Laptop For Gaming And Audio Processing Under £600 ($1000)

Josephcockeruk

Honorable
Jan 29, 2014
2
0
10,510
Hello,
I understand that questions similar to this are asked on forum pages like this quite frequently, but I couldn't find a fitting solution :/

I'm looking a laptop under £600 if possible (£700 max) that I can use for gaming and audio processing (as specified). For those who don't know what is needed for audio processing, it's very similar to video editing (good CPU, graphic card, abundance of RAM, etc)

Specs I'd like include the following:
-Intel i7 quad core (Where possible)
-8GB RAM
-Nvidia Geforce GT 740m (Or better)
-Good Chipset
-Big screen (15.6, 17.3 preferred, touchscreen would be nice)
-Matte screen where possible
-Four+ USB slots (at least two 3.0)
-HDMI slot
-VGA port (optional)
-RJ45 LAN
-750GB 7200RPM HDD
-Blu-Ray writer optical drive
-Backlit keyboard (optional, but preferable)
-Bluetooth would be nice
-Windows
-Weight/Size/Design aren't much of an issue
-Built in speakers aren't much of an issue either, would be nice though to have a decent set, but won't alter my decision.

HDD isn't a deal breaker, as it's easily interchangeable. Plus RAM isn't a huge issue, as long as there are extra DDR3 slots and the motherboard can handle the extra RAM. Firewire 800 or an express card slot would be great, but these only appear to be available on 1% of laptops :( New is almost a must, it'll take something really special to buy refurbished or used. I'd also like it to be as quiet and cool as possible, so it doesn't get picked up much on recordings. A laptop is a MUST as I will be moving around a lot, not particularly concerned about battery life, but would like it to last longer than an hour with extensive use. Also, do you believe a good network card makes a lot of difference? Relative amount of ignorance in that aspect :( and is there a way of running certain Macintosh applications on a PC? Possibly using some kind of Mac emulator? I guess not, but you never know :)

I understand I'm going to have to make exceptions, but I figure I'd give my preferred specs and see what shows up. I'm sorry if I've missed anything, tried to cover all bases, but if you have any questions, just ask :D Thank you :)

(Also, I'm in the UK :p)
 

LummusMaximus

Honorable
How about some of the Lenovo laptops? I would recommend the IdeaPad Y510p. Comes with alright speakers, 750m GDDR5, i7 quad core, 1080p 15.6". All's in good order. If not, look at the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540. Similar to the Y510p, but with slightly inferior specs: 740m, i7 quad code, 720p 15.6". It has better battery life than the Y510p, though.