There's a few questions you need to ask yourself.
What video resolution are you looking to run in your game? 1080p vs 720p in notebooks makes a huge difference in which graphics card you would be looking to get.
Ideally, if this is for gaming and such, you are looking at an nVidia Geforce 780M which is on par with a GTX 660 (maybe a Ti version) in terms of desktop gpu power vs mobile.
Unfortunately, that gpu in a notebook will put you well over your budget.
Your budget allows for about a 760M at best and even that is pushing it.
I would post up some examples of your discounts so we can better gauge what you are working with.
A core i5 is plenty of cpu for gaming and anything. Only get an i7 if you can make use of the hyper-threading, otherwise you are just adding heat, power draw, and cost.
An SSD makes all the different in a notebook. SSD + HDD = win.
Gaming notebooks won't have great battery life, so don't expect much from any brand. This isn't something you should let influence your decision.
Truth be told, I have retired my gaming notebooks. I just wasn't using them and I hated playing on them unless I had a seperate mouse and keyboard hooked up. Even then, a 17" screen isn't the most fun to play on unless you need to get that gaming itch outta your system.
Best bang for your buck is still building a gaming desktop and a cheapy notebook for portable computing unless you require mobile gameplay.
I also recommend going into Best Buy and talking with the store manager about his open box stock. The store managers have the authority to give additional discounts on open box items, and even more so if they have been sitting around for awhile. I can't tell you have many notebooks I have come up on well under 50% of the original price. It makes for some great side cash for me. I just got an Asus i5 touchscreen ultrabook for $250 + tax this past week. Perfect condition.
All in all, best bet is to hunt down something on Craigslist while you are out here. Let someone else waste their money and pay full price on the items, than you swoop in and take it off their hands for a great price. Check it thoroughly, open it up, use Crystal Disk Info to check HDD hours which usually gives you a solid idea of how much usage the notebook has in general, and don't buy a piece of shit.
If you are ballin or find one for sale used, go for a Clevo or a Sager. They are pretty sweet.
You can also check out System76 Ubuntu notebooks. My favorite Linux systems hands down and great support. They also give Windows 7 drivers for their systems. I have a Gazelle Professional myself.
www.system76.com
Hit me up on steam if you need some other help.
There's a few questions you need to ask yourself.
What video resolution are you looking to run in your game? 1080p vs 720p in notebooks makes a huge difference in which graphics card you would be looking to get.
Ideally, if this is for gaming and such, you are looking at an nVidia Geforce 780M which is on par with a GTX 660 (maybe a Ti version) in terms of desktop gpu power vs mobile.
Unfortunately, that gpu in a notebook will put you well over your budget.
Your budget allows for about a 760M at best and even that is pushing it.
I would post up some examples of your discounts so we can better gauge what you are working with.
A core i5 is plenty of cpu for gaming and anything. Only get an i7 if you can make use of the hyper-threading, otherwise you are just adding heat, power draw, and cost.
An SSD makes all the different in a notebook. SSD + HDD = win.
Gaming notebooks won't have great battery life, so don't expect much from any brand. This isn't something you should let influence your decision.
Truth be told, I have retired my gaming notebooks. I just wasn't using them and I hated playing on them unless I had a seperate mouse and keyboard hooked up. Even then, a 17" screen isn't the most fun to play on unless you need to get that gaming itch outta your system.
Best bang for your buck is still building a gaming desktop and a cheapy notebook for portable computing unless you require mobile gameplay.
I also recommend going into Best Buy and talking with the store manager about his open box stock. The store managers have the authority to give additional discounts on open box items, and even more so if they have been sitting around for awhile. I can't tell you have many notebooks I have come up on well under 50% of the original price. It makes for some great side cash for me. I just got an Asus i5 touchscreen ultrabook for $250 + tax this past week. Perfect condition.
All in all, best bet is to hunt down something on Craigslist while you are out here. Let someone else waste their money and pay full price on the items, than you swoop in and take it off their hands for a great price. Check it thoroughly, open it up, use Crystal Disk Info to check HDD hours which usually gives you a solid idea of how much usage the notebook has in general, and don't buy a piece of shit.
If you are ballin or find one for sale used, go for a Clevo or a Sager. They are pretty sweet.
You can also check out System76 Ubuntu notebooks. My favorite Linux systems hands down and great support. They also give Windows 7 drivers for their systems. I have a Gazelle Professional myself.
www.system76.com
Hit me up on steam if you need some other help.