in that by doing so you will experience the following:

1) depreciated PC resale value (especially as newer, better and cheaper PC become available)
2) Inability to use newer software and or hardware advantages (UWB, PCIe 3, USB v3, SSD, DDR4, WiBro, 5GHz)
3) Inability to utilize newer more powerful mobile computers

Here's an analogy when considering to keep an older obsolete mobile computer. First the lifespan of service is certainly limited given the duration of the LCD monitor is at best just 5 years worth of time. Note, that's 24/7/365/5 worth of expected time. Secondly, the warrantee will have already expired long before this, meaning the cost of fixing issues usually exceed the cost of replacement. And third, who would want to be using a Pentium 3 Processor 650MHz to 1.2GHz released in 1999? If that doesn't drive home my point, imagine using a 1997 May 7 Pentium 2 Processor 233, 266 and 300 MHz!

Have you considered a custom built mobile computer? CAD2 will "build to order" your mobile PC as one example.
Here's there website: www.cad2.com/workstations/laptop-workstations.html

[Fulong]

@mrule

Maybe this type of mobile computer would be what you want?

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.80GHz 64Bit Processor
Up to 4GB DDR2-667MHz Memory
800MHz Front Side Bus
4MB Advanced Level 2 Transfer Cache
NVIDIA Quadro FX 512MB Graphics
17" Widescreen 1920 x 1200 W-UXGA Screen Resolution
Intel Intel 4965AGN Wireless Technology
Bluetooth Connectivity
2.0MP Digital Camera
S/PDIF Digital Output (7.1Ch)
1x Express Card 54(34) Slot
XP Professional or Vista Business/Ultimate 34/64bit

URL: www.cad2.com/workstations/quadro-laptop.html

[mrulo]

    Hello Fulong, and thanks for all your advices. To tell you the truth, I hadn't considered many of the tips that you showed me...
I think that build a notebook could be a good idea. Do you know how much it cost a model like you describe it before? and they sell notebooks in usa? I have a friend and maybe he can bring me one to my country.....
Well, I apreciate your help!!!!

Thanks

[Fulong · Accepted solution]

@mrulo

Argentina Computer prices are the same or higher than in the US/UK. Currently, Argentina people are pulling their pesos out of banks and converting them to physical dollars in fear of a government action that would devalue the peso or freeze their assets. This is a problem the government needs to take seriously as currency trading into U.S. dollars isn't the best investment when in fact, the U.S. dollar is in a decline with the recession going on in the U.S.. In fact, all the savings of Argentina is in the food/restaurants (great quality and cheap!), rent (to a lesser extent) and other domestic produced products from what I have heard. Just be sure to have on hand both types of the Argentina electrical adaptors for your laptop power inverter (transformer) for connecting to the Argentina 220v outlets system.

Build to Order, allows you to customize the type of hardware that can be of value or not, all depending upon total cost of ownership, quality, performance and reliability. Yes, there are many vendors that build to order such as:

1) www.xtremenotebooks.com/index.php?section=catagory&include_type=15_inch

HD 17" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) Super Wide Angle Glass View LCD
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M PCI-E with 512MB DDR 3 VideoRAM - Engineering GPU
Intel Q9550 2.83GHz QUAD Core Penryn CPU - 12M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB
8192MB DDR2 667MHz Premium RAM (2x4096)
High Speed Transfer 320GB SATA300 HDD 5400 RPM
Secondary High Speed Transfer 320GB SATA300 HDD 5400 RPM
Panasonic 2x Blu Ray Multi Drive
12 Cell Smart Li-Ion Battery
110/220V 220W Auto Switching AC Adapter
4 Speaker Stereo Integrated System
Microsoft Office 2007 (Word Excel Outlook Power Point and Publisher)
Windows XP Pro with Drivers and Utilities CD
802.11a/g/n Intel 4965 Internal WLAN
Standard 12 Month Parts and Labor Mail-In Coverage
Internal Bluetooth Wireless Card
3rd HDD - 320GB SATA300 HDD 5400 RPM
--> Turbo CAD Deluxe v.15 2D-3D Exceptional Professional Engineering Software - OEM Pkg
RAID 0/1/5 Enabled Option
Internal World Wide TV Tuner W/Remote PAL & NTSC Analog For XP
Built-in 2.0M High Resolution Digital Video Camera
7 in 4 Flash Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC) Standard

ALQUILER DE LAPTOPS EN ARGENTINA
www.alquilerlaptops.com.ar/alquilerlaptops_argentina_links2.htm
www.lenovo.com/ar/es/index.html

Other Build to Order Vendors
www.nextdaypc.com/main/bto/cat.aspx?catid=notebook
www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1321

Myths surrounding the BTO Notebook business PDF - by Intel Corporation
www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/emea/ita/products/mobile_ref/bto/223046.htm

Message Edited by Fulong on 05-31-2008 11:24 AM

[mrulo]

Ok Fulong......I really apreciate your help.....I will think about it a little more....

Thanks...