What you need to focus on as far as game performance goes is the GPU ("Graphics Card"). Whether you'll be able to run "games" under certain settings or not really depends on which games you plan to play, but the GT 650M and GTX 660M (two very similar GPUs offered in many sub-$1000 laptops) tend to provide more than satisfactory performance in a number of recent titles.
But that's just performance, and performance is not the only thing you need to focus on. You should also pay attention to which type of display you get. For example, 15.6" 1366x768 displays and 17.3" 1600x900 displays make things onscreen large, and tend to be low-grade LCD panels with very poor image quality due to low contrast. You should make a point to avoid displays like this when it is reasonable to do so, in exchange for displays such as 15.6" 1920x1080 and 17.3" 1920x1080, unless you require larger text for eyesight-related reasons.
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Here is a list of models that are worth considering:
MSI GE60 (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) -
$939 no tax
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152339
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http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE60-0NC-...=UTF8&qid=1346102799&sr=8-1&keywords=msi+ge60
- 17.3" GE70:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152338 (GT 650M)
- 17.3" GE70:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE70-0NC-...2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350364921&sr=8-2&keywords=ge70 (GT 650M)
- 17.3" GE70:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152348 (GTX 660M)
- 17.3" GE70:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE70-0ND-...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350364921&sr=8-1&keywords=ge70 (GTX 660M)
- Note: the NVIDIA GTX 660M is not significantly faster than a NVIDIA GT 650M
Sager NP6165 (i5-3210M, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) -
$920 no tax
-
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6165-clevo-w150er-p-4344.html?wconfigure=yes
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.
- 17.3" version:
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6175-clevo-w170er-p-4345.html?wconfigure=yes
Sager NP6350 (i5-3210M, NVIDIA GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) -
$999 no tax
-
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6350-clevo-w350etq-ships-midseptember-p-4897.html?wconfigure=yes
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.
- Recommended: Matte display upgrade.
- Note: the NVIDIA GTX 660M is not significantly faster than a NVIDIA GT 650M. But there are other differences between the NP6165 and NP6350.
- 17.3" version:
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6370-clevo-w370et-p-4796.html?wconfigure=yes
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (i7-3630QM, NVIDIA GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) -
$939 + tax
- Sign up and sign in here:
http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...ovo:EnterStdAffinity?affinity=barnesnoblegold (Barnes and Noble Gold discount page)
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http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...nfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000001C9:0000717E: (500GB 7200RPM) - $939 + tax
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http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...nfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000001C9:0000717D: (1TB 5400RPM + 32GB SSD) - $1029 + tax
- Click the green "Activate eCoupon" button in the cart.
- These models come with the 1920x1080 display. There are other models that come instead with a 1366x768 display, but those models are not recommended unless you need the larger text. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast.
- Note: the NVIDIA GTX 660M is not significantly faster than a NVIDIA GT 650M.
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