lenovo g580 or hp 2005ax

H

1) What is your budget? (INR or USD) 30k

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?

Thin and Light; 12" - 14" screen
Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: hp sony samsung lenovo
b. Dislike: all others

4) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook? surfing, casual gaming, movies, light coding, some small servers and scripts may be required to run for few days continuously

5) What screen resolution(s) & type (glossy/matte) would you prefer? anti-glare, though will be using external monitor anyway

6) Anything else you would like to say? (eg: local purchase, ASS,matte/glossy finish)

i expect it to perform for atleast 5 years, sometimes running continuously for 2 to 3 days, also i am in delhi, where can i get the best price?

*
i went through some threads and found out that these two laptops fit my requirements at best, both are available for around 32k at outside stores. 2005ax has little advantage of ram at 1600 mhz (1333 mhz in g580), grafix ranking better but cpu ranking behind i5.
after reading reviews of 2005ax i find it a great machine but i want to know more about g580 so that i can make an informed choice.
please share some information about g580 like looks, built, heating, how much advantage does amd discrete grafix have over intel hd 4000, how much advantage does i5 offer over amd a8, and can we get the ram running at 1600 mhz in g580? does ram 1600 speed is noticeable compared to 1333?
please help

if you don't play highend or modern games, go for 3rd gen i5 as it makes more sense. AMD's main advantage is better gaming performance and less heating.

HD4000 can run any modern game at low settings and old games at mid or high. and no you can't make ram work at 1600Mhz as it is not officially supported in case of laptops. Also even with 1600Mhz, A8 trails Core i5 so go with the Lenovo one or Samsung NP300E5X-A01IN as you should get it for less with another years warranty for free (not listed at flipkart). Also get a cooling pad as running the laptop for such long period will surely cause some heating problem.

H

Sam said:
if you don't play highend or modern games, go for 3rd gen i5 as it makes more sense. AMD's main advantage is better gaming performance and less heating.

HD4000 can run any modern game at low settings and old games at mid or high. and no you can't make ram work at 1600Mhz as it is not officially supported in case of laptops. Also even with 1600Mhz, A8 trails Core i5 so go with the Lenovo one or Samsung NP300E5X-A01IN as you should get it for less with another years warranty for free (not listed at flipkart). Also get a cooling pad as running the laptop for such long period will surely cause some heating problem.

thanks, yes i dont play high end games, so i5 should suffice, but i am skeptical about the g580 heating up and flickering display as there are many negative reviews about it on flipkart, i have ignored other i5 models as they lack usb 3.0 including the samsung one.
i use the laptop in an a/c room, and except some gaming (an hour or 2) my machine will be using very less cpu so cooling pad is ruled out unless laptop heats up unnecessarily.
on the other hand 2005ax has been thoroughly reviewed by people here (just hate the arrow keys), i have no doubt about its reliability.
also where to get the best deal, i want to wrap it at 32k + 1k at max

V

G580 has 1600MHz RAM.If gaming is a priority then take the hp g6 2005ax else G580 or Samsung NP300E5X-A01IN are good options for an i5 3rd gen based system
i5 3210m supports upto 1600MHz RAM.So no problem there.

H

vkl said:
G580 has 1600MHz RAM.If gaming is a priority then take the hp g6 2005ax else G580 or Samsung NP300E5X-A01IN are good options for an i5 3rd gen based system

thanks vkl, gaming is not priority but is there really speed difference in day to day tasks and booting etc that i5 will show clear lead?
also i read in another thread that you own a g580 yourself, can you tell me about heating, hanging, flickering display as said by many people at flipkart. also can you tell me what kinds of stress have you put your laptop to till now?

If you run something really CPU intense like benchmark, rendering, compression then i5 will take a clear lead but for anything lightweight like browsing, coding the difference will be minimum as i have myself tested the HP and found it smooth for everything except compression where it took lot more time. as i am not much aware about servers so not sure which will be better suited but i guess more ram will be helpful here + A8 is quad core but you'll have to do some R&D on this front. Don't want to comment about something i don't have clear knowledge.

H

Sam said:
If you run something really CPU intense like benchmark, rendering, compression then i5 will take a clear lead but for anything lightweight like browsing, coding the difference will be minimum as i have myself tested the HP and found it smooth for everything except compression where it took lot more time. as i am not much aware about servers so not sure which will be better suited but i guess more ram will be helpful here + A8 is quad core but you'll have to do some R&D on this front. Don't want to comment about something i don't have clear knowledge.

servers are not worrysome except for the fact that it may require it to run for long hours. they are merely some java programs i use to track some websites and provide feed to me on my mobile. usually i come back to my room everyday and turn my laptop off at night but when i go to my home, i will leave my laptop on for 1 to 3 days so that it can send updates to my mobile. the programs are very light, even a 1GHz celeron precessor can run them with almost 0% cpu usage.

so only thing concerning is compression here, which i do rarely (you are talking about winrar/file compression right?), so can be neglected as well.

i understand both i5 and a8 are powerful cpus, but i5 take a clear lead in certain circumstances.
i also understand that both amd dedicated gpu and intel hd 4000 are mid range gpu, with amd taking lead in certain games.
i dont think any of laptops will show much difference speedwise according to my needs.
so only thing that remains is heating, robustness of laptops and reliability.

amd has disadvantage of real bad arrow keys, plus less future safe (inferior processor, lithography etc) but very reliable and cool temperetures.
i5 is 22nm, 3.1ghz future safe but there are issues with heating, flickering display, hanging of aplications as reviewed by some people at flipkart, dont know the reality of it.

so i would go for an i5 if the issues are not there else it will be 2005ax.

V

@hp_or_lenovo

In day to day usage one won't notice that much difference.If you use apps like photoshop 6 you will find the APU to be much faster than the i5 with hd 4000 thanks to better OpenCL acceleration support by the former.As said by Sam in tasks like compressing large files the APU can be much slower.But in Winzip which supports OpenCL accearation with AMD processors/graphics based system the APU will again be much faster.In applications like winrar i5 would take the lead.

As for the heating issues searching in google could not give many links.Just found one.The guy who posted has a different model with a "dedicated graphic card" most probably the gt630m.
In India as of now this comes with only IGP(hd 4000).So I don't think there can be any heating issue with just the IGP in it.
There might be issues with some people but I haven't got a single issue till now.It is run for 16hours+ a day.I use Virtualbox with a single guest VM which is quite smooth.
Video conversion speed is good enough.
I am not that much into gaming nowadays so don't game on it.Less demanding games like CS,FIFA can be handled easily by it.It can handle some higher games but hd4000 is not what a gamer should look to due to reports of crashes in some games and not playable in many.Also intel is not regular at releasing drivers for its graphics as of now.If you are playing older titles then it might be good enough for casual gaming.Ubuntu runs smooth in it(nothing to see there it would run smoother with lower specs just fine).

Rest,you can do a bit of research yourself and pick a model that suits your workloads.There are quite a few models in that price range.

hp_or_lenovo said:
servers are not worrysome except for the fact that it may require it to run for long hours. they are merely some java programs i use to track some websites and provide feed to me on my mobile. usually i come back to my room everyday and turn my laptop off at night but when i go to my home, i will leave my laptop on for 1 to 3 days so that it can send updates to my mobile. the programs are very light, even a 1GHz celeron precessor can run them with almost 0% cpu usage.

thanks for the info.

hp_or_lenovo said:
so only thing that remains is heating, robustness of laptops and reliability.

if you game, the HP heats up badly but otherwise runs really cool irrespective of how long you run. Also build is decent and lid doesn't wobble, brightness and viewing angles are excellent. Only weak point is the lid's front cover. feels cheap and as always prone to fingerprint.

hp_or_lenovo said:
i5 is 22nm, 3.1ghz future safe but there are issues with heating, flickering display, hanging of aplications as reviewed by some people at flipkart, dont know the reality of it.

i doubt it'll heat up if you don't stretch the laptop. and flickering + hanging maybe caused to heating as heat may cause display problem and throttling will surely cause hanging but they may have tried gaming on it.

if you go for HP, grab the extended warranty but it'll cost whereas in lenovo it is free.

Grab HP dude...it got dGpu which is far more powerful than HD 4000

J

Got the G580 couple of days back.Added another 4gb ram.
Haven't faced any issues till now.Surprisingly good speakers.Played fifa 12 in full settings and played NFS Run in low-mid settings.
Laptop running cool and quiet.Decent build quality but catches fingerprints quite easily and all plastic build makes it look cheap.

H

thanks vkl, Sam, pratyush997, jibin1991
i think i will go with the lenovo, any idea where i can get the best deal in delhi? not much into freebies except extended warranty

^^Do Review it after u get it.. :wink:

PS- Do check this...

J

i'm preparing a short review.will post it by tomorrow.

go through this
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/reviews/162755-lenovo-g580-quick-review.html#post1742486

between the Lenovo and HP ,I would prefer the HP for gaming anyday....go for it if u r into gaming and/or don't require the processing power.
but this seems better for the price :
Samsung NP300E5X-S01IN Laptop (3rd Gen Core i5/ 4GB/ 750GB/ DOS/ 1GB Graph): Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Samsung Notebook
the 3rd Gen i5 with GPU seems an irresistible deal...but the question I'd whether or not and how capable is the 610m gpu.

610 is slightly (5-10%) better than HD4000 but biggest advantage is that Nvidia releases driver at regular intervals and game will run without any blackscreen or artifacts which is common to all Intel graphics.

Sam said:
610 is slightly (5-10%) better than HD4000 but biggest advantage is that Nvidia releases driver at regular intervals and game will run without any blackscreen or artifacts which is common to all Intel graphics.

which implies dat dedicated gpu on g6 2005ax > HD4000???
and how is the 610m gpu on the samsung as compared hd 7670m on hp???

and also why is everyone saying that w should wait for asus to launch trinity or ivb??? and why only asus???

and @Sam which is better acc. to this comparison???
HP Pavilion G6-2005AX Laptop (APU Quad Core A8/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win7 HB/ 1.5GB Graph) vs Samsung NP300E5X-S01IN Laptop (3rd Gen Core i5/ 4GB/ 750GB/ DOS/ 1GB Graph): Compare Computers: Flipkart.com
and is the i5 on samsung a dual core or quad core???
nooby question but i have seen mobile variants of desktop processors launch with 2 cores instead of 4.

fusion GPU (7640G) is better than HD4000. 7670 way better.
610 is based on GT520 which is actually slower than HD4000 but maybe cause of high clock speed and better driver, it suppresses HD4000 else 610 should actually trail HD4000.

found something:

Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 610M

The "6" in the name might indicate a new generation, but the GeForce 610M is still based on the Fermi architecture of the old GeForce GT 520M. Thus, the entry level graphics card, manufactured in a 40 nm process, is equipped with 48 shader units and a 1024 MB DDR3 VRAM (64 bit interface).

To make things even more confusing, Nvidia offers the graphics card (once again) in two different versions. While the GF119 version runs with up to 900/900/1800 MHz (core/memory/shader), the GF108 counterpart only clocks with 672/800/1344 MHz and is consequently slower than a standard GT 520M (740/800/1480 MHz).

We've created a small chart for a better overview:
Graphics card (chip) Clock: core/memory/shader Memory interface memory type
GeForce GT 520MX (GF119) 900 / 900 / 1800 MHz 64 Bit DDR3
GeForce 610M (GF119) 900 / 900 / 1800 MHz (max.) 64 Bit DDR3
GeForce GT 520M (GF119) 740 / 800 / 1480 MHz 64 Bit DDR3
GeForce 610M (GF108) 672 / 800 / 1344 MHz 64 Bit DDR3
GeForce GT 520M (GF108) 600 / 900 / 1200 MHz 128 Bit DDR3

this shows why some GT610 based laptop performs slightly better than HD4000 when HD4000 thrashes GT520 itself. but biggest of problem, we have no idea what 610 is shipped but my guess is its the GF119 but overall performance will be more or less the same. bad. 610 is not a gaming GPU, neither was 520 or even 525. minimum you need GT630 or 7670 to be safe for a few years.

Asus means IceCool tech which really helps. Works lot better than HP CoolSense which is a fan control mechanism and so under load it becomes useless and laptop starts to heatup real bad. IceCool is not a software but a way of building the laptop placing the hot parts (fan, processor, GPU) close to the battery and not under/close to the palmrest like HP did (morons). Also Asus doesn't always ship Windows with laptop so end price is low. Just only problem is their service is no where near HP and no idea if they provide any extended warranty here.

it depends fully on how you use it. with the samsung forget gaming by the end of 2012. even with 7670 you can't max out on most modern games without choppy framerates. someone tried Dirt Showdown at Ultra settings and it was just playable but Battlefield 3 will lag even at high. try the same with HD4000 or GT610 and enjoy a slideshow instead of showdown if not a blackscreen. but i5 is lot faster than A8 so that will keep ticking for a few more years unless someone find a way to overclock the A8 to 2.5Ghz+ which is impossible as of now. With HP, you get a allround package, nothing exceptional.

all i5 are dual core. find the model no and check if it has a Q. Q means quad. there are many i7 with extremely high clock but dual cores.
those are not exactly mobile variants as the mobile lineup is slightly different from desktop line and Intel doesn't cut off 2 cores of a quad desktop and sell it as a mobile proccy directly

i guess you have seen some i5 models which have similar names for desktop and laptop processors.

-ve:

slower than i5 (2nd gen or 3rd gen)
left side heats up when you game (dual GPU on or off doesn't matter)
crossfire works only in DX11 games and only few games show real improvement
under load battery backup is pathetic.
heavy and attracts lot of fingerprint

+ve:

turn discrete GPU off and laptop stays absolutely cool.
screen brightness and viewing angles are best i have seen at this price.
best in class GPU.
performs same as core i3.
processor turbo upto 2.5Ghz under load and easy to configure to save power at idle.
Windows 7 preloaded.
max backup (low load, min brightness) is around 6hrs.
brownish body so fingerprints are not easily spotted

H

well,i inquired at few places and turns out that lenovo is not available below 34.5k (including a free but probably shitty backpack ), i must rule it out.

then i inquired about the 2005ax, someone in janakpuri is selling it at 33k (free 4 gb pendrive, what the hell!! i mean 4 gb really?), the deal is 1k cheaper than flipkart. Infibeam people are giving it away for 32.5k but i am not sure they will give extended warranty.

what do you guys suggest?

i also have a few questions about 2005ax,
can we turn both gpus off to save power and produce less heat, as i will be running it for long periods continuously, does it serve any benefit? and does it increse battery backup?
and does overall performance except graphics/games remains unaffected if we turn off dedicated gpu?
Also since i will be using external monitor (22"), can we use dedicated gpu output? as sometimes only integrated gpu works in video out

4GB pendrive is given as gift as it is so dirt cheap. They simply include the price in the laptop. Everyone love free gifts

1k cheaper cause no cooling pad or free warranty.

infibeam will only send you the laptop with bag. nothing else.

H

being on tight budget, i think i will have to ignore extended warranty and go with infibeam

lol turns out infibeam increased price to 33.5k

hp_or_lenovo said:
being on tight budget, i think i will have to ignore extended warranty and go with infibeam

Don't

hp_or_lenovo said:
i also have a few questions about 2005ax,
can we turn both gpus off to save power and produce less heat, as i will be running it for long periods continuously, does it serve any benefit? and does it increse battery backup?

this is not possible. without GPU how will the display work? though if you underclock the processor (which also underclocks the fGPU) and turn the discrete GPU off, laptops runs completely silent and battery backup doubles (triples if you lower brightness to lowest). And even then you can game as i have played MOH 2010 with slight lag at mid settings. and temperature will get same as that of web browsing. But you'll have to spend sometime configuring the AMD CCC.

hp_or_lenovo said:
and does overall performance except graphics/games remains unaffected if we turn off dedicated gpu?

you can turn select any of the 3 mode for GPUs: discrete GPU, fusion GPU, dual GPU. apart from this you can set the processor to run at 1400Mhz or 1900Mh or shift between 1400 and 1900Mhz acc to load. When gaming, its better to force proccy run at 1900Mhz as turbo kicks in and forces processor to run at 2.3-2.5Ghz continuously.

PS: GPU and proccy can be configured independently.

hp_or_lenovo said:
Also since i will be using external monitor (22"), can we use dedicated gpu output? as sometimes only integrated gpu works in video out

not sure but i think if you set the GPU to discrete, the discrete GPU will take command whatever display you use.

hp_or_lenovo said:
being on tight budget, i think i will have to ignore extended warranty and go with infibeam

lol turns out infibeam increased price to 33.5k

you'll anyway need a cooling pad. and FK is giving a decent pad so thats worth the money.

H

thanks again sam for answering my questions, i think i will wait a few more days and inquire more shops to get this laptop at 32-33k, with atleast extended warranty free else will book on flipkart.

This is pretty good deall...... HP Pavilion 2137TX Laptop 2 Gen Core i3/4GB/500GB/Win 7 HB (64-bit)/2GB Graphics | eBay

D

hp_or_lenovo said:
thanks again sam for answering my questions, i think i will wait a few more days and inquire more shops to get this laptop at 32-33k, with atleast extended warranty free else will book on flipkart.

hi the extended warranty is available for purchases upto 30th September ...it is provided by HP...flipkart is just advertising it....it doesnt matter you buy from infibeam,flipkart or any local dealer..you just need the bill...
Back to Campus

H

pratyush997 said:
This is pretty good deall...... HP Pavilion 2137TX Laptop 2 Gen Core i3/4GB/500GB/Win 7 HB (64-bit)/2GB Graphics | eBay

at 36k i think its a little expensive, also processor performance may be below par. 2005ax seems better at 3-4k less

duke123 said:
hi the extended warranty is available for purchases upto 30th September ...it is provided by HP...flipkart is just advertising it....it doesnt matter you buy from infibeam,flipkart or any local dealer..you just need the bill...
Back to Campus

i was wondering that too, i guess i just need to bargain a little and go for the lowest deal.

@pratyush997, a similar laptop (maybe this one but 1GB graphics memory and red colour) is available for 35k at infibeam and FK.
@duke123, thanks a lot. thought it to be a FK only offer. getting it before the month ends. having exam else would have already grabbed it.

H

So guys turns out, saholic is offering this beast for 32799 while buytheprice is offering it for 32,890.
Is it safe to buy from these sites?
HP Pavilion Price in India | G6-2005AX Specifications, Features and Reviews

HP Pavilion G6 - 2005AX Notebook B3J80PA - Buy Online in India for Rs.32,890 as on 6th September 2012 - Price, Features, Reviews, Specifications, Photos, Videos | BuyThePrice.com

unlike flipkart there is no cooling pad (cooling pad is definitely not worth 1300, as flipkart itself is selling it separately for 900 with card reader free), which i don't need anyway.
the saholic one is blue colored, how does blue laptop look? anyone got pictures?
the buytheprice color is not specified.

both are safe. and AFAIK there is no blue colour version of this laptop. Maybe they are trying to fool or maybe uncommon stock.

H

thanks sam but it is really blue, they have mentioned it at many places.
though found another link @ homeshop18, it is available at 34k but there is both discount as well as gift coupon of 2000, does that mean it will cost me just 32k?
link: HP G6-2005AX (AMD - 4GB - 500GB - Windows 7 Home Basic - 64-Bit - 15.6 Inch) Laptop . Buy Best HP G6-2005AX (AMD - 4GB - 500GB - Windows 7 Home Basic - 64-Bit - 15.6 Inch) Laptop at Lowest Price Online

though currently its out of stock.
if it is 32k then i think its the best deal, isnt it?

yes it'll cost only 32k but HS18 doesn't easily restock items like fk. so can be quite sometime before it is back. but be on lookout as it may get stocked soon.

H

nice! i have clicked on notify me so i will be alerted automatically.
waiting time doesnt matter as long as its before 30th september (when extended warranty offer expires)
thanks again.