There will be those who say Lenovo doesn't make real gaming computers (desktop or laptop), or that Lenovo doesn't know anything about making gaming computers, or that a laptop with a 5400rpm hard drive can't be considered a "true" gaming laptop. To all these naysayers, as well as those who, up front, wouldn't consider getting a Lenovo as a "gaming system", I say - IT'S TIME TO RECONSIDER.
Let me start off with the matter of the 5400rpm drive. I agree that a 5400rpm drive should NOT be used in a gaming system, laptop or otherwise...but, Lenovo isn't the only company doing this. There are other well-known brands...brands that are synonymous for their gaming computers (I won't "call them out" here, but a little research will turn them up easily enough)...that utilize 5400rpm drives. In reality, this is a moot point, as one of the first things any gamer would do is replace the hard drive with an SSD...and that's exactly what I did. Out went the Toshiba "hybrid" drive, and in went a 1TB Samsung 850 EVO...slow hard drive problem solved.
What about the memory? Again, any "true" gamer would balk at the slow 8GB of RAM installed. Well, just as easily as the hard drive problem is resolved, so is the memory. Out goes the factory-installed RAM, and in goes 16GB of speedy Corsair Vengeance RAM. Now we have a real gaming laptop...and, even with the additional cost of upgrading the RAM, it still comes in well below the cost of other gaming laptops, including those already coming with faster and/or a larger amount of RAM...which, by the way, would still require the SSD upgrade.
The only downside to the Lenovo Y50 Touch is the GPU. Truthfully, it's only a minor quibble, as the performance difference between the GTX 960M & the (newer) GTX 965M is somewhat negligible, and purchasing a laptop with a GTX 965M will cost considerably more. Even the most recent Lenovo Y700 laptops (the replacement for the Y50 Touch) still use the GTX 960M.
While the Y700 comes with an i7-6700HQ, which modestly outperforms (in many tests) the i7-4720HQ found in the Y50 Touch, there are also more than a few tests which show the i7-6700HQ performing only slightly better. When one considers the price of the Y700 (i7-6700HQ) against the Y50 Touch (i7-4720HQ), you can save yourself a lot of money by getting the Y50 Touch. Put another way, the Y50 Touch will give you the "best bang for the buck" when pitted against Lenovo's newer Y700. When pitted against other gaming laptops, the Y50 Touch only gets better.
Conclusion: If you're willing to spend a little extra money on upgrading the RAM (more, & faster), as well as some money on an SSD (which you'd probably be buying anyway), you will end up with a laptop that is better than others selling for the same final price. Against higher-end gaming laptops, yes, they will be faster, more powerful, have higher-end GPUs, and maybe even more memory, but you will also pay at least double what you'd pay for the Y50 Touch. If you're a gamer with "unlimited" funds, by all means, go ahead and get the $7,000 "gaming laptop powerhouse". On the other hand, if you're a gamer on a (somewhat) budget, and you want a fast/powerful laptop that can handle all but the most recent (ie. GPU power hungry) games, then you will be hard-pressed to find a better choice than the Lenovo Y50 Touch. Better hurry, before they're sold out.
