First Gaming Laptop: Help?

[Yuri Kechoyan]

Hi! I am considering on buying a Gaming Laptop in the very near future. I am looking for a computer that I can use for school and also do some gaming on. I will provide some requirements that I'm looking for, then what I have it narrowed down to. Either help me choose, or if there are any alternatives that you know of that fall under the criteria, please list brand, model, etc...

Note: I am currently a college student. So Portability and Power are key here.

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Requirements:

PRICE - $1,000 & UNDER
WEIGHT - 5.6 LBS OR LGHTER
Display Size - between 13" and 15"
Resolution: 1920x1080 or 4K //(Doesn't matter)
CPU - 6th Gen i5 or i7 //(if possible)
GPU - NVIDIA GTX 960M w/ 2GB //(or higher in GBs or type = 970M, 980M, etc.)
RAM - 8 GB or higher
Storage - If HDD, Preferably 1TB at 7200 RPM | If SSD, 256 GB or higher
If Computer has both SSD and HDD, even better!

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Here what I have it narrowed down to:

Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK or Asus ROG GL552VW-DH71

Help me choose or provide another computer that meets or exceeds these requirements.

Thank you in advance!

 

[gpobernardo]

I prefer the ASUS choice you posted. But, make sure you check the ventilation of the laptop before purchasing it. Go to a store and examine their display unit if available. This is the second most important feature you should look at next to specs. Your ASUS choice seems to have good ventilation, but for a "gaming" laptop it seems a bit smaller.

The Lenovo Y50 is an example of a gaming laptop that has good ventilation (for your reference since it costs more than $1000).

 

[pickettd]

I was in the same situation looking for a 960m laptop but light in weight. I ended up with the Acer Aspire V Nitro VN7-591G.

15" 1080p screen
16GB Ram
1TB HDD
Nvidia 960M
$1500AUD / $1070 USD
2.2KG
Core i7-4710HQ

There are a few varying models including one with 4K.

 

[Richardry]

If your priority is portability, Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK is not really a good one since it?s more than 8 pounds in weight. Yet, the ASUS ROG you put there is a decent choice since it 5.6 pounds.

The ASUS one wins the power over Dell as well since it comes with the latest Core i7, but with 128GB SSD-lower than your expectation. Want something better that gives you the two priorities? I found good gaming laptops under $1000 that ASUS K501UX gives both power and portability. The model comes in skylake Core i7, 256 SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M & 8GB.

 

[pankaj981]

Have you checked any MSI offerings? Also check for any student discount offerings.