Laptop noob help

I've been looking for a laptop for a while now and feel although I'm getting nowhere. I am very inexperienced when it comes to pcs and laptops so I'm looking for some help.

I currently am studying graphic design at college and will be continuing to do so for a few more years. This is the main reason for me needing a laptop as I feel I would really benefit from having something other than the college computers I can use for my work. This means the laptop I am looking for must be compatible with most adobe products (illustrator, photoshop, in design, dreamweaver etc). This had lead me to the idea of getting a MacBook as it has come highly recommended by other people in the profession.

However, I am also quite keen on getting into pc gaming but simply don't have the money for a desktop pc. I'm only really looking to get into games like Counterstrike which I am aware is very low spec so most laptops should be able to run but I would like to be able to run it well, which is something I have heard the MacBooks struggle with. I have also heard from numerous pc veterans that MacBooks aren't worth the money and I could get better value for money with a different laptop.

I wondered if anyone could help me or point me in the direction of a laptop I should be looking at or whether anyone knows if MacBooks can run games like Counterstrike seriously?

Any help is much appreciated.