It wasn't that long ago that we looked at Lenovo's IdeaPad Y500 gaming laptop. At the time, at $1,249 with dual Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics and a third-generation Intel Core CPU, it was an excellent value for those looking for serious performance without the price of extreme alternatives from the likes of Alienware or Origin PC.
Since then, we've seen the launch of both Intel's well-received (on the mobile side, at least) fourth-generation Core "Haswell" processors, as well as new 700-series graphics chips from Nvidia. It's not surprising, then, that Lenovo has updated the Y Series line with the IdeaPad Y510p. Inside our review configuration sits a quad-core Core i7-4702QM CPU, two GeForce GT 750M GPUs (one in the versatile Ultrabay, which we'll get to in a bit), and a generous—if generally unnecessary—16GB of RAM.
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It's a well-equipped system for gaming at the system's native 1,920x1,080 resolution at mostly high image-quality settings. But at $1,599 for our maxed-out review configuration (model 59370006), the system is a bit pricey, given the 5,400-rpm hard drive (paired with 24GB of solid-state cache) inside. And the 1080p screen, while pleasingly reflection-free for the sake of better gaming, lacks touch input and has fairly narrow vertical viewing angles.
The Y510p is still a great option for mainstream gamers who don't want to overspend. But we'd recommend one of the lesser configurations, some of which bear Lenovo.com's ever-changing "eCoupon" discounts, over our couponless top-of-the-line model. We'd expect a nicer screen and an SSD if we were going to spend over $1,500 on a gaming rig these days.
Since then, we've seen the launch of both Intel's well-received (on the mobile side, at least) fourth-generation Core "Haswell" processors, as well as new 700-series graphics chips from Nvidia. It's not surprising, then, that Lenovo has updated the Y Series line with the IdeaPad Y510p. Inside our review configuration sits a quad-core Core i7-4702QM CPU, two GeForce GT 750M GPUs (one in the versatile Ultrabay, which we'll get to in a bit), and a generous—if generally unnecessary—16GB of RAM.
It's a well-equipped system for gaming at the system's native 1,920x1,080 resolution at mostly high image-quality settings. But at $1,599 for our maxed-out review configuration (model 59370006), the system is a bit pricey, given the 5,400-rpm hard drive (paired with 24GB of solid-state cache) inside. And the 1080p screen, while pleasingly reflection-free for the sake of better gaming, lacks touch input and has fairly narrow vertical viewing angles.
The Y510p is still a great option for mainstream gamers who don't want to overspend. But we'd recommend one of the lesser configurations, some of which bear Lenovo.com's ever-changing "eCoupon" discounts, over our couponless top-of-the-line model. We'd expect a nicer screen and an SSD if we were going to spend over $1,500 on a gaming rig these days.
