Light gaming laptop

[ragingrooster]

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$1000 CAD

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
Canada

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:
b. Dislike: Dell

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
No

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Surfing the net, watching movies, gaming - primarily strategy games (esp Total War series)

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

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
Strategy games - Total War series, CoH, etc

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
4 hours is more than enough

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?
Buying online is OK

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows 7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information.
1300 x 768. Screen resolution is not a very big issue, since I plan on buying a monitor

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

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not at all!

15) When are you buying this laptop?
Around now

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
~4 years

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
At least 160 GB. I definitely want to invest in a supplementary SSD drive, with money beyond the $1000 if needed

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD Burner, Blu-ray Reader or Blu-Ray Burner?
Just an optical drive, no need for burners
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My current Dell XPS 15m has major overheating issues (without overclocking) and I would like to avoid these on my new laptop.

[TyrionWarMage]

You didnt specify any weight limits for the notebook, but the new Sony Vaio S series is pretty light with mediocre (640M LE) gaming capabilities. The Lenovo Y480 is heavier (2.5kg) but seems to have the better cooling system. The games you have stated are not very demanding and should run on those machines, but when considering future games, it could be not powerful enough. But notebooks with an 650M or better are not really light anymore (>2.5kg). But in general, you are looking into a very popular category and you should keep an eye on this thread: Thin and Light 11-14 notebooks gaming worth compendium