Looking for a gaming laptop in the price range of 800-900 dollars.

[Metakarta]

So, My main laptop has recently died and is beyond fixing, so Its time i start buying a new computer, I would also like a laptop and not a desktop because I like the ability to take it with me to places. HOWEVER i have NO idea where to start D: , idk what to look for or whats good or bad.. I want to play games like minecraft with no problems, and I have some steam games like TF2 and borderlands I want to play, but I dont know what im meant to look for. If anyone has idea's or advice I would love it all :3 tysm!


(If you can convince me to get a desktop though I may consider buying one o-o)

[Mylo]

You'll get enough responses about getting a desktop over a laptop, so I'll just let other people do that for you.

However, if you consider portability to be important, then get a laptop.  If you are just using your laptop in one place all the time, then you can consider a desktop.  Right now, I consider portability to be important, so I have a laptop.  For the games you want to play, you can definitely find a great laptop in your price range that can handle them. 

[Metakarta]

Glad to hear it :3 tyvm

[Mylo]

Here's a nice laptop in your price range. 

Lenovo IdeaPad Y410p - the $829 model

If you order it by tomorrow, you can use a code to get that listed price. XD

[Weisseman]

I would also like a laptop and not a desktop because I like the ability to take it with me to places.

You'll get enough responses about getting a desktop over a laptop, so I'll just let other people do that for you.

* Weisseman sighs

If you want a gaming laptop you'll almost certainly want a dedicated GPU which will either be an AMD or Nvidia. Nvidia in general are better but come with a cost behind it because of this similar to anything that has Intel in it. Looking at it the old Intel/Nvidia combo is dominating the laptop market at the moment so you'll likely go with that.

Possibilities:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231001 - Older but the 660M is a good GPU to have.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314017 - Newer but the 730M is strictly worse than a 660M but better CPU compared to the previous.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314149 - If you can go over by a little will do you well in the long run. 17.3" screen with a 1920x1080 (full HD) resolution. It'll be big but nice.

Gives you a few ideas to go with.

-edit

The laptop Mylo linked too is a good deal. Well worth it for the price and Lenovo are a reputable company. Out of the 2 go for the $829. Better resolution for gaming on. Odd sized screens though at 14". You might find it a bit small.

[Mylo]

I would also like a laptop and not a desktop because I like the ability to take it with me to places.

You'll get enough responses about getting a desktop over a laptop, so I'll just let other people do that for you.

* Weisseman sighs

Hey, you know it's true!

[Metakarta]

I have a monitor, Ill most likely use external stuff like a mouse keyboard and monitor o-o... I would also Prefer windows 7 if at all possible.

[Weisseman]

Windows 7 has been phased out. You'll have a hard time getting anything modern at that price with Windows 7 now. You can always buy Windows 7 seperately (though that's a lot) or use a program to remove the metro interface and replace it with a Win7 explorer style UI.

[Alsek]

I strongly recommend lenovos when possible.  I have 3 laptops from them and they're all SOLID.  Weisseman is completely correct though.  I second that you really,  really,  really need a dedicated GPU.  Nothing integrated will do for /any/ level of gaming.  Most laptops with dedicated GPUs nowdays come with at LEAST 1gb dedicated graphics memory and you shouldn't settle for anything less than that.

It's always a good idea to find out what GPU your perspective laptop comes with and look up gaming benchmarks for that chip.  They'll show a list of games and show what kind of FPS you should expect to get for that game on different quality settings.

[Aloneness]

Well if you want a gaming laptop best I can offer is http://www.ibuypower.com/ which is a great site for building higher end laptops without the company name tax which most companies like Alienware have... ... however ... *looks at my massive desktop that's a Full ATX case* ... yeah ... I don't do laptops XD

[Old Rabbit]

You can always build a more compact desktop that can be carried to Lan
gaming sites if that's your plan.

Of course laptops are always easy to carry. Almost all will let you hook to
a external monitor if you need a bigger screen.

[Aloneness]

You can always build a more compact desktop that can be carried to Lan
gaming sites if that's your plan.

Of course laptops are always easy to carry. Almost all will let you hook to
a external monitor if you need a bigger screen.

My first desktop computer was built using mico ATX form factor, and for its time it was fairly powerful, it could play The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion on high and all that fun stuff, however graphics cards have gotten a bit bigger than the tiny thing I had in it...