Portable gaming laptop $1000-$1300 [CAN]

Fluix

Honorable
Dec 30, 2012
3
0
10,510
I need to get a new laptop for university as my old HP just died. I'll be doing basic stuff while at uni like word processing and watching videos, but at home I also plan on watching movies, streaming, and playing games.

The main thing I was looking for was portability but if this is going to be my primary machine for all computing needs I feel like it's a waste spending $1300 on laptops like the macbook air that only bring in thinness and a good battery life. I want to be able to play some games (I really don't care about eye candy graphics).

The laptop needs to last for 4-5 years and my parents fear that only apple laptops can last that long (the HP dying further enforced that for them). Can none apple laptops in my price range last that long?

For the games I mainly will play dota 2, but want to be able to run BF4 on mid settings when it comes out.

Anyway to the specs:

Processor: i5. Should I get an i7? as i've seen on desktops people recommend the i5 over the i7. I won't be doing any coding or rendering that requires an i7 so do I need it. Also Haswell has good battery life, but I mainly need a good 5-6 hours and most of that is at university where I won't be gaming, so do I need Haswell?

RAM: 8gb

Storage: 500gb or 128 SSD or combo. If Haswell I heard 5400 rpm is too slow

Graphics: GeForce GT 750M atleast (can it run BF4 on mid?)

battery: 5-6 battery life

Physical specs: 14''-15'', maximum 1'' thickness, and 5 pounds or under. Also a decent keyboard for typing.

Please help me find a good laptop I really need one fast for university.

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I've also done my own research and really like the MSI GE40. Though have some concerns. First of all is heating. Every review I've read said it heats up a lot. Now i'm not going to put it on my lap while gaming but I worry how that much heat would affect the internal parts, possibly reducing product life. Second is the build quality. It has a plastic bottom which some reviews say feels cheap.
 

Fluix

Honorable
Dec 30, 2012
3
0
10,510


The MSI GE40 is supposed to get 8 hours of battery life.
 

polyzp

Distinguished
Jun 22, 2009
4
0
18,510
13.3" Clevo W230ST 1100 USD - 8 thread i7 + nvidia 765m
14" Lenovo Y410 800 USD - 8 thread i7 + nvidia 750m

These are much lighter and more portable than a GX60. And there is no GPU bottleneck! :)
 

Cameron Shaw

Honorable
Jul 9, 2013
12
0
10,570

there shouldnt be a bottleneck with the msi and its gaming performance destroys both of your ideas yes it isn't as portable but it will be able to play bf4 on medium-high and its just a 15.6" laptop so its the same size as most laptops just a little thicker should still be plenty portable and as i said power cant be matched.