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Slim 15.6-inch gaming laptops are a rather recent addition to the market, and even manufacturers previously not associated with games now offer at least one such model. Lenovo's Y50 is one of them, measuring only 24 mm (0.94 inch) thick and delivering respectable gaming performance at 1920x1080 pixels with its Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics. An optional Ultra HD 4K (3840x2160 pixels) display is also available, though obviously games can't be played on its native resolution with a GTX 860M. And with some recent demanding titles, even Full HD gaming isn't possible, forcing the owners to resort to lower resolutions and detail settings.



However, as LaptopMedia was informed by its insiders, Lenovo is now preparing an upgrade for the Y50 in the form of Nvidia's so far unreleased GeForce GTX 960M graphics card with 4 GB of GDDR5 video memory. Both GTX 960M and 950M are expected to be launched soon, making such an upgrade quite plausible.



At least three new modifications of the Y50 are planned for release, two of which will be equipped with an Ultra HD 4K screen while the third will offer a Full HD IPS panel. This last option should be the most suitable for gamers: just like its precursor, the GTX 960M isn't expected to be able to render games in 2160p with a smooth framerate, making overpaying for an Ultra HD screen unnecessary unless the laptop will be also used for applications benefitting from such resolution (e.g. photo editing). Naturally, we're also happy to see that Lenovo apparently decided to ditch the disappointing low-contrast TN panel previously used in the Full HD version of the Y50.



Current price estimates put the most expensive configuration (Ultra HD, 512 GB SSD) at $1600 and the cheapest at $1200 (Full HD, 1 TB + 8 GB SSHD). Ultra HD with 1 TB + 8 GB SSHD should cost around $1400. Since non-ULV Broadwell processors are still unreleased, all three models will rely on Intel's Core i7-4720HQ. They are expected to hit the market by the beginning of March.