Help on getting a laptop. Budget of $500-700

[Tcman2000]

Hello, I'm looking to get a new laptop for around $500-700. I'm willing to go a little higher is necessary. I would be using it mostly for gaming but also for schoolwork, surfing the web, etc. I'm not playing any games that require really good graphics, and I don't need it to like work insanely well on high setting or anything. I would mostly be playing RTS games(Mostly paradox interactive, crusader kings 2, victoria 2, etc) with the occasional xcom, skyrim, etc. Any suggestions?
(Note: I have a 250 GB samsung 850 evo, so I would like to be able to replace the HDD with that if possible. I'm looking for suggestions to buy but I'm not against building one if it's cheaper.)

Thanks for the help.

 

[Mugglensu1984]

Where do you live?

 

[Tcman2000]

Where do you live?

Ohio, USA

 

[Prostar Computer]

Go for something with a modern i5 or i7 in it and at least 8 GB of RAM. Intel HD graphics 4000 or better will run a lot of titles on low - medium settings with decent frame rates, as long as the games aren't anything extreme.

Lenovo has the Y40-80 for around $700 with AMD graphics. If you want something with decent NVidia graphics, you may be looking at close to $1,000.