$1200 USD Laptop for College & Gaming

[Chacobos]

Hey, everyone! I'm looking for a laptop with around a $1200 budget.

Some information about preferred requirements.
-1080p resolution
-i7 processor
-15.6" or less screen, 17.3" only if that's a more optimal option.
-4-6+ hour battery life and/or ability to pop in an extended battery
-Able to play games up to Dark Souls 2 on medium settings at least.
-Will last at least 4 years

Main reason I ask is I am going into college for game development & simulation on top of how my schedule is set up to where I will have an hour between classes and going home would be pointless. I would like to be able to play a game while waiting when I don't have much to do and for the luxury of having a laptop for when I'm out of town and nothing is going on.

Any and all recommendations are appreciated and if one or a few of my preferences have to be sacrificed, that is ok.

 

[Dblkk]

Asus G750 JM series. Just a bit over budget, $1350.

But 17", very solid, 8lbs, 4-5 hours battery, switch in ssd and 5-6 hours battery, i7 quad core, excellent quiet cooling, great keyboard, just very excellent build, gtx 860m graphcis (maxwel) which is just a screaming chip and used lower power than anything else by a long shot.

 

[Chacobos]

Asus G750 JM series. Just a bit over budget, $1350.

But 17", very solid, 8lbs, 4-5 hours battery, switch in ssd and 5-6 hours battery, i7 quad core, excellent quiet cooling, great keyboard, just very excellent build, gtx 860m graphcis (maxwel) which is just a screaming chip and used lower power than anything else by a long shot.

Thanks for the post! I like most of what's in it but the weight doesn't seem like it's something to carry around grant I did say 17.3" if most optimal. Is there a 15.6" laptop or just any that weighs less w/o sacrificing say the battery life/ability to put in an extended battery and to last the amount of time I hope to have it?

I know MSI laptops are quite powerful but they get quite hot from what I hear w/o a cooling pad and not sure on the quality of their internal parts such as the motherboard nor its usual life expectancy.

 

[Dblkk]

at the $1300-1400 is the 15" MSI gt60. the GT is better cooling than ge or gx. its still just as heavy thick and all.

I started off with the Asus g750 from last year, but it was big and battery very unimpressive. it didn't use Intel graphics, only the beast graphics card all the time.

I returned for a Samsung ativ book 8. quad core i7, 8gb ram, 1tb harddrvive, and a lesser AMD 8700 graphics. it was 15", touch screen and like 5 labs. but any gaming would just scorch that thing. so I took it back. went with apple MacBook pro retina, $2500, all the goodies, overheated like no bodies business just like the Samsung.

At that same time, the new rob laptops came out. The new g750 included optimus which uses Intel graphics for the light stuff and had the new Maxwell 860m. With that the battery life got me 4-5 hours, and after throwing In a sad instead of using the typical hard drive, I got battery life to be around 5-6 hours of normal use.
Yes its 9lbs, and 17', but after you get a backpack for it, the weight is just a few pounds more than the traditional backpacks, and after a month or so you really don't even notice a difference.

I really wanted something very thin light for work/school/home and for my side business as I'm always on the go. But I can vouch that while the Asus is 9lbs and not thin, its very sleek and the weight you get used to very quick. For the price you really can't beat what it offers in terms of overall quality and portability. It doesn't have all the loud features like multicolored keyboard and stuff, but its sleek. White background, quiet, great matte screen that doesn't reflect, very loud sound speakers. It is really good.

The slimmer and more powerful notebooks all run warm. Just because they are slim, there is less airflow to be had which brings high temps. There is also less room or battery, so slim notebooks typically have sealed batteries and don't last as long.

At $1500 you have the msn g's ghost, which is 4lbs and very slim, with fast internal components. While those components stay cool, the laptop still gets hot, and fan noise is very loud.

All this said, I render videos and use 3d graphics programs, which puts 100% workload on the laptop. My Asus j's model ($1800) could cool the processor enough and would cause throttling. This isn't very typical of the average gaming sessions or anything else. When I game things and temps were totally fine, but I work on massive video edits more than game. So I returned mine just yesterday. Bought the MSI GT70.

The GT 70 is huge, and boxy, and heavy. I'm really going to miss the Asus and how sleek and nice everything was. But the single fan on the MSI should be able to cool the CPU enough that it doesn't throttle, but will be a lot louder. Sacrifices have to be made.

But if you wait until Monday, ill have my new MSI and I can give you a hands on review of that model, and perhaps the 15" model of that could prove good for you. If not, id still recommend the Asus to you.

 

[Chacobos]

what I will probably do, I will still be interested in your review on the MSI you are getting a hold of Monday but I can go ahead and try the Asus, see if I like it. Just unsure of how it'll feel with a messenger bag since that is what I use BUT I have loaded that sucker with plenty of cards ands mats which brings it up between 12-15 pounds and I am fine all day. I'm just not used to the idea of slinging that around for five days of the week but I won't know till I try I guess.

 

[Dblkk]

I had my Asus for about 3 months while school 4 days a week. As long as its badded by your back, its totally fine. I have both a traditional backpack one, and I have a messanget bad style. I prefer the messenger anls its quicker access

 

[Dblkk]

but why don't you private message me, just say something like light college laptop, $1200, and that I mentioned Asus and will provide a MSI review. that way I dont loose this thread in the chaos