Looking for a Laptop for heavy gaming and 3d software $1500 (USA)

I have a couple of recommendations for you. You should check out the high end HP Envy, ASUS ROG G750, or if you want some more flexibility you should take a look at Digital Storm, they make custom gaming notebooks and desktops. Their stuff comes at a premium but its high quality.

A 17 inch, expect 3 hours battery life tops. And that's the high end. With that out of the way:

This is the best bang for your buck, saving you anywhere between $200-$300 at other sites:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233023

This is the most complete package (has an SSD):
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231039

Here's my essay response.

The MSI link you gave has a faster video card, maybe 30% to 40% or so faster, but the hard drive is slightly slower. That's how manufacturers (not just MSI but all of them) rip you off, so you pay even more for a laptop that has slightly faster things. It also has 8GB RAM, which is kinda like the minimum I'd want these days. The good thing about the MSI is that if it's like the one I purchased (MSI GE Series GE70 2OE-071US - which I got for a friggen $1,050 STEAL last week, which is normally like $1,350 - and I could hardly believe it because I thought they messed up, and could hardly believe it even more when I was opening up the box lol), is that it has a button for a higher fan speed, to help cool down the laptop. It works pretty good, and in my estimation, it may very well extend the life of the laptop. This one has better video card for gaming although the other two can do high or medium high on most games.. this one is just better at it. And like I said, the fan is nice... but they ripped you off on the hard drive.

The Gigabyte one has a slightly slower video card, but the hard drive is faster so your things will load a little faster. It also has 12GB RAM, which is good. It's not huge, but better. But you're saving like $300 to $350 off the other ones, which you can use to spend like $100 on an SSD (solid state drive), which is super fast, and still save like $200 or so. This one saves you the most cash.

The Asus one is actually a generation older for the CPU and video card, but the CPU for all three laptops are comparable. The video card is comparable to the Gigabyte one. However, the Asus has 16GB RAM *and* more importantly, it has an SSD. SSDs are super duper fast. It's like 2-3 times faster than the Gigabyte and like 3-4 times faster than the MSI. That means Windows will boot up super dang fast, and by the time you get to the desktop, you can start doing things. The other two laptops, you have to wait. For example, my desktop computer has an SSD and my other one does not. The one that does not, it comes up to the desktop, I wait like 45 secs for all the junk to load, and then I launch MS Word 2010 and it takes another 10 seconds. The SSD one, I get to the desktop (in like 1/3 the time) and I can immediate load MS Word (in only like 1-2 seconds) or get on the Internet (immediately - no delay other than the internet). It also has a BLU-ray player while the others do not. This one is good if you want everything without having to work hard for it.

Having said all that, I have purchased regular desktop motherboards from all three manufacturers and built many, many quality computers from the ground up. All three manufacturers are all good and their motherboards are rock solid. I would hope the same of their laptops lol.

Hey, an MSI one for sale again.

$250 off. No joke. Go search that laptop online.

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8694036&csid=_61

If you're unsure about screen size, go to your local computer store like Frys or Best Buy (but don't get suckered into buying something). Go look at the various laptop screens and play around with them. I personally picked a 17.3 inch with 1080p because I'm a power user. I prefer the real estate more than anything.