Lenovo Ideapad Y410p vs Y510p

[NotSoSavvy]

Hey guys, I've decided that I will be purchasing an Ideapad from Lenovo. I was looking at the 410p and 510p because they both support Optimus and will save battery life (I will be getting the non SLI version). They main difference I see between these two is the resolution in the higher-end models (I won't be getting the standard HD models). I like pretty much everything better on the 510p (15.6 over 14.1, aluminum brushed cover, numpad, comes with a 24G SSD cache), but I'm worried that the 1080p resolution will be a bit too much from for a 15inch. I feel like HD+ is suited better for 14-15 inch laptops. I will be doing some average gaming on this as well as running some engineering programs (SolidWorks). Will the higher resolution give me significantly lower FPS and/or eat battery life faster when in normal use? Any thoughts? Thank you!

 

[StockDC2]

Definitely not. You don't have to run at the native resolution of 1920x1080 so if you start to experience choppiness, you could just turn the settings down.

Higher resolution is going to have minimal impact (if any) on the battery life.

1920x1080 on a 15" laptop is great and I wouldn't be worried about it being "too much".

 

[NotSoSavvy]

Okay then, hopefully it'll be fine. Also, what's the difference between running a game with FHD at medium or with HD+ at high?

 

[Enigmoid]

Okay then, hopefully it'll be fine. Also, what's the difference between running a game with FHD at medium or with HD+ at high?

Not much though the down-scaling will pretty make any IQ gains from the higher settings irrelevant.

For instance Skyrim on low 1080p looks pretty much the same as skyrim on high 768p on a 1080p screen.

 

[NotSoSavvy]

Hey guys, I ordered a Lenovo Ideapad Y510p and I expect it to come in soon (this week/next week). This is going to be my first ever laptop so I am being a little paranoid, but I just have some questions that hopefully you guys can answer. Okay, so when I first get the laptop:

1) Are there any programs/applications that I should uninstall or install right off the bat?

2) Are there any drivers that I should install or uninstall? I don't really know a lot about drivers.

3) I know there have been problems with the touchpad on this laptop. I have heard that you can either use Synaptics or Elan drivers for it. What is the difference between the two and which is better? How do I know which one the laptop comes with?

4) Any general tips on how to conserve battery life in the long run? Also, if I know that I am going to be using it plugged in for a while, should I leave the battery inside or remove it?

5) Anything else I should know???

BONUS: Through my university, I have free access to some Windows software through a program called Dreamspark. This includes Windows 7. Should I downgrade from 8 to 7 or should I just keep Windows 8 and try to learn it? Should I upgrade to 8.1?

Thank you! I know this is a lot but please be as detailed as you can when answering. I really appreciate it

 

[Matt1970]

I usually remove everything from boot up except for AVG, my audio manager since I have different settings for the different TVs that I plug into and Java updates. Don't worry too much about battery life. I have had my Toshiba for almost 2 years and it will still stay in sleep mode for days without recharging and I still get a good 2 hours on the battery of constant use. I am not sure about your touchpad drivers. I would say see how you like the ones that come with it and change them if you run into some of the issues you have heard about. As far as 7 vs 8, you should make your own decision however if you go with 8, go with 8.1

 

[NotSoSavvy]

I usually remove everything from boot up except for AVG, my audio manager since I have different settings for the different TVs that I plug into and Java updates. Don't worry too much about battery life. I have had my Toshiba for almost 2 years and it will still stay in sleep mode for days without recharging and I still get a good 2 hours on the battery of constant use. I am not sure about your touchpad drivers. I would say see how you like the ones that come with it and change them if you run into some of the issues you have heard about. As far as 7 vs 8, you should make your own decision however if you go with 8, go with 8.1

Alright, thanks! If I do upgrade to 8.1, will it do a clean install or not?