Looking for a good gaming laptop, ditching my macbook

[Austin1994]

Hello everyone,
I'm looking to upgrade to something a little more powerful.
I'm getting fed up with how little my 2011 Macbook pro can do.
I usually don't play games on it since it gets too hot and I don't want to wear out the fan.
I was thinking about building a gaming desktop, but I thought I might as well just upgrade what I already have.

I am a student so while mobility is semi-important, I would be willing to carry extra weight if it is worth it.

My price range at this point is probably $1200-1600.

So a couple of the ones I am currently looking at:
Asus ROG g750jm ($1300)
Razer Blade 14" (the 2013 model is $1500 on amazon right now)
Alienware 14" ($1100?)
etc.

The only computer brands that are on my not-to-buy list are just Apple and MSI.

Any opinions, info, etc is appreciated
Thank you!

 

[dasulman]

why not MSI - they've got a kickass 5 lb notebook that's just as powerful as the Asus ROG you linked?
what kind of gaming you doing?
asus n550jk - sound bet - touchscreen 1920x1080p IPS with all the other trimmings and can do gaming just as well as the razer blade - that comes at $1099+
xoticpc.com can do a sweet rig for sager - you could get an 870M build with all the trimmings at your budget.

 

[Austin1994]

why not MSI - they've got a kickass 5 lb notebook that's just as powerful as the Asus ROG you linked?
what kind of gaming you doing?
asus n550jk - sound bet - touchscreen 1920x1080p IPS with all the other trimmings and can do gaming just as well as the razer blade - that comes at $1099+
xoticpc.com can do a sweet rig for sager - you could get an 870M build with all the trimmings at your budget.

The type of gaming I would be doing includes League, DayZ, Shooters, and MMO's. So I'm not looking to get ultra graphics, but I want a decent replacement for a desktop.
The 5 lb. notebook you're talking about, is that the MSI GE60 Apache?
I have been taking a look at that one as well, and it does seem like a good choice. I certainly don't believe it can be compared to the performance of the g750jm though.
The only reason I am meh on MSI is that my brother had an MSI gaming laptop that just seemed to have weird issues, and the battery life was terrible. I am looking for something with a much better battery life.
The Asus you mentioned also seems like a decent choice, so I will keep it in mind as well.

 

[dasulman]

why not MSI - they've got a kickass 5 lb notebook that's just as powerful as the Asus ROG you linked?
what kind of gaming you doing?
asus n550jk - sound bet - touchscreen 1920x1080p IPS with all the other trimmings and can do gaming just as well as the razer blade - that comes at $1099+
xoticpc.com can do a sweet rig for sager - you could get an 870M build with all the trimmings at your budget.

The type of gaming I would be doing includes League, DayZ, Shooters, and MMO's. So I'm not looking to get ultra graphics, but I want a decent replacement for a desktop.
The 5 lb. notebook you're talking about, is that the MSI GE60 Apache?
I have been taking a look at that one as well, and it does seem like a good choice. I certainly don't believe it can be compared to the performance of the g750jm though.
The only reason I am meh on MSI is that my brother had an MSI gaming laptop that just seemed to have weird issues, and the battery life was terrible. I am looking for something with a much better battery life.
The Asus you mentioned also seems like a decent choice, so I will keep it in mind as well.

well honestly all gaming laptops have suck battery life, you can get around this here; http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/other-devices/best-portable-chargers-14-we-recommend-1178873
I was referring to the MSI GS60 ghost - it's a bit more expensive but much thinner and lighter than the GE60 apache pro.
The only difference between the MSIGS60 ghost and the apache and the Asus Rog 750jm is form factor and cooling - whilst the asus has the best cooling (the ghost isn't far off) it's in a huge hulk chassis that's difficult to carry - the specs on these 3 laptops are basically equal, including the battery life

the Asus n550jk seems to be the best bet though - it can do your games with ease and has better but still not ultrabook level battery life - though it's still touchscreen with a nice screen.