Asus G56JR vs Lenovo Y50. Which one should I go for?

P

Okay so I am in the market for a new graphics editing/gaming machine. My work is mostly done in Adobe Photoshop CC, Lightroom, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. It's 2D work not 3d. Gaming will be moderate to low and even then, I probably will be playing less intensive games. I will be using an external monitor so screen quality isn't a priority

So to fill the questionnaire :

1) What is your budget?
Upto Rs. 1.1 lakh

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
Anything above 14"

3) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Graphics design work, photoshop, illustrator,lightroom etc, maybe movies in spare time

5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?
Atleast an i7 (non ULV), as much RAM as possible, decent graphics

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
As long as it's reliable and meets my need

6) Anything else you would like to say?
Screen resolution -Anything will do but FHD preferable
Battery back up Not at all a priority, It will be on a desk connected most of the time
Purchase place No preferance

I have realized that with it's launch today there are just two laptops which suit my need - The Lenovo Y50 and the Asus ROG G56JR.

I know the OC potential of the Maxwell 860M but I probably won't be OC'ing so I need the base clock comparison. For this reason I am inclined towards the Y50. This plus I believe it has a dual CPU & GPU fan so that's good too.

On the other hand the ROG is well, a ROG so I think that must have a better cooling mechanism plus the ROG reliability and while the screen is not a priority but the IPS panel is certainly better than, from what I have heard - not so awesome TN panel of the Y50.

Now my biggest priority is reliability - I do not want to be visiting the store after a couple of years for HDD replacement, motherboard damage etc- I want everything to function properly for at least 3 years and I will get really irritated if I have to repair it in the first 3-4 years. (My first laptop was an IBM ThinkPad - R50 or R51 I believe. So my idea of reliable is probably a bit more than others but darn those laptops are like the Nokia 3310 among laptops)
Good warranty is one thing but I would prefer not having to go to the service center in the first place. HDD, hinge, keyboard, MOBO failure is all really frustrating to me.

Another thing is RAM - I will be instantly upgrading to a 16 GB RAM so if either has a 1*8GB with one slot open rather than 2*4GB then that will be a plus as I won't have to buy two separate 8 gig sticks and will probably save around 5k.

So based on all this long story - Which one do would you advise me to go for. And why? (And I doubt it but in case you have any other laptop that you can suggest upto the 1.1 lakh mark then that's great too).
I know it's a super long question but well, I think a lot of people might be in the G56 vs Y50 dilemma so you are helping many. Plus you will have my thanks.

P.S - I am looking to buy in the 1st week of August so MSI, unless they suddenly put their launch plan on Turbo mode are out of the competition it seems.
Again thanks for the suggestions in advance.
Cheers.

+1 to G56JR

SaiyanGoku said:
+1 to G56JR

It's time to change that to

+1 to Lenovo Y50

P

Well, umm why would you recommend me to go for the Asus. Or the Y50 for that matter. I need the pros and cons on either.
And again reliability is my biggest concern so if any thoughts on that then that would help too.
Cheers

seamon said:
It's time to change that to

+1 to Lenovo Y50

What for??? That terrible screen??? Or the fact that we don't yet know what the make of the graphics card is???

powerhoney said:
What for??? That terrible screen??? Or the fact that we don't yet know what the make of the graphics card is???

+1
@OP
If I were you..I would wait for for reviews of the Indian variant of the Y50

My one and only dell laptop went down so I had no choice but to get my hands on a new one asap..If I knew for sure that the Y50 was really* going to be launched at the end of july and not* august then for sure I would've been waiting for its reviews..

in any case Y510P sure rocks and serves the purpose well.

afaik a new user of the 1080 res screens won't notice the blunder the y50 has..but will be able to notice if he/she really knows what 1080 with wide viewing angles/better color repro. means

What about Asus G750JM-T4018P?

Viewing angles look even worse in video reviews of y50

P

[MENTION=139589]prometheus[/MENTION] - I don't think I can wait too long. Like you my laptop (a VAIO) has some problems and right now I am working on a borrowed laptop which I have to return so I will have to get it in the first week of August.

Just out of curiosity - does it look like any of the MSI lappy will be launched in this price bracket and if so then which one?

ankush28 said:
What about Asus G750JM-T4018P?

It's out of my budget. The cheapest I could find anywhere was 1.25 lakhs. While my total budget is ~ 1.4 lakh, I am planning to spend 30k on a monitor so the max I can allocate for the laptop is 1.1 lakh.
However, I can cancel the monitor and go for the G750 in case the jump from the G56 to the G750 is too much. Right now though, the performance difference between the two does not justify the ~45k price jump to me.

pr94rr said:
[MENTION=139589]prometheus[/MENTION] - I don't think I can wait too long. Like you my laptop (a VAIO) has some problems and right now I am working on a borrowed laptop which I have to return so I will have to get it in the first week of August.

Just out of curiosity - does it look like any of the MSI lappy will be launched in this price bracket and if so then which one?

It's out of my budget. The cheapest I could find anywhere was 1.25 lakhs. While my total budget is ~ 1.4 lakh, I am planning to spend 30k on a monitor so the max I can allocate for the laptop is 1.1 lakh.
However, I can cancel the monitor and go for the G750 in case the jump from the G56 to the G750 is too much. Right now though, the performance difference between the two does not justify the ~45k price jump to me.

Go for Y50 if you plan on using it with a monitor. Performance is same as G750JM.

V

+1 to Y50 , 1080p screens are still not very common in indian market ,even these days, like any other laptop even Y50 has its own demerits i.e the screen but new users will definitely find it average and manageable , certainly not the best.
In your case Y50 all the way , its much more thinner and portable than G750JM , and lot cheaper

pr94rr said:
[MENTION=139589]prometheus[/MENTION] - I don't think I can wait too long. Like you my laptop (a VAIO) has some problems and right now I am working on a borrowed laptop which I have to return so I will have to get it in the first week of August.

Just out of curiosity - does it look like any of the MSI lappy will be launched in this price bracket and if so then which one?

MSI..? I can't comment on their pricing strategy for indian market..better if you ask [MENTION=277192]rhyansy[/MENTION] directly

(he's the PR for MSI's HQ @Taiwan)

afaik the GE40 had a price of 1,08,xxx INR listed on the import manifest :-D

(link(s) can be found at MSI's thread in the forums)

- - - Updated - - -

vineetpratik said:
+1 to Y50 , 1080p screens are still not very common in indian market ,even these days, like any other laptop even Y50 has its own demerits i.e the screen but new users will definitely find it average and manageable , certainly not the best.
In your case Y50 all the way , its much more thinner and portable than G750JM , and lot cheaper

+1
but..for heavy gamers..watch out for temps..this form factor from lenovo certainly isn't built for 85*C+ prolong use :-D

P

[MENTION=277744]vineetpratik[/MENTION] - Yeah I do graphics work so I definitely will know the difference but for that reason I am getting a 27" IPS monitor, so if the construction/component quality of the Y50 is good enough then I might just go for it.

prometheus said:
+1
but..for heavy gamers..watch out for temps..this form factor from lenovo certainly isn't built for 85*C+ prolong use

That's my concern. Generally when I work with too many layers in Photoshop, a lot of heat is generated and while the load is mostly on the RAM still AFAIK heat is one of the biggest cause for components damage and as I said before, reliability and durability is my biggest concern.

C

+1 to y50.. the only con i find is the average screen... if you can spent more cash and dont mind the bulky and weight of the asus g750jm, then go for that... both of them are better than asus g56jr...

if you are afraid of heating, all the lenovo y50 reviews ahow no complaints at all.. its one of the best thin laptops that has really good temps with that slim factor.. i wont worry about it other than the screen . its an ok screen according to the pics and youtube, but if you are person who constantly works on graphics or designs, a external monitor or changing the display panel would be more better..otherwise its a beast..

GTX 860m makes it run cool.

- - - Updated - - -

Maxwell*

C

seamon said:
GTX 860m makes it run cool.

- - - Updated - - -

Maxwell*

yup.. unless indian lenovos do use kepler.. hope it isn't.. may not b?e anyway.. btw do you know any place where I can get a replacement screen in inda if I want to change it? or is ebay still better? any other online sites..?.. thanks

chillz88 said:
yup.. unless indian lenovos do use kepler.. hope it isn't.. may not b?e anyway.. btw do you know any place where I can get a replacement screen in inda if I want to change it? or is ebay still better? any other online sites..?.. thanks

You can't get stuff like that in India.
ebay/amazon is the only option.

C

seamon said:
You can't get stuff like that in India.
ebay/amazon is the only option.

LAPTOP SCREEN from $34.99, replacement LCD screens. Repair Tablet, Acer, Apple, iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Dell, HP Compaq, Toshiba, IBM Lenovo, Sony, Asus, Gateway.
Do you know if this ones a good place to get them in india?

V

chillz88 said:
+1 to y50.. the only con i find is the average screen... if you can spent more cash and dont mind the bulky and weight of the asus g750jm, then go for that... both of them are better than asus g56jr...

if you are afraid of heating, all the lenovo y50 reviews ahow no complaints at all.. its one of the best thin laptops that has really good temps with that slim factor.. i wont worry about it other than the screen . its an ok screen according to the pics and youtube, but if you are person who constantly works on graphics or designs, a external monitor or changing the display panel would be more better..otherwise its a beast..

+1 heat is the last thing you should be concerned , maxwell units run really cool , lenovo has done good job , redesigned it , put dual fans in it to address heat issue, build quality is also nice . I don't think lenovo would put kepler ones when it is selling maxwell cards all over world..

chillz88 said:
LAPTOP SCREEN from $34.99, replacement LCD screens. Repair Tablet, Acer, Apple, iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Dell, HP Compaq, Toshiba, IBM Lenovo, Sony, Asus, Gateway.
Do you know if this ones a good place to get them in india?

I don't think they ship to India.
ebay/amazon is the best.

prometheus said:
MSI..? I can't comment on their pricing strategy for indian market..better if you ask [MENTION=277192]rhyansy[/MENTION] directly(he's the PR for MSI's HQ @Taiwan)

afaik the GE40 had a price of 1,08,xxx INR listed on the import manifest (link(s) can be found at MSI's thread in the forums)

- - - Updated - - -

+1
but..for heavy gamers..watch out for temps..this form factor from lenovo certainly isn't built for 85*C+ prolong use

Regarding MSI gaming laptops coming to India, GS60, GE60, and GP60 will be available in India soon once BIS is cleared. As we faced delays because of this unwanted clearance, we cannot make any further announcements. As for performance, pricing, best opinions when comparing them with Lenovo or Asus models, I will share more in the future from other countries, which already recognizes MSI as the best gaming laptop brand.

rhyansy said:
Regarding MSI gaming laptops coming to India, GS60, GE60, and GP60 will be available in India soon once BIS is cleared. As we faced delays because of this unwanted clearance, we cannot make any further announcements. As for performance, pricing, best opinions when comparing them with Lenovo or Asus models, I will share more in the future from other countries, which already recognizes MSI as the best gaming laptop brand.

crazy BIS... :/

P

Yeah the BIS is really am unwanted hurdle.

And yeah it's decided - The Y50 is what I am going for. I actually checked with four different Lenovo stores here in Bangalore and even contacted Lenovo's sales team and apparently the earliest I can get my hands on one is by 10-12th August.
They also said that it should reach the Lenovo exclusive stores by 15th of August and there might be some additional goodies free as an introductory offer.

pr94rr said:
Yeah the BIS is really am unwanted hurdle.

And yeah it's decided - The Y50 is what I am going for. I actually checked with four different Lenovo stores here in Bangalore and even contacted Lenovo's sales team and apparently the earliest I can get my hands on one is by 10-12th August.
They also said that it should reach the Lenovo exclusive stores by 15th of August and there might be some additional goodies free as an introductory offer.

what abt the price?
are they saying anything about if it's going to be any cheaper than thedostore?

P

prometheus said:
what abt the price?
are they saying anything about if it's going to be any cheaper than thedostore?

Nope, I didn't ask them about it actually, didn't occur to me at the moment. I am without a laptop right now and my priority is to get my hands on one ASAP. After Lenovo said that it won't be available for at least a week, I even changed my mind and thought of going with the G56 as I needed the laptop ASAP and talked to a couple of Asus stores for the G56 but apparently even they have run out of stock with it and the new batch will be coming to them in 2-3 days. So well since I am waiting, might as well hold on for a week more and get the better one. The G56 has a really slick look though and well the name ROG sound so much cooler than Lenovo, shame it runs on 7XX series graphics.

Update:
Ordering the Y50 tomorrow morning. Actually tried ordering today but some issues with my debit card.
ETA - 4-5 Days.