Need Suggestions for College Laptop (Engineering Major w/ Gaming Interests)

So I have been looking around and doing my research for laptops for college. This fall I will be an Engineering Major and need a laptop that will suit the likes of MATLAB and CAD programs as well as my moderate gaming interests.

I am not really familiar with the computer requirements for MATLAB or CAD but my university did offer a suggested specs of 16 GB memory with an i5 processor (preferably i7). I do know that MATLAB runs better with an NVIDIA graphics card so I am looking for a laptop that fits these specs.

Another thing to note is that my budget is around $1800. Preferably I would like to get one from Best Buy (sadly...) as I have a $500 gift card to there sitting around. So far I have come across some laptops on their site which are as follows:

CyberPowerPC HFX7-1000

CyberPowerPC HFX-1100

MSI GT70

This also leads me to my final question regarding brands. Is it worth paying a little extra money to go with the MSI rather than the CyberPower since my research has shown that MSI tends to be a better brand and company.

Any further suggestions and comments would be greatly appreciated and thanks for your time.