I'm in love with this big guy :)
And here are the upgraded components:
- 1080P IPS Screen
- 512GB SSD
- DVD caddy replaced by a HDD caddy (intalled an additional 512GB SSD)
- Processor upgraded to an i7-4712MQ
- Grizzly Kryonaut thermal paste upgrade
- US keyboard replaced by another one with Spanish layout (original, found on eBay)
- RAM upgraded to 12GB (enough for me)
- Brand-new original 9-cell battery (also found on eBay)
I don't think I forget anything... well maybe the best upgrade: I use Arch, btw!
I encourage you to look for parts that you can upgrade, sometimes it is possible to find them for very little money. And the satisfaction of doing it yourself...
In my case I have not found any problem with the brightness control, I continue to do it as usual, using the specific buttons on the keyboard.