I getting ready for university and I need help choosing a laptop. I want the laptop to be portable but still able to semi game and handle applications like Adobe Photoshop. It's hard to fine a decent laptop here in Canada since theres not much I can choose from. My budget is around 1k CAD. Here are the two laptops I found: Toshiba Satellite A660-047 Intel Core i5 450M (2.4Ghz Turbo Boost to 2.66ghz) 4GB of ram 640GB 5400rpm hard drive 16" 1366x768 LED screen Nvidia Gefore GT330m 1GB Harmon Kardon Speakers with Dolby Advanced Audio 6 Cell battery (up to 4.5 hours) and can be upgraded to a 12 cell Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 Intel Core i5 520m (2.4Ghz Turbo Boost to 2.93ghz) 4GB or ram 500GB 5400rpm hard drive 14" 1366x768 LED screen ATI 5650 1GB with switchable graphics Dolby® full-bodied surround sound and theater-style JBL speakers. 6 cell battery By the looks of the specs of the Lenovo it seems to be a better choice but I'm not sure about the reliability of the Lenovo, I've read that the Y460 has heating issues. Any suggestion on other laptops that has similar specs thats suitable for me?
Have you looked at Dell's offering? I'd recommend taking a look at the Dell Studio 15, can be spec'ed similar to the above.
I would probaly go for the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460. It looks like it has alot more "umph" under the bonnet which will help with the photoshopping. The smaller screen will make it more portable and with the ATI 5650 save battary power which helps for long journeys. And the surround sound will also allow it to be a better small portable dvd player. For the reliability front If it has overheating issues be carful where you put it (dont block the vents) or purchase a mobile laptop fan to clip onto the back. But the downside of that it will be larger.
I'm planning on getting the 15" model instead because of better heat dissipation but I'm not sure which one to choose. There's one with a Core i5 450m with a HD5730 which is switchable, there's another one with the Core i7 720m that has the same GPU but cannot be switched to an integrated gpu. Which one should I get?
I would stick with the i5 cpu over the i7. The mobile quads produce a lot of heat and consume lots of battery, and generally cost quite a bit more over the i5.
