Casual gaming laptop around 800USD

[MishkaMN]

Hey guys
I am planning on buying casual gaming (lol, wow) laptop but also be able to play modern games on mid quality without any problems
and actually my parents are buying me laptop cuz i am entering uni this year, so battery life shud be as long as possible and speed-> fast as possible
-------anyways here are the specs i am hoping for-----------
intel core i5 or i7 4th generation
windows 8.1
500GB min (any higher is fine) SSD
8GB ram (this shud be)
nvidia GT 740M/ 840M
screen 15.6" (i dont much want to change this)
weight: 2.2-2.8kg (as light as possbile )
HDMI, 2 usb, bluetooth,
DVD/CD not needed (but if possbile)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
in the gaming field ASUS, Lenovo, MSI are good i heard. (asus seemed to have good design too )
so i did little bit research:
-Lenovo z50-70 seemed good but graphic card: GT 820M was so let down since its even worse than 740M right ?
-Lenovo y50 ... this was perfect except the price i can afford only around 800 whereas its price was above 1kUSD
-and how is ACER Aspire V5-573PG-7400 ?
-how bout the ASUS ? ASUS seems to have many offerings and
is ASUS n550jk is affordable in my budget range ? or others suggested ?

and again budget is around 700-900$
battery life shud be long
need site link for where to buy, if possible

Extra Questions:
1. I am not from US. I am from Asia. But parents are going to Miami this early November, so we are planning to buy from US... and how and where exactly can my parents buy laptops ? (the laptops u suggest, to be accurate)
2. In future, i might study in Computer Programming. How does this field effect the specifications of computer? (i mean recommended speeds and stuff )
3. Will your suggested laptops be able to hold up the next 3-4 years ? (and ofc including physical damages and gaming performances etc...)

Sorry for long post
Appreciate any advice
thank you

 

[Anthony Velarde]

Mmmm gaming on a pre built $800 laptop is going to get your pretty horrible performance. If your going to want a solid gaming/ everyday use laptop you need at least a grand. However if you wanted to build a desktop for $800 your pretty much going to be able to max out any game at 1080p with all the specialty graphics turned on. I also am getting my first PC and after the EXTENSIVE research I have done I decided to build a Desk top instead of purchasing a gaming laptop. Your also going to want a system you can upgrade if needed and laptops are next top impossible to upgrade.

 

[MishkaMN]

Mmmm gaming on a pre built $800 laptop is going to get your pretty horrible performance. If your going to want a solid gaming/ everyday use laptop you need at least a grand. However if you wanted to build a desktop for $800 your pretty much going to be able to max out any game at 1080p with all the specialty graphics turned on. I also am getting my first PC and after the EXTENSIVE research I have done I decided to build a Desk top instead of purchasing a gaming laptop. Your also going to want a system you can upgrade if needed and laptops are next top impossible to upgrade.

Thank you for your reply !
I agree with building desktop computers, but as you can see I am entering Uni, so i will be needing a laptop. that's why i am so into this.
other people have suggested:
1. Y50 or N550JK (problem is little bit expensive ? i would go for it if it can be found around 800$, to 900$) i found the open box version, is the open box version is safe ?
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834317538R
2. ASUS N56JN-EB71 (problem is little bit short battery life ?(3hours browsing and 1 little over hour of gaming) )
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231974

am i being too picky ? especially on the battery thing... gaming laptops are short on battery, i know.. how long is typical ?

and also, i guess i mistyped the har section, it shud be min of 500GB HDD, and SSD if possible
how much is SSD anyways ?

Thanks again

 

[Anthony Velarde]

The problem with purchasing a pre made system is that your going to pay up to 50% higher price then building a pc just for the BRAND NAME. This is why the PC gaming world has been so centered around building rather then buying. So basically you have 2 options. you can spend $800 on a mid range Laptop and get Okay performance on gaming. you wont be able to upgrade, you wont be able to add a new graphics unit, etc. Or you can spend $300 on a notebook for uni and then $500 on a desktop that will allow you to play pretty much anything on mid range graphics at 40fps + and you will be able to upgrade to your hearts desire. We are really in an amazing time for computer hardware since you can get a great pc for a very low price. Open box is fine as long as the warranty is still valid, most places like newegg or amazon make sure that the unit is fine before putting it back on the shelf.

The two laptops you selected are solid units. you will get okay performance for the next couple of years. However battery life is only a concern for people who don't have access to a socket to charge for hours on end(such as people who spend 12 hours plus gaming on a plane). If I would go for anything it would be the Lenovo, the 860 2gb is a good GPU unit for anything on medium to high graphics at 1080p.
If can leave you with any advice it would be RESEARCH. don't run out and buy the most shinny thing on the market. Computer companies bank on people not doing research and just buying what sounds nice and looks good. For instance not all i7 processors are going to give you good performance but most people just see i7 and assume that its good. Research parts, look up benchmarks.