Need help deciding on laptop/specs of laptop

cw34

Honorable
Jul 1, 2012
4
0
10,510
1. I;d like to keep it at a max of 1300 dollars, not use to spending this much money due to my desktop lasting so long '-'

2. size doesnt matter, but i will be using it for school, and gaming

3. Id like to have an HD screen but i wont be picky if thats a deciding factor

4. ill be taking my laptop to college so instead of dragging my desktop i want a gaming/schoolwork laptop.

5. battery wont matter i wont be gaming during class

6. I wanna play GW2/Skryim etc on maxed, im use to playing any game on max minus the crazy ones like BF3 (get some lag), id really like to find a gaming laptop thatll last me at least 4 years, my 9800 gt has lasted me playing anything i throw at it at/nearly max since 2008

7. i wont be doing any other tasks like photo editing etc

8. storage isnt a problem, i barely even use 100 gigs of my 500 i have now

9. im looking at laptops from toshiba,dell xps, alienware, etc

10. id just need a optical drive for installing games etc

11. id like to buy an alienware( i like having different things, not just the plain old silver laptop)

12. i live in the US

13. i cant believe laptops are so expensive , i guess were handing money out for the mobility aspect ;/, im looking at the alienware m11k and m14k, ill be picking the i7 cpu over the i5 i guess? or is that too much power? with 6 ggis of ddr3,the big problem im running into is graphics cards, ive read over the chart and the ones with the 1300 alienware are 2 steps up from my current desktop card, so i take it those cards will last me a good 4+ years as my 9800 gt did/doing?i have found some really good deals on ebay with a refurbished m14x with a lot of upgrades ill post link below. any help much apreciated


http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dkcwfr1a&model_id=alienware-m14x-r2&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-Alienware-M14x-i7-2670QM-8GB-320GB-HD-Nvidia-3GB-900P-Win7-Wifi-bluetooth-/110907732716?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item19d29db2ec
 
This may help or may cause additional confusion but look also at XoticPC for Laptop options (I do mean options)
http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-gaming-laptops-ct-118_96_98.html

As far as processor decision, I don't see anything that would make me recommend an i7 or an i5 for your current needs but will suggest the i7 since you intend to use it for a few years and during that time, you may decide to change majors to digital animation or aerospace engineering - your budget may dictate the i5 though (not bad either)
Enjoy