Hey everyone. I'm looking to purchase a new laptop to replace my Asus n53s that seems to be dying after 2ish years. I've been using a bunch of laptop finding tools and whatnot to try to find "the one", but so far no luck. So I'm turning to Tom's! I used this community to help custom build a PC so I'm hoping everyone can help me find a laptop 
Before I get to the standard FAQ, I'll provide some background. Like. i mentioned, I have a custom built powerhouse pc that I use for most of my gaming and intensive programs. I would like a laptop that can run games smoothly when I go to a friends/travel/have a friend over. I also use laptops for most of my day to day browsing.
1. What is your budget?
-A little under or around $1,000 is preferable, but I would say my absolute maximum is $1,500 (though I hope not to get that high up).
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
-14-15 inches would be just perfect. I had a 17in Inspiron once, but with my desktop, that's just unnecessary now.
3. What screen resolution do you want?
-The higher the better for movies and games, but not a deal breaker. I guess between 1400x and 1600x would be good enough.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
-As mentioned, portable, but weight doesn't bother me and it be plugged for most of it's use. Again though, I have my PC so the laptop doesn't have to be super-powered.
5. How much battery life do you need?
-Again, mostly plugged in when watching movies and definitely when playing games, but it's nice to have it unplugged for awhile when surfing the net.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
-League of Legends is what I play mostly and I'd like to be able to run it on my laptop at medium settings (shading low/off, textures/models/spells at medium). I occasionally play Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 as well, but not nearly as much and I can handle those on low-to-medium settings (my pc can handle both at max for when I need it). No WoW for me and I try a lot of free to plays and Steam games when I get hankering, but mostly for just like a week, very few keep me playing long (and I generally try new games on the desktop anyway for the max graphics).
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
-Mostly web surfing and movie/tv watching. I have Netflix so I stream a lot with friends and like to hook up to the TV when I do.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
-Not a lot. 500gb will probably be more than plenty. I have my pc and an external for storing things. Important though; I want a solid state drive. 256gb would suffice for LoL and a few movies, and a solid state is perfect.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
-No preferences; I'll probably order from the manufacturer unless I can find a good deal on Amazon or Newegg. Suggestions and links to good deals are more thank welcome though.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
-I'd like to get a good few years out of it. My old Dell Inspiron got me through college (barely), but my Asus only made it a couple years. 3-5 would be great; I'm not too worried about upgrading any hardware and I don't plan on being too rough on it with usage.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
-Not important. Like I said, I have Netflix streaming and a lot of stuff on my external/pc. If it has one great, if not I won't miss it.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
-Dell was a huge pain when it came to customer service and quality in general, so I would prefer not to get a Dell (though any testimonials of better quality/service over the past few years will be taken into account). Asus was alright, though the laptop came with a bunch of annoying prepackaged software hat took awhile to uninstall. I'd buy from them again for sure. I don't want an Apple either, though that's probably obvious from what I do want.
13. What country do you live in?
-USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
-To narrow down to my most important features; the make or break deals:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Intel i7 (I just want thing to WORK, ya know?)
Solid state drive
HDMI port (for connecting to TV)
Pretty much everything else is unimportant to me, but those four are must haves. If there's no way to get those without going over budget, then I'll save up. Webcam, optical drive, numpad, bluetooth; all meh in my mind. If I have to resort to custom building again, so be it, and any input for that route is appreciated, but I'd like to go simple and just order a laptop.
Any help or suggestions will be read and taken into consideration! Also, any store you know that carries the laptop you suggest so I can try it out would be greatly helpful as well.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Before I get to the standard FAQ, I'll provide some background. Like. i mentioned, I have a custom built powerhouse pc that I use for most of my gaming and intensive programs. I would like a laptop that can run games smoothly when I go to a friends/travel/have a friend over. I also use laptops for most of my day to day browsing.
1. What is your budget?
-A little under or around $1,000 is preferable, but I would say my absolute maximum is $1,500 (though I hope not to get that high up).
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
-14-15 inches would be just perfect. I had a 17in Inspiron once, but with my desktop, that's just unnecessary now.
3. What screen resolution do you want?
-The higher the better for movies and games, but not a deal breaker. I guess between 1400x and 1600x would be good enough.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
-As mentioned, portable, but weight doesn't bother me and it be plugged for most of it's use. Again though, I have my PC so the laptop doesn't have to be super-powered.
5. How much battery life do you need?
-Again, mostly plugged in when watching movies and definitely when playing games, but it's nice to have it unplugged for awhile when surfing the net.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
-League of Legends is what I play mostly and I'd like to be able to run it on my laptop at medium settings (shading low/off, textures/models/spells at medium). I occasionally play Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 as well, but not nearly as much and I can handle those on low-to-medium settings (my pc can handle both at max for when I need it). No WoW for me and I try a lot of free to plays and Steam games when I get hankering, but mostly for just like a week, very few keep me playing long (and I generally try new games on the desktop anyway for the max graphics).
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
-Mostly web surfing and movie/tv watching. I have Netflix so I stream a lot with friends and like to hook up to the TV when I do.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
-Not a lot. 500gb will probably be more than plenty. I have my pc and an external for storing things. Important though; I want a solid state drive. 256gb would suffice for LoL and a few movies, and a solid state is perfect.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
-No preferences; I'll probably order from the manufacturer unless I can find a good deal on Amazon or Newegg. Suggestions and links to good deals are more thank welcome though.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
-I'd like to get a good few years out of it. My old Dell Inspiron got me through college (barely), but my Asus only made it a couple years. 3-5 would be great; I'm not too worried about upgrading any hardware and I don't plan on being too rough on it with usage.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
-Not important. Like I said, I have Netflix streaming and a lot of stuff on my external/pc. If it has one great, if not I won't miss it.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
-Dell was a huge pain when it came to customer service and quality in general, so I would prefer not to get a Dell (though any testimonials of better quality/service over the past few years will be taken into account). Asus was alright, though the laptop came with a bunch of annoying prepackaged software hat took awhile to uninstall. I'd buy from them again for sure. I don't want an Apple either, though that's probably obvious from what I do want.
13. What country do you live in?
-USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
-To narrow down to my most important features; the make or break deals:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Intel i7 (I just want thing to WORK, ya know?)
Solid state drive
HDMI port (for connecting to TV)
Pretty much everything else is unimportant to me, but those four are must haves. If there's no way to get those without going over budget, then I'll save up. Webcam, optical drive, numpad, bluetooth; all meh in my mind. If I have to resort to custom building again, so be it, and any input for that route is appreciated, but I'd like to go simple and just order a laptop.
Any help or suggestions will be read and taken into consideration! Also, any store you know that carries the laptop you suggest so I can try it out would be greatly helpful as well.
Thanks in advance for any help!
/www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=627
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