[TheRealSnow]

So I was planning on buying a new laptop because my old one crashed and died...

I was looking at Lenovos and saw the IdeaPad Y570 on sale for $800, and the specs are all really nice.

But then there is the IdeaPad V570 for $950.

Now the only major differences are that the Y570 has a better graphics card, and a 250GB smaller HDD, while the V570 has a fingerprint scanner, etc., etc.. I am going to go off to college in a while and need a computer that will be able to run AutoCad and whatnot (possible Computer Engineer).

The V570 is listed under business, while the Y570 is listed under entertainment. Seeing as they have relatively the same specs, I would assume that they would be able to run multitasking extensive programs at the same rate (not exactly the word I'm looking for). But is there really any difference that would make the V570 worth the extra money, and make it run programs and whatnot better?

[LiveBrianD]

The Y570 is better - geforce 555 instead of intel HD 3000 graphics, though you loose some hard drive space, and it's cheaper. (right now, because it's on sale - normally, the Y570 is more expensive)

[TheRealSnow]

Yeah, that's what I thought, but because my mom saw it was under the business category that it would be better for computing and running programs. Thank you.

[LiveBrianD]

Maybe small business, but that's not really a true business machine. (that's what Lenovo's Thinkpad line is for) Some business laptops, like thinkpads, are better built than most consumer machines, but not any faster necessairly. In your case, both machines are pretty much consumer/small-business.

[TheRealSnow]

So it would be safe to go with the Y570 to run all of my programs and whatnot? And there is nothing in the V570 that would make it better than the Y570?

Need confirmation for my mom

[LiveBrianD]

Yep. All the V570 gives you is a higher price tag, worse graphics, and a 750GB HD instead of a 500GB one (of course, if you ever actually need 750GB later, you can easily replace the hard drive yourself). The V570 probably has better battery life, due to the lack of dedicated graphics, but it'll be terrible at games compared to the Y570. The CPU and RAM are exactly the same in both. Basically, get the Y570.

[alishathomaz]

The real difference is the price.. The Y570 is better - geforce 555 is better than intel.

[coastie65]

I don't think you or most anybody else really needs a fingerprint scanner. Just another largely uneeded security gimmick, although a good one I suppose, but as I said uneeded.

[LiveBrianD]

coastie65, on 12 March 2012 - 07:34 AM, said:

I don't think you or most anybody else really needs a fingerprint scanner. Just another largely uneeded security gimmick, although a good one I suppose, but as I said uneeded.

In a large business I suspect you might use one, but for the average consumer it's completely unnecessary. There's a reason why almost no consumer laptops have those and fairly few business ones do either.

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 12 March 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

coastie65, on 12 March 2012 - 07:34 AM, said:

I don't think you or most anybody else really needs a fingerprint scanner. Just another largely uneeded security gimmick, although a good one I suppose, but as I said uneeded.

In a large business I suspect you might use one, but for the average consumer it's completely unnecessary. There's a reason why almost no consumer laptops have those and fairly few business ones do either.

It will depend on the "paranoia" level of the consumer. I could see some really "security conscious" consumers wanting to use it. While I don't believe a lot of people will go "looking for it" when they buy a computer that has it I could see a decent number using it.

I certainly would not choose a computer based upon whether or not it had it, but I would likely use it if it was on the computer. I will note that I DO NOT set ANY of my computers to "auto login" upon boot up...you must manually login and manually enter the user account password. So, I could see a fingerprint scanner being useful...but it is not a "required" feature for me.

Now, there are some enterprise situations where it might be required. There are certainly many enterprise situations where the computer is REQUIRED to have a fully encrypted drive and the users must have a strong password because the computer contains "sensitive" information. I would surmise that in some of those situations a fingerprint scanner might be very desirable or maybe even required.

[orlbuckeye]

TheRealSnow, on 07 March 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

So I was planning on buying a new laptop because my old one crashed and died...

I was looking at Lenovos and saw the IdeaPad Y570 on sale for $800, and the specs are all really nice.

But then there is the IdeaPad V570 for $950.

Now the only major differences are that the Y570 has a better graphics card, and a 250GB smaller HDD, while the V570 has a fingerprint scanner, etc., etc.. I am going to go off to college in a while and need a computer that will be able to run AutoCad and whatnot (possible Computer Engineer).

The V570 is listed under business, while the Y570 is listed under entertainment. Seeing as they have relatively the same specs, I would assume that they would be able to run multitasking extensive programs at the same rate (not exactly the word I'm looking for). But is there really any difference that would make the V570 worth the extra money, and make it run programs and whatnot better?

Well I wouldn't say that the Y is a better laptop. I would say it's more powerfull but better no because the V is better with battery life. Typically a business laptop is more durable and will last longer not plugged in. What I would do is verfiy that Autocad will work with an integrated graphics card and that may be the best for you. An entertainment machine is better suited for viewing and listening to media both audio and video. As far as processing power they are similar.

[Szczecinianin]

And how about Asus, like Asus K73SV? They're pretty good (i.a. low TDP, GeForce - now de facto a standard) and I heard a lot of bad about this China Lenovo stuff. Someone wrote here about problems with ThinkPad's keyboard.

This post has been edited by Szczecinianin: 22 March 2012 - 02:17 AM

[LiveBrianD]

ASUS is fine, though not my first choice. Thinkpad keyboards are known to be pretty good, and remember that with anything you'll get a few lemons.

[henrywilliams]

As you said you want to run Auto cad and some other kind of designing software its better to go with one that's having better processor and better graphics because it makes the difference. Hard Disk and Ram doesn't make a big difference they're upgradable.