Gaming Laptop Under $900

[Droid82]

Hello all. I recently sold my consolation prize from the Nvidia lawsuit and I'm looking to upgrade to a solid gaming capable notebook. I've been gaming and building my own computers since the late 80s/early 90s. I don't need "ultra" details in my games, but I would like to have at least high details. I know I probably need to spend a bit more, yet I'm hoping to see if maybe there's something I haven't spotted on the market. Thanks for the assistance.

General Questions

1) What is your budget? $900

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Asus, Samsung, MSI, etc
b. Dislike: Apple and HP (Nvidia Lawsuit, bad memories...)

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed? Sure

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook? Gaming and photo editing, basic tasks.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both? Both.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games? Diablo 3, Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, etc.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need? It doesn't matter.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK? I love shopping online.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows 7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? I prefer 1080p, but will accept 900p.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen? It doesn't matter.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? A little bit, but not a dealbreaker if it performs what I need it to do.

15) When are you buying this laptop? Within the next few weeks.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last? 2-3 years.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive? It doesn't matter. I can always shop around and install a better one myself.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive? Doesn't hurt to have.

[Droid82]

I guess it's hard finding a gaming laptop under $900.

[Karamazovmm]

hp dv6t, n56, and if you can stretch your budget a little the msi 16f3, the later will give much better performance

[junky77]

900 or 1000$?
HP now has 400$ discount coupon for various models that are configured over 1399$. You can get the dv6t quad edition with a GT 650M (almost a GTX 560M), 8GB DDR3, FullHD display and more (like 750GB Hybrid HDD) for 1000$"
HP Pavilion dv6t Quad Edition

Why?
because you'll get the GT 650M + Ivy Bridge I7 performance level with FullHD display and more good stuff which usually sums for more. it'll be hard to find such a thing for 1000$ currently and you wanted the high performance

WHY NOT?
because you can wait two months and see where the prices are going. It seems that there will be always coupons, even after the end of humanity comes.

Other options for 900$ top. Well, you got some good laptops with a GT 555M or GT 640M (> GT 555M) or the radeon 7690M, like Lenovo Y470p (14.0", radeon 7690M), Y570 (15.6", GT 555M), the new Y480 (GT 640M).
- the Y570 has a great build quality, above the average screen, 8GB DDR3 memory and DB I7 cpu for 750$ - link
If you really want to spend another 100$, you have many SSD coupons that are great and will make your laptop more comfortable.

and it seems one of the best offers all around currently, because you can't get much more performance for that price (if at all) for a new laptop and this one have some good features.

About refurbished - try to find some G74 laptop.

Final word: Wait .

[villagepark]

clevo W150er is $900 for 15.6" 1080p screen, nvidia GT650m ddr5 graphics, and sandy bridge dual core i5.

[Droid82]

Thanks for the assistance guys, but I just pulled the trigger on a refurbished ASUS G53SW-XA1 from Amazon for $847.27.

15.6-inch LED-backlit Full HD display (1920 x 1080)
Intel Core i7-2630QM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM
8GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM
500GB 7200rpm hard drive

[Karamazovmm]

the 650m still gives you better performance

congrats on the purchase

[junky77]

clevo W150er is $900 for 15.6" 1080p screen, nvidia GT650m ddr5 graphics, and sandy bridge dual core i5.

where?
usually with all the nice features, it costs more than that (1100$ at least)

[Karamazovmm]

where?
usually with all the nice features, it costs more than that (1100$ at least)

just dont upgrade anything