# Thoughts on this Laptop



## Gilletter (Jun 28, 2014)

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...02164?HP-ENVY-17t-j100-Leap-Motion-Best-Value

What are your thoughts on this laptop?

My current 3 year old Toshiba satellite L755d is on its last legs, and I'm looking for something that I can let the wife use for basic internet and word processing, excel, etc. While I can use it for gaming and media. Trying to talk her into a 17 inch with a dedicated card vs. integrated. Any other options in the price range that you would suggest and why. Thanks!


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## krusha03 (Jun 29, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...02164?HP-ENVY-17t-j100-Leap-Motion-Best-Value
> 
> What are your thoughts on this laptop?
> 
> My current 3 year old Toshiba satellite L755d is on its last legs, and I'm looking for something that I can let the wife use for basic internet and word processing, excel, etc. While I can use it for gaming and media. Trying to talk her into a 17 inch with a dedicated card vs. integrated. Any other options in the price range that you would suggest and why. Thanks!


I don't know how much looks and portability is important but this has much better specs for almost the same price. Also what is the reason you wanna buy laptop and not a desktop? If a 17" laptop means it will spend 99% of the lifetime on the desk and you might as well get a ITX build that will have much better performance for the same price


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## TeslaK20 (Jun 29, 2014)

Looks great. As said above, it does not have the best specs for the price, but the Leap Motion is one of the coolest things on the planet. I bought it as a peripheral, but you would get it built in. Basically, it brings the swipe-your-fingers-in-thin-air of Iron Man to your PC. However, if you don't care for the Leap, there are better options.


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## LaytonJnr (Jun 29, 2014)

In terms of graphics performance, I would expect medium-high settings maximum at 1080p resolution. Could crank up the settings a little bit if playing at 1600x900, but some people prefer the higher resolution. But you can expect to play all current gaming titles, but of course not at high settings. 

Layton


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## TeslaK20 (Jun 29, 2014)

Of course, Leap Motion makes it great for playing games such as Fruit Ninja and Cut the Rope in addition to hardcore titles such as Bioshock Infinite.


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## Gilletter (Jun 29, 2014)

I don't care about leap motion, just looking for a decent computer that is portable. My desktop I do most of my gaming on, but if I'm stuck being upstairs or have to be out of town I wanted something to game on. I've also been looking at the Lenovo y510p with a bluray player http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y510p/

15.6 inch screen, but from reviews seems to be a nice laptop, and I can get it for $999.

The HP I can get for 1087


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## LaytonJnr (Jun 29, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> I don't care about leap motion, just looking for a decent computer that is portable. My desktop I do most of my gaming on, but if I'm stuck being upstairs or have to be out of town I wanted something to game on. I've also been looking at the Lenovo y510p with a bluray player http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y510p/
> 
> 15.6 inch screen, but from reviews seems to be a nice laptop, and I can get it for $999.
> 
> The HP I can get for 1087



The GPU in the HP has more VRAM, which can be very useful for gaming on a laptop. But the GPU on the Lenovo is marginally better - I'm struggling to find a proper comparison, as most only compare the 2GB GT 750M model (from the HP). Battery life is another thing to look out for - better performance often means less battery life, so check whether Optimus is available so that the integrated GPU is used when not gaming.

If the Lenovo has better battery life, definitely go for it.

Layton


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## TeslaK20 (Jun 29, 2014)

There's also the Lenovo Y50 with a GTX 870m.


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## pigulici (Jun 29, 2014)

I have Y510p (single 755m), I usually work in Photoshop CC, gaming it is light at me(Torchlight, Sacred 2 Gold, Mass Efect 3 mp,...),it is ok, but for serious gaming, allways remain the desktop...


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## Gilletter (Jun 29, 2014)

Ok well wife shot down that idea, lol. Too expensive for her. Besides the HP went back up to full price. I can get a cheaper hp envy from either samsclub or from HP direct. I'll link both, give me your thoughts on both.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...ENVY/902171?ENVY-15z-j100-Notebook-Best-Value

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/envy-1...aign=rr&sn=ClickCP&campaign_data=prod13720037


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## pigulici (Jun 30, 2014)

It look good on paper but, from my past experience, amd cpu are more hungry,hot and low performer than intel(although I like the raw power of amd cpu in linux), and amd mobile vga cards, for me, have a lot of problems with drivers, so for mobile/laptop I think it will be better if you go with intel cpu + nvidia vga...


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## Gilletter (Jun 30, 2014)

I would go Intel but the wife has cut my budget on replacing it. I can get the one from hp for $735. Sam's Club one listed is $699. Lower processor and GPU and has a touch screen interface. I'm leaning towards the direct link, but would like some input on it.


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## pigulici (Jun 30, 2014)

Usually , the non-touch screen are cheaper.What it is your budget and from what place/website you can buy? maybe we can help you with some suggestions...


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## Gilletter (Jun 30, 2014)

Budget is $750. I can shop anywhere in the us. The best I've found so far was a configurable hp envy 15z. It was $909 for a 1920x1080 15.6 inch non touch, 1tb hdd,  12gb ram, 2gb discrete video card, back lit keyboard, am a 10 processor. I have a $175 off coupon that expires today making it $735. I can also get $40 cash back through shop at home. So essential $695 for it when all is said and done. I will only be doing light gaming (starcraft,  d3, maybe some newer titles yet to be determined) the wife will be using it for ms office for school and work purposes. I would also stream to my ps3 from it.


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## pigulici (Jun 30, 2014)

That laptop with Intel I7 4th gen look better than that with Amd A10; in Est Europe(where I live), Lenovo and Toshiba have the best quality laptops, so when I bought mine, I look for those brands, after that I looked what can I buy in my budget, with Intel cpu and nvidia vga, with cpu to be more important than vga, so in the end I get Lenovo Y510p (i7+single 755m), at my girlfriend I bought a Lenovo g510 (I7+amd 8570), not happy with amd card but it is for almost no gaming...so my advise, look what brand have best quality for you, and in your budget, what it is most important, cpu,vga,battery...; in the end the laptop give portability,low electricity bill and a lot of compromise(cpu power, vga power, lan speed, hdd/ssd speed,display size/quality..), so the choice of laptop it is like the choice of mobile phone or car, a almost very personal choice, different  people, different needs; also if you have in the same budget multiple choices, you can google for reviews(notebookreview.com it is a good start); on this forum we can help you with some guidance, but what I need and like maybe it is not what you need and like...at us HP brand it is mediocre(not good but not bad either)...


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## GhostRyder (Jun 30, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> Budget is $750. I can shop anywhere in the us. The best I've found so far was a configurable hp envy 15z. It was $909 for a 1920x1080 15.6 inch non touch, 1tb hdd,  12gb ram, 2gb discrete video card, back lit keyboard, am a 10 processor. I have a $175 off coupon that expires today making it $735. I can also get $40 cash back through shop at home. So essential $695 for it when all is said and done. I will only be doing light gaming (starcraft,  d3, maybe some newer titles yet to be determined) the wife will be using it for ms office for school and work purposes. I would also stream to my ps3 from it.


$750?   Let me see what I can find

Well first is a Toshiba Satellite which fits in the budget and contains and i7 4510U and an R7 m260.  Its got decent specs for the price but run a 1366x768p screen which will allow some light gaming and decent media center performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216800

Second is an HP with an 8780m and an I5 3230m, this is a refurb and the graphics should be similar to the R7 m260 which will be decent on a 720p screen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834258974
Note: This is a refurb

Refurb Asus with i7 4200U & GT 745m, comes with a full HD 1080p screen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231446

This Acer maybe the best choice for you, its got an i5 4210U, an 15 inch touch screen, and a new GT 840m graphics card which should deliver on most of the thigns you want while staying in your budget
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314574

I would put my money on the Acer being your best buy because it will offer a touch screen and a decent (Probably the best in your budget I see right now, there are not other refurb deals).


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## pigulici (Jun 30, 2014)

I will not advise for Acer brand, high specs/low quality, and also ga with cpu with U in name only if you need long battery life and light laptop(under 1.5kg), those cpu are for web browse, light multimedia, the target it is for people who want more than a tablet and less than laptop...


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## Gilletter (Jun 30, 2014)

HP I'm looking at due to the fact that I can get more specs for less with the coupon I have. I can do a *4th generation Intel® Core™ i5-4210U Dual Core Processor + 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 840M Graphics.* For roughly the same price as the a10 with the 2 gb 8750m. Will the Dual core compare to the quad?


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## GhostRyder (Jun 30, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> HP I'm looking at due to the fact that I can get more specs for less with the coupon I have. I can do a *4th generation Intel® Core™ i5-4210U Dual Core Processor + 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 840M Graphics.* For roughly the same price as the a10 with the 2 gb 8750m. Will the Dual core compare to the quad?


Thats similar to the Acer I suggested, you will be fine in the end with that processor (I have a device with it) and its pretty darn good.  You will be able to do at least medium gaming on that machine.


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## Gilletter (Jul 8, 2014)

Well the ever revolving doors swing again. I finally got a budget of up to $1200 after showing her how much more we can get for the money. So I'm thinking between an MSI ge60 Apache Pro- 003 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=MSI_GE_Series_GE60-_-34-152-560-_-Product

or a Lenovo y50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...17538&cm_re=Lenovo_y50-_-34-317-538-_-Product

This I like specs for the $ Any other additions to throw in for comparison?

edit: for a 3rd option AMD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152571


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## GhostRyder (Jul 8, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> Well the ever revolving doors swing again. I finally got a budget of up to $1200 after showing her how much more we can get for the money. So I'm thinking between an MSI ge60 Apache Pro- 003 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=MSI_GE_Series_GE60-_-34-152-560-_-Product
> 
> or a Lenovo y50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...17538&cm_re=Lenovo_y50-_-34-317-538-_-Product
> 
> ...


Skip the last one, that price is a bit high to mix with that processor sadly.

Of the choices you have, I would go for the GE60 overall unless you really want that small for factor on the Y50.
 I can find some others if you want alternatives, but both options seem to be very nice you have there.


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## Gilletter (Jul 8, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> Skip the last one, that price is a bit high to mix with that processor sadly.
> 
> Of the choices you have, I would go for the GE60 overall unless you really want that small for factor on the Y50.
> I can find some others if you want alternatives, but both options seem to be very nice you have there.


 I'm open to suggestions. I threw in the gx70 due to the 17 inch with blu-ray, and higher ram for price.


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## GhostRyder (Jul 8, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> I'm open to suggestions. I threw in the gx70 due to the 17 inch with blu-ray, and higher ram for price.


The problem is that processor is decent but it actually holds back the R9 M290X from the benchmarks ive seen sadly to the point where the price to performance actually drops quite a bit.  If it was 899, I would say its an excellent deal but that does not seem to be the case.

This just caught my eye and its in stock so long as you do not mind open box

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2554R&cm_re=MSI_GT_70-_-34-152-554R-_-Product

Or its smaller sibling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...52557R&cm_re=MSI_GT60-_-34-152-557R-_-Product

Edit, odd they are listed as in stock until you put them in cart...Darn


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## Gilletter (Jul 8, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> The problem is that processor is decent but it actually holds back the R9 M290X from the benchmarks ive seen sadly to the point where the price to performance actually drops quite a bit.  If it was 899, I would say its an excellent deal but that does not seem to be the case.
> 
> This just caught my eye and its in stock so long as you do not mind open box
> 
> ...



I guess I don't mind open box, do you know if they still have full manufacturers warranty with an open box? Can't find any information on the website regarding it.


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## GhostRyder (Jul 9, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> I guess I don't mind open box, do you know if they still have full manufacturers warranty with an open box? Can't find any information on the website regarding it.


They do, the only downsides to Open box products normally (Because the places like newegg test them) is that they maybe missing some instructions, cords, or the likes but the device itself still has all the regular manufacturer warranties.


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## Gilletter (Jul 9, 2014)

I see conflicting results on the AMD version, I see some people saying it sucks, others saying it's great. I've tried to find reviews on it and there is nothing concrete, on the flip side I can get a TON of reviews on the intel version... What is it that you see that's so bad about the AMD version to avoid getting that, over Say an Asus ROG g750jm?


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## GhostRyder (Jul 9, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> I see conflicting results on the AMD version, I see some people saying it sucks, others saying it's great. I've tried to find reviews on it and there is nothing concrete, on the flip side I can get a TON of reviews on the intel version... What is it that you see that's so bad about the AMD version to avoid getting that, over Say an Asus ROG g750jm?


The A10 processor is very weak single threaded compared to the i7.  The reviews of the laptops doing the a10 with an m290x show performance drops compared to the i7 variant to the point where the GTX 860m and it trade blows where in reality the M290X is on par with the 870m (A bit above it).  This performance loss is noticeable on these platforms and would result in a lower FPS average compared to the equivalent i7 processor and the same GPU which is a bit sad to say the least.  These are good buys if you get them cheap enough but the 1200 buck price point is to high for them.  You will be much happier buying a laptop overall with an 860m or 870m and i7 for gaming versus the A10 with an M290X.  If you can get a laptop with an i7 and an M290X, that would be the best deal of all because its a very high end chip.


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## Gilletter (Jul 9, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> The A10 processor is very weak single threaded compared to the i7.  The reviews of the laptops doing the a10 with an m290x show performance drops compared to the i7 variant to the point where the GTX 860m and it trade blows where in reality the M290X is on par with the 870m (A bit above it).  This performance loss is noticeable on these platforms and would result in a lower FPS average compared to the equivalent i7 processor and the same GPU which is a bit sad to say the least.  These are good buys if you get them cheap enough but the 1200 buck price point is to high for them.  You will be much happier buying a laptop overall with an 860m or 870m and i7 for gaming versus the A10 with an M290X.  If you can get a laptop with an i7 and an M290X, that would be the best deal of all because its a very high end chip.



I have yet to see an i7 with anything other than an NVidia GPU unless I go with a custom builder (which is way out of the price range) This is why I prefer desktops, lol...


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## GhostRyder (Jul 9, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> I have yet to see an i7 with anything other than an NVidia GPU unless I go with a custom builder (which is way out of the price range) This is why I prefer desktops, lol...



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4227060&cm_re=R9_M290X-_-34-227-060-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...31391R&cm_re=HD_7870m-_-34-131-391R-_-Product

Most of the OEM's end up with a mobile nvidia GPU mostly due to availability while the custom players (Dell/Alienware, Ibuypower, etc) are the ones you see with more AMD products available

AMD tends to put more on the APU's themselves nowadays and then have a high end mobile GPU versus having a wider rand of mobile GPU's than in the past. 

If you want an AMD GPU, you can customize a Sager notebook to your liking or in some cases buy a laptop and replace the video card down the line like I do now.  I bought my MSI GT70 with the intent of upgrading the GPU once it became obsolete for gaming on the go.  Now its not an easy task and its not something I recommend but it can be done.


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## Gilletter (Jul 10, 2014)

Well I'm thinking of going with an asus g750 open box $1159, and throwing in either a 128gb or 256gb ssd as the main drive and swapping the 1tb to the secondary bay. Think that will go over as a reliable choice for years to come? I'm just a little worried about the reviews on the screen being mediocre.


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## GhostRyder (Jul 10, 2014)

Gilletter said:


> Well I'm thinking of going with an asus g750 open box $1159, and throwing in either a 128gb or 256gb ssd as the main drive and swapping the 1tb to the secondary bay. Think that will go over as a reliable choice for years to come? I'm just a little worried about the reviews on the screen being mediocre.


I suppose you mean this one right?  Asus make fine laptops and the screens are fine as far as ive seen.  I think they are talking mostly about the screen can produce glare in immense light situations because of its finish.

As far as the specs go, thats a great laptop and you will enjoy them as I know plenty who love their Asus gaming laptops.  If you do want to slap an SSD in there, you do not even have to swap the bays you can just change the default start bay and voila.

I had to double check and it seems based on what im reading that laptop contains the new Maxwell GTX 860m so you should be good to go performance wise as its a little above a GTX 770 (Not by much but enough) and a bit more efficient so I say go for it!


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jul 10, 2014)

Id recommend looking at some of the MSI gaming laptops. Though the price might be a bit steeper.


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## Gilletter (Jul 10, 2014)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Id recommend looking at some of the MSI gaming laptops. Though the price might be a bit steeper.


 I looked at MSI (truly wanted one)but I can't swallow the intel for $1400... From what I've read the AMD processor is lacking, and then a few reviews say its ok... So I don't know... I erred with caution and chose the ASUS ROG



GhostRyder said:


> I suppose you mean this one right?  Asus make fine laptops and the screens are fine as far as ive seen.  I think they are talking mostly about the screen can produce glare in immense light situations because of its finish.
> 
> As far as the specs go, thats a great laptop and you will enjoy them as I know plenty who love their Asus gaming laptops.  If you do want to slap an SSD in there, you do not even have to swap the bays you can just change the default start bay and voila.
> 
> I had to double check and it seems based on what im reading that laptop contains the new Maxwell GTX 860m so you should be good to go performance wise as its a little above a GTX 770 (Not by much but enough) and a bit more efficient so I say go for it!



Yeah that's the exact one, I ended up ordering it and a 128GB SSD. I planned on formatting the SSD and then downloading the recovery image and reinstall the OS on the SSD and then completely clear the 1tb and use it as a storage drive. From what I've heard is that it Boots up in under 5 seconds that way, and by just adding it in it doubles it to 10 seconds, so we will see. I signed up for premiere through newegg too so if I don't like it there isn't a restocking fee.


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