Help me choose a laptop pls

[Ghazkhull]

Okay here's the deal, Im on a budget, Im looking for a laptop to last me at least 4 years, if more it would be better.
For me it's EXCESIVELY important that the machine has no malfunctions upon arrival as I don't live in the states and any guarantee would be a huge pain to work around.

my main activities are music production (just requires tons of processor and ram above 4gb on average) and gaming (not high demanding games, but I do play alot the same ones Dota 2, TF2, CS:GO, maybe battlefield 3 later on)

my picks so far are these:

Newegg.com - MSI CX61 0NF-258US Notebook Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 645M

pros:
-I love this one, fits my budget perfectly
-strong processor
-okay class 2 video card

cons:
but I've got my concerns such as
-not enough reviews
-the few online comments online someone said it's discontinued? (on another site)
-low resolution screen

then there's this:

Newegg.com - MSI GE Series GE60 0ND-257US Notebook Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory DDR3 1600 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

there's this one and the 17" model for the same price at this moment

pros:
-powerful processor
-powerful class 1 video card
-beautiful laptop and 1080p screen ideal to enjoy all the eyecandy visuals games and videos have to offer.
-large and fast 7200rpm HDD
Cons:
-price, I would be in a temporary debt

then there's the lenovos:

Newegg.com - lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (59345717) Notebook Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory 1TB HDD Blu-ray Combo NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

or this one with smaller HDD but an additional SSD

Newegg.com - lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (59353260) Notebook Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory 750GB HDD + 16GB SSD HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

Pros:
-Same processor and video power for a lower price
-blu-ray
-1080p screen
-larger HDD

Cons:
-I heard lenovos come faulty at times
-so far I don't trust lenovo
-I would be in a smaller debt but still a debt

if I could get the MSI for the price of the lenovo I would be so happy lol but unfortunately nothing is perfect.

I would appreciate all advice, so far Im leaning forwards to debting myself with the higher class MSI but Im hesitating alot as I wouldn't like to inquire on oweing money to someone even if it's just for a couple months but it may be worth it, afterall a laptop it's not an everyday investment.

Cheers! thanks in advance

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

For under $2000, I wouldn't expect a laptop to work for 4 years. Technology changes far too quickly to have that sort of expectation. None the less, here's my take on this:

Gaming aside, we're going to look at the audio production since audio processing is much more intensive than games are.

The answer is, it depends on what you're doing in audio production. If you're using something like FL Studio and it's pretty minimal track wise, you have much less to worry about. If you're running ProTools, Sonar, Cubase, or Reason and have 30+ simultaneous tracks going at once, you need to look at both your processing speed and your RAM.

On a laptop, I would require at least an i7 that runs at no less than 3ghz with 8 gigs of ram (preferably 12-16). The reason being is the more VSTs and samples and tracks you're running, the more power you need to drive them. VSTs in particular have gotten very intensive over the years and require a lot more processing power. Depending on how long you've been doing this, it's something you should already know.

You're also going to want at least a 7200rpm drive. The first computer you posted is only 5400 which is terrible for audio production.

Also consider the memory speed. You can have all the memory in the world in a computer and it's still going to crawl if you're running something like 1600 (which the second MSI is).

Honestly, if I wasn't buying from a company like ADK or PC Audio Labs which designs laptops specifically for audio production (and are quite expensive), my next choice would either be a Lenovo Thinkpad or an HP Elitebook which many people in the audio production world have been quite happy with.

Lenovo has very high quality products (depending on the model) but terrible service which is what most people complain about. However, they also have a much lower failure rate than most computers on the market which is always a good thing and they are built like tanks. Plus, being able to pick and choose components on the Lenovo site to find a machine that fits you is always a good thing.

The HP Elitebook I don't know much about other than a lot of people who do audio production have started using them. It seems to have very low latency which is great for production.

Also, you will want to make sure any programs and hardware you use is compatible with Windows 8 and that you get Windows 8 Pro. I just migrated my studio to Win 8 and so far am very happy because of the much better memory management.

 

[Ghazkhull]

Well I mainly use FL, Reason and Ableton/audacity to record.
as for VSTs I mainly use sylenth, z3ta+, waves stuff, ohmnicide, isotope ozone, amplitube stuff.

I've done this during 10 years with the VST line up constantly changing, my previous pc was a quad core with 4gb of ram)even though I agree IIRC this one's ram was 2,600), and I was limited on the channel ammounts at times, but not that often as my music tends to be minimalistic at some point (average of 8 to 12 channels)

Im sure I don't need that much of a profesional laptop as Im not a profesional just a mere amateur who does this for fun, we all dream of living of this but I guess it's not my situation.

and by surviving for the next 4 years I mean it not dying and keep on running my main apps succesfully.

not to be rude, I appreciate your input on lenovo, but about the lenovo experiences comes from a friend who used to work at a laptop retail place and he said lenovo had a considerable ammount of returns but not as many as toshiba.
I admit they are very tempting at that price tag but reliability is a must to me at this moment.

I'll still be pondering on it for the next couple days, I appreciate your feedback
Cheers man!

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

not to be rude, I appreciate your input on lenovo, but about the lenovo experiences comes from a friend who used to work at a laptop retail place and he said lenovo had a considerable ammount of returns but not as many as toshiba.

I'm guessing he's talking about the ideapad and he's right, there were a lot of problems with those when they first came out. From what I understand, they have since been fixed but don't quote me on that. I would personally never get one and opt to get a ThinkPad instead which has a very good reputation from being used for over a decade in the business world.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Thinkpad's are very good, purchased two Edge Series E520's for my kids this year and they go well. I always stick to IBM Thinkpads personally - although have been using a stock Lenovo laptop which died last week after 6 years. Sadly it seemed to have succumed to the nvidia chip burnout scenario which seems to affect a lot of laptops of that era - they just get way too hot inside.

 

[Ghazkhull]

just found out that for 50 more I could get this, less powerful processor and way more powerful graphics card, blu ray disc reader and slots to fit SATA drives! :-O!!!

this one is a huge plus to me since Im replacing the desktop I mentioned earlier, I would probably just need to delete the windows partition and voila

Newegg.com - MSI GT Series GX60 1AC-021US Notebook AMD A-Series A10-4600M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory DDR3 1600 750GB HDD 7200rpm BD-ROM AMD Radeon HD 7970M

 

[C-Man]

I'd go with that one. It'll be slightly slower on the music production, but the graphics are top-notch for a laptop.