<17" - <$1,500 - medium gaming, lightweight, long battery laptop (possible?)

[Lurker Lou]

Hey guys,

So I'm stuck with getting a laptop since my budget gaming build (i5 3570k/evga gtx 650 ti boost) didn't fly. I understand that really any laptop I want to get isn't going to perform up to the specifications I wanted the build to.

I don't expect the laptop to run games max (not looking for a $2000+ laptop that weighs 20 pounds.)

I DO expect the laptop to at least run Guild Wars 2, Warframe, Skyrim, and various other games (nothing like MW3/BF4 area) at at least lowish settings very very well. Good frames, smooth, no hiccups. Meaning GW2 might have some trouble on mid setting in WvWvW or zergs. I have no clue what that price point looks like but I'm hoping it's not over $1500.

What I really need from it though is:

Back-lit keyboard and number pad.

Long battery life (5+ hours (non gaming/light load (i.e. windows office, some web browsing at full brightness)

Light and portable (under 6 pounds, good). Also thinner is better.

SSD's (120gb+) are more that welcome but if they push the $1500 mark after the above standards are met, not worth it.

As far as screen size goes, anything under 17". Obviously 1080p is where it's at, but I'll only have it if I can for the price.

HDMI, USB 3.0, optical drive. All luxuries, but should be able to get them for <$1500.

Dell is out of the question.

Since the laptop is really going to be for school; portability and battery life are the two most important here. Next to the back-lit keyboard. And I should be able to get the whole package with that light gaming in too. I don't expect to have an SSD though it would be nice to see where that would land me price wise so I'm open to it.

If I can get away with those specs in the $1000 range I'd like to see those options too!

Thank you in advance!

 

[kaswyn]

So you want it under $700, but hope it's not over $1,500, and you think $1,000 is not worth it. So how much are you really willing to pay?

 

[Lurker Lou]

$1,500 is my budget, I edited the post.

 

[kaswyn]

You have too many requirements. This is for $1,000 and has no regular hard drive, but has an SSD and a decently fast video card. You won't find very many video cards this fast on an Ultrabook, which is what you're describing as something you're looking for. You're not looking for a laptop. You're looking for an Ultrabook.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233011

Don't pay attention to the idiot who reviewed this Ultrabook. He is clearly clueless and thought he was going to be playing hardcore games with an Ultrabook. He was confused and thought this was a laptop. This same Ultrabook is on Amazon, USED, and has 4 reviews so you can read up on it:

http/www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Ultrabook-U2442F-CF2-14-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00BTDBS6M

 

[Lurker Lou]

Great thanks for the feedback. I ended up finding the Acer V7 however which has a 750m in it and I believe a better processor as well

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8557209

The Sager NP7330 would also be an excellent choice aside from the 3.5-4 hour battery life (the Acer getting around 6.)

http/www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP7330

The Sager is really powerful though so those wanting to approach ultra run most on high, and practically all games on medium at a price of 1,000, the Sager works, all at 4.6lb's. You can even put an i7 in it making it $75 more but way worth it.

Even though the Gigabyte has a 128gb SSD (the Acer an 8gb SSD for caching only (i.e. you won't be able to access it in "my computer")) the Acer had a better graphics card by about 11 frames where I decided it counted. And you can put an SSD into the Acer, but putting a new GPU in the Gigabyte sounds...tough.