Y580 with i5 3210m

Hi guys, just ordered a Y580 and I have some concerns I was hoping I could run by you.

First of all, the specs of the Y580 are a bit different than the usual models I have seen, that being there is a Full HD screen paired with a i5 3210m instead of the usual i7 quad core. Other specs are standard enough, 750GB 5200RPM HDD, 8GB RAM and a GTX 660m.

Basically, where I live, this is the cheapest model you can get, the next one up having the i7 and a SSD msata but that is a fair bit more expensive than my budget, which was even stretched as is by the Y580.

One of my main concerns is the processor. Will this processor be enough for me? Basically my uses for the laptop won't be too varied, lots of gaming, my main laptop for college work and all my media. I'm not a regular photoshopper and I rarely use strenuous apps. From what I have read however, some people seem to believe that the i5 will bottleneck the 660m and hamper performance on many games. Have I made a mistake in choosing this processor? How would it compare to say a GT 650m GDDR5 and a i7 3630qm?

Another few small concerns lie in the HDD. Is there a second slot for another HDD or will I have to remove the Optical drive bay to put another in? And in relation to maybe putting in a msata, is that possible?

Apologies for all the questions and thanks for reading

 

Why not ask this before placing your order? If you ordered from Lenovo direct, good luck cancelling your order.

Well, it's 2012 and there are plenty of applications that make full usage of 4 cores.. especially heavier duty games like Battlefield 3 and the like. And as the next generation of consoles roll out (sometime within the next couple years Id expect) quad cores will definitely be the standard for gaming. If you are planning to keep this computer long I would have gotten the i7.

That said, with gaming, its not only cores but the speed/frequency behind the cores. In some games a faster dual core will outperform a slower quad core.

 

Thankfully I haven't even paid yet, I'm waiting for the stock to arrive before I have to pay. I did ask the retailer, but I got the usual poorly informed response from wholesalers. Eitherway, I'm not spoilt for choice, so even if the i5 isn't the best, it's the best I can do for the money!

My question stands though, do you think the i5 would bottleneck the 660m or should it be alright? I understand some games will preform better on quad core, but comparing the i5+660m and the i7+650m, who comes out on top?

 

SO you say the next one up is abit up your budget I am just curious if you have looked into Lenovo's Student site: Students | Lenovo | (US)
or there barnes and noble site: Barnes and Noble Gold | Lenovo | (US)
you have to make an account for the barnes and noble one, but the prices are much better
and to answer your question I would go with the i5/660m 660m is much better then the 650m

 

The 660m is not a blisteringly fast video card so I dont think it will be bottlenecked. It's roughly 5-10% faster than a hd5770 (what is now a low end desktop GPU).

 

I think you'll most likely be fine.

In fact if I could have saved a bit of money I might have gone the ivy bridge i5 route since it has a 35W TDP instead of 45W and thus may result in a cooler machine. If you decide to keep it let us know how it goes!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...ds/674905-i5-3210m-bottlenecks-gt-650m-3.html

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Some great info from all the replies. I think I will keep this laptop when it arrives because it really is the best I can do budget-wise, plus I've been anticipating for a long time! I will let you know how I get on with the i5 when it arrives, and I can post some benchmarks to compare with the i7 model!