Need a portable gaming laptop for College for $1000

[Elus]

I'm looking for the best portable laptop for gaming for about 1000$ max $1250. All specifications are listed below.
Thank you for any help that you all may be able to provide.

1. What is your budget? Prefer to stay around $1000-$1100 but will go as high as $1250.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15 inch

3. What screen resolution do you want? Full HD. 1920/1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable

5. How much battery life do you need? 4+ hrs

6. 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)? High for Dota2.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Nothing that i can think of.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? I'd prefer a SSD 120-160GB. If not a 500GB with 7200rpm.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Sony, Amazon, TigerDirect, Newegg, Samsung, HP

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3-6 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Just dvd rom. Blu ray is a plus but not necessary.

12. 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 want a Sony, Samsung, HP, Asus, Sager, or Lenovo. NO APPLE. or any other brand not listed pretty much.

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. Backlit keyboard is a must. 6GB+ of ram and must be a 3rd generation i5 or i7. Also need a Nvidia with 640m+. Will be used for a decent amount of gaming and college. Also would really prefer it to weigh less than 5.5 pounds but the max I would purchase would be 6lbs.

 

[jonathan_569]

i would recommend you a sager but it would be over 6lbs.. you could also get a Lenovo Y580 with the 1080p screen + 128gb mSata combo with your 500gb 7200RPM drive..

http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=20994PU&category_id=AC523278A4F13F27A84F5F5622D1AC7A#techspecs

 

[Elus]

Yeah, that's been the dilemma ive been having with sager. The specs are really awesome but 6+ pounds and no backlit keyboard has been hard for me to look past. Would have to get rid of the normal HDD and replace with the SSD? Or just add the SSD to it?

 

[jonathan_569]

Actually, i have the Clevo W370ET or Sager NP6370.. and it is quite light for a 17 inch..
but if you want a Sager.. that is what i would really recommend and it really is the best bang for your buck IMO. downside of it is just the weight. if you can overlook it then you would have a very decent system on your hands

my setup right now is just the HDD... but im gonna upgrade it to a SSD + HDD combo.. and i would really recommend this setup.. SSD for frequently used programs and heavy loading programs.. and data or not so frequent programs in the HDD...

 

[Elus]

Thanks for the info I think I have found the set of laptops I'm looking to get. Just need some opinions from people who have used these and what they preferred

 

[cbrunnem]

Yeah, that's been the dilemma ive been having with sager. The specs are really awesome but 6+ pounds and no backlit keyboard has been hard for me to look past. Would have to get rid of the normal HDD and replace with the SSD? Or just add the SSD to it?

I'm going to attempt at leveling your expectations of College and of a laptop. First with the specs you have given you could go to Newegg and refine a laptop choice then chose.

When it comes to college you don't really need that portable of a laptop as you will be surprised with the amount t of work that requires one.... the lack of it I mean. Bring over six pounds really is nothing. Your body weight will fluctuate more in weight then these laptop choices will in one day. I think you are making a big deal out of a small deal.

Btw a big recommendations Is a 14 in laptop. They fit much better in backpacks.

 

[Elus]

I'm already in college so I know what to expect of that I just don't really want to lug around 6+ pounds.

I have narrowed my choices of laptops down to 5. These are all in my price range i'd prefer to not go over $1250 with tax and fees all included but I'm currently thinking about adding in a SSD card to replace the HDD of whichever laptop I do intend to buy. have not owned a laptop before so really don't know much about the keyboard and how they run or the displays. I have not really played around with them or seen them. Just research done on the internet.

Top 3:

http/store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/s [...] 1644870001

http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?sb=:000001C9:0000717E:#.UIPJ9sXAfgc (IdeaPad Y580 Laptop - 20994PU - Dawn Gray)

http/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod [...] puter.html

Other 2 in close consideration:

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3674476&SRCCODE=WEBAMZP1

http/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/h [...] otebook-PC

 

[jonathan_569]

The Lenovo Y580 is what i would really recommend for you base on your requirements... make us of the mSata port by plugging in an SSD in it.. and use the 7200RPM HDD

 

[Elus]

Thanks for the help. Anyone else have a thought or selection on these laptops? Or information

 

[Elus]

Anyone know anything about the displays of these laptops? I'd like to know which is the best and how much they differ in quality. Thanks

 

[Elus]

Are those links or pictures? Whatever they are I am unable to see them. :\

 

[Elus]

do you have a Windows copy or you need a new one?

A copy of Windows 8? Yes.

 

[jackspeed]

Reading your post you will be hard pressed to get a "portable" gaming laptop for any budget. My suggestion would be the sager np9130 and a 750GB HDD so you can get the extra 50 off. The lenovo isn't that light either 5.95 lbs. I do not know if the sager would have a backlit keyboard I do not believe so, I know the lenovo will not. The sager will be a better gaming laptop.

Your expectations for the laptop are a little high. The laptop will last but its gaming potential may not. 3-6 years is a long time for a desktop. I gtx 660m and 670m are worse then a desktops 460 which is 2 years old. most gaming laptop will cost 1300+ and weigh 8+lbs without the 2-3 lbs power adapter.

An option for you that I have to mention is get a netbook like
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230359
for taking notes and spend the extra 800-1k building a desktop for gaming.