New Laptop Advice

[DoubleHelix]

So, after five years I finally have the funds to get a new laptop. My old one is still in good shape, but five years is a long time.
I know a lot about computers, having grown up using them and taken a few courses on some of the finer points; but I don't have much experience shopping for them, so I could use some advice.

I should have almost $2000 soon, maybe a little more. I would like to keep some of it for other frivolous things; but it would probably be better invested in a kick ass laptop, so if I end up spending all my money, I won't complain.
The main thing I will be using it for is gaming. I want to be able to play Skyrim with mods; and if I could Twitch stream, that would be amazing. It doesn't have to have a bunch of crazy lights, a fast disk drive (because who uses DVDs anymore?), a touch screen, or bluetooth. It just needs to go fast and stay cool.
One of my biggest concerns was whether I could get one with Windows 7, or should just concede defeat and upgrade to 10. I really hate the new design and a lot of the new features with windows 10 and don't want to have to pay extra for another operating system if I can just get 7 pre-installed.

 

[ZER0X]

The main thing I will be using it for is gaming. I want to be able to play Skyrim with mods; and if I could Twitch stream

Realistically you will want to buy a gaming laptop which has a decent graphics card, good amount of ram and a multi-threading CPU such as the intel i7 as it helps with performance a lot when streaming using programs such as OBS or Xsplit. An SSD will help a bit as well, but isn't particularly necessary.

As a personal preference I prefer MSI gaming laptops, however you can choose from multiple different brands. I know Asus has a decent selection as well.

One of my biggest concerns was whether I could get one with Windows 7, or should just concede defeat and upgrade to 1

I'm almost certain that you can't buy laptops from stores with Windows 7 installed anymore, however you can still buy Windows 7 OEM separately if you really want to. In my opinion it's not worth it if the laptop comes with an OS installation already on it.

 

[1shado1]

Does this laptop need to be light and portable, or will it be used mostly in one place?

Here's what I'd get if it will be used mostly in one place:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-17-3-Inch...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1437463284&sr=1-3&keywords=gt72

Nice quad core i7 CPU, and the second most powerful Nvidia mobile GPU on the planet (excluding SLI set-ups). Decent sounding Dynaudio speakers (with 'subwoofer'), awesome steelseries keyboard, which also features completely customizable back lighting (which can be turned off, if desired). Good display, and sturdy build quality. Comes with an optical drive, but you can always swap that out later for another HDD or SSD. There are even better and more expensive versions of the GT72, but I figured this one still leaves you with a few bucks left.

Here's a couple reviews of the GT72 (with similar specs to the one I linked):

http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/19/msi-gt72-dominator-review/

http://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-GT72-GTX-980M-Notebook-Review-Update.129053.0.html

And an overview from XOTIC PC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m76pVlrUkY0