Gaming Laptop (with general usage & college work)

Steffwiz

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2009
18
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18,560
Hi all. I am looking for a laptop and I have included the questionnaire below. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

What is your budget?
$1500 max, preferably $1300 or less

What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
17.3" or equivalent touchscreen

What screen resolution do you want?
1080p touchscreen

Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement. Weight isn't a big deal. It will be on a desk most of the time and when being carried the extra weight won't be a problem.

How much battery life do you need?
As much as possible, although not too important. It will be plugged in most of the time. Sacrificing battery life for better graphics performance is a plus.

Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low, Medium or High)?
The Sims 3 (all expansions), The Sims 4 (on release), DC Universe. Possibly: Call of Duty, Battlefield 3, & Medal of Honor. All games on highest settings.

What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Browsing the web, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Not important. 750GB or 1TB is plenty. Whatever comes with the laptop. 7200 RPM preferred.

If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
HP has an additional $100 off coupon for labor day. That would be a good deal. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. Whatever has the best deal.

How long do you want to keep your laptop?
As long as possible

What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer, Etc?
Not really important. Any or no drive will do. Blu-ray reader would be nice, but not required. Blu-ray writer, not needed whatsoever.

Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I like HP, but it doesn't matter. Whatever laptop is a good deal for the performance and has sleek looks. (HP happens to fit in both these categories. :)

What country do you live in?
USA

Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I would like a fingerprint scanner, but it not required. A webcam built-in is also a plus, but not required. A backlit keyboard, however, is required. I would prefer a Haswell laptop is possible. I am willing to pay extra for the battery life gains in Haswell.
 

ACTechy

Honorable
Oct 25, 2012
127
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10,710
Good news is even at $1300 there are some stellar options:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=417

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233016

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314147

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231089

All with a discrete graphics card, since you noted game performance as important. Fast drives, a couple of these have an SSD onboard as well as a HDD. I really like that last one, the ASUS ROG G750JW Series, backlit keyboard, screamin fast gpu.

Cheers!