$800 - $900 gaming laptop recommendation

death_relic0

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Sep 18, 2009
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Hey guys, was hoping you could help me out pick a new laptop :).

The default questionnaire was too general for my needs, specially since I know what I want. I filled that up as well but here are my main requirements
Budget: $800 - $900 (ideally below $900)
Condition: new, only new
Location: United states
When do you need to purchase: Assuming shipping can take upto 5 days, I need to purchase by 20th of November, no exceptions. So I have about a month to look for deals.

CPU:MUST be quad core. i7 quad core preferred, but GPU is more important than i7 quad core.
GPU: the best possible. minimum 960m. Ideally 965m. 970m in this price would be a miracle :).
Hard Disk: must have 1tb space, since I have a lot of data. SSD is not a necessity, as it can be upgraded later.
Note that I am willing to buy and upgrade the hard disk myself if the laptop + separate hard disk comes within my budget.
Hard disk upgradability: Ideally should have an m.2 sata slot so I can add an ssd later on. Though I would be willing to sacrifice this for a good gpu.
Screen Resolution: Full HD. no more, no less.
Screen Size: 17.3 preffered. 15.6 would be find do as well
weight/size preference: Being bulky is not a problem AT ALL. in fact, if that makes it more durable, i might actually prefer it.
Brand:
likes: quality takes priority
dislikes: acer, gigabyte. mainly because these brands are infamous for poor quality laptops. though if they have series that are known to be of high quality, I wouldn't mind buying.
?
Usage: Gaming, movies, programming... Thing is, if it can handle games, it can handle the rest.

Laptops I've shortlisted:
inspiron 15 7000 series: This basically is my minimum requirement after adding a 1tb hdd myself (except for the SSD which is a plus) . But waiting to see if I can find a similar deal with a 965m (or if I'm super duper lucky a 970m)
 
If you prefer to have a 1TB HDD instead of the 256GB SSD, then buy the Dell Inspiron i7559 directly from Dell for the same price of $800. That way you do not have to go through the hassle of cloning and replacing the SSD.

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd


The laptop does have a single m.2 slot so you can add m.2 SSD at a later point in time. Currently the max capacity for m.2 SSD is 512GB. They can come in different dimensions so you need to make sure whatever m.2 SSD you buy in the future will be short enough to fit in the m.2 slot.

I am also thinking about buying this laptop as well with the 1TB HDD with the intention replacing it with a 2.5" SATA 1TB SSD in the future since 256GB of storage is a bit light for me. Then I can use the 1TB HDD as an external HDD in an enclosure.
 


Since the OP stated he "need the ability to move" bringing both a laptop and a desktop wherever he goes is going to a hassle and expensive if he is flying.

He would basically need to buy equipment cases to contain the desktop and monitor. They are not cheap to buy and you need at least two of them. One for the desktop itself and another for the monitor. They are not small so if driving, the car's trunk must be large enough to accommodate them both. If flying then you need to pay a hefty luggage fee especially since they are quite heavy.

Yeah, sure the OP can leave the desktop at home and simply take the laptop with him. But if he is staying in a hotel 500 miles away from home, then the desktop does him no good if he is itching to play a game like Fallout 4.
 

Wazero

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Jul 19, 2015
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This is a more size travel friendly pc build with laptophttp://pcpartpicker.com/user/wazero/saved/YFyzK8
also here's a decent gaming laptop http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152903&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=11552995&PID=7247212&SID=
and one more http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152877&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=11552995&PID=7247212&SID=
 
People who travel a lot want to travel light not "heavy". When I travel (not very often) I simply want to bring a small luggage bag and a laptop (if I need / want to bring it). Most people do not want to bother bringing the extra weight of a desktop and monitor. As stated, equipment cases are not light even when they are empty. You would also need to pack and unpack the hardware as well which will get real tiresome after doing it a couple of times. And you cannot simply take it around with you so that you can check emails or do a little bit of work in a coffee shop or wherever.


The MSI GE Series GE62 Apache-276 is slightly better than the Dell in terms of specs. The i7-5700HQ is a quad core CPU with hyper threading. The Dell i7559 has a quad core i5-6300HQ with not hyper threading. However, desktop game benchmarks show that hyper threading does not improve game performance by much in Intel quad core CPUs; at most 2 FPS from numerous benchmarks.

MSI GP Series GP60 Leopard Pro-825 has the i7-4720HQ which is also a quad core CPU with HT, but it has a less power GPU compared to the Dell. Although it is lighter than the Dell, it is lighter due to a smaller battery which means a pretty battery life.


Aesthetics may or may not come into play. It would look rather weird for me to attend business meetings with a MSI laptop (or a gaming laptop in general). The Dell Inspiron i7559 is a more "business-like" design and fits into the environment I work in.
 

death_relic0

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Sep 18, 2009
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Thanks man.

I mentioned that I need portability and an all-in-one system with battery. I don't exactly travel many miles, but I do travel frequently from home to work where I need my system, at home I move frequently from one room to another, at work I move often from one desk to another. So I need portability, some battery life (not much) and an all-in-one system. Hence the product for me is a laptop which I don't mind being bulky or having poor battery life.
 

Wazero

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Jul 19, 2015
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hey do you need a cooling pad for you laptop because here's a good one that's not heavy ,but it durable http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-ErgoStand-III/dp/B00MY3S2OM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445800307&sr=8-1&keywords=cooler+master+ergostand+iii
 

dbrian500

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Dec 9, 2012
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I think you should go for Dell Inspiron i7559 as for the price it is the best deal under $800 right now. Would keep looking and post here if I find any other better deals too.