Seeking: Sturdy, powerful, not-too-expensive gaming laptop

[A_S00]

Hello, friends.

I am in the market for a new gaming laptop, as my current one is getting rather old, beat-up, and borderline obsolete. The following are my criteria:

• ■Excellent specs. My current machine sports a GeForce GTX 660M, a Core i7 3610QM, and 8GB of RAM. It noticeably underperforms in most new-ish games I run these days. At a minimum, I would like a better graphics card, and ideally a solid state drive.
  ■Sturdy construction. I travel frequently, bring my laptop between home/office/coffee shop, pack it into a carry-on for air travel, use it in my actual lap, etc. This has taken a toll on my current machine, which is a very modular all-plastic affair. The screen hinges are now rather loose and wobbly; the thin plastic grate covering the fan intake is mostly broken; several rubber feet are missing; etc. Ideally, I would love an aluminum chassis, as is found in thinner ultrabook situations; however, those don't seem to be common for gaming machines. Either way, I'd like something that will hold up to a bit more punishment than my last one.
  ■Low price. I would like to pay as little as possible for this laptop (subject to my other requirements, of course). I definitely don't want to spend $2000. If it could be more like $1300, that would be fabulous.

There are also some things I definitely don't care about:

• ■Size/weight. I don't need a particularly big or particularly small screen, and I don't particularly care how much the laptop weighs. Small screen, heavy for a notebook, all fine by me.
  ■Brand. Except insofar as it is an indicator of quality, I don't particularly care who makes the machine. Not interested in paying a premium for a brand I've heard of.
  ■Software. Don't care which Windows version, what it comes with, etc. Perfectly happy to reformat the thing and start from scratch if it doesn't have what I want on it.

Any advice you can give would be fantastic! If it's impossible to meet all of the above all at once, well...recommend what you can that gets the closest, and I'll make my decisions accordingly.

Thanks!

 

[Gamer Cat]

This Asus ROG is good, sturdy, powerful, and all that...
http/www.amazon.com/GL551JW-DS74-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-GTX960M/dp/B00T7XRGGC/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1433633709&sr=1-1&keywords=Asus+rog&pebp=1433633714237&perid=06ZQR0KN4FW6RAXKV44V

Here is an MSI; stronger graphics card than the ROG's if I am not mistaken...
http/www.amazon.com/MSI-GT70-Dominator-895-9S7-1763A2-895-17-3-Inch/dp/B00IMTQ6I6/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433633740&sr=1-4&keywords=MSI&pebp=1433633748592&perid=1Z1HSE2T4Y72K0AC7209

Here is an Acer Nitro...
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-VN7-591G-73Y5-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00RGMEUTC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433633784&sr=1-2&keywords=Acer+Nitro&pebp=1433633797550&perid=0V5P2DDM4039SN9PSHWB

Out of these choices, I would go with the MSI.

 

[A_S00]

This Asus ROG is good, sturdy, powerful, and all that...
http/www.amazon.com/GL551JW-DS74-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-GTX960M/dp/B00T7XRGGC/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1433633709&sr=1-1&keywords=Asus+rog&pebp=1433633714237&perid=06ZQR0KN4FW6RAXKV44V

Here is an MSI; stronger graphics card than the ROG's if I am not mistaken...
http/www.amazon.com/MSI-GT70-Dominator-895-9S7-1763A2-895-17-3-Inch/dp/B00IMTQ6I6/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433633740&sr=1-4&keywords=MSI&pebp=1433633748592&perid=1Z1HSE2T4Y72K0AC7209

Here is an Acer Nitro...
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-VN7-591G-73Y5-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00RGMEUTC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433633784&sr=1-2&keywords=Acer+Nitro&pebp=1433633797550&perid=0V5P2DDM4039SN9PSHWB

Out of these choices, I would go with the MSI.

Thanks for the reply!

So, the MSI looks like exactly the kind of modular plastic design I'm trying to avoid. In fact, it looks very much like my current machine (which is also by MSI):

• ■I see lots of very visible seams between pieces of plastic (e.g., around the edge of the screen housing, and along the sides where the ports are). I worry that these will separate over time and be spots where chipping of the plastic can occur.
  ■I see little rubber nubbins (which may come unglued and fall off).
  ■I see thin plastic bars over the fan out-flow (which tend to break over time).
  ■I see lots of space around the hinge joints where the screen meets the body (which makes me worry about the quality of the hinge construction, and whether it will get wobbly over time).

My current computer has developed all of these problems over the years. A few pics to give you a sense of what I mean:

Spoiler

Broken plastic over fan intake on the bottom of the computer:

Missing (broken off) plastic bars over fan output on the side:

Missing rubber foot:

The Asus you linked is maybe a bit better (seems to at least be fewer pieces of plastic, joined more tightly), but it's hard to tell. And I note that it has a number of user reviews complaining about the keyboard falling apart with use, which doesn't exactly sound ideal.

Compare those with something like an HP Spectre x360, which appears to be very close to being just a single piece of aluminum for the body, and a second one for the screen housing. Except you can't play any games on it.

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I'd be willing to pay a few hundred dollars more than the price range of the machines you've linked if it got me their specs in a better housing. Does stuff like that just not exist?

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*edit* I did just spot this over at Amazon: http/www.amazon.com/Razer-Blade-Touchscreen-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B00J06F4T2

Is that undercutting the standard price as much as it seems to be?

 

[Gamer Cat]

Razer is a bit spendy; probably more expensive than Alienware, but honestly, they are worth a look and possibly buy if you have the cash.

 

[A_S00]

Razer is a bit spendy; probably more expensive than Alienware, but honestly, they are worth a look and possibly buy if you have the cash.

If there's a less spendy, less namebrand-y alternative of similar quality, I'd much prefer that! I just haven't been able to find one yet that doesn't look like it will start to fall apart after a couple years' use, like my current one has.