[Solved] Laptop Recommendation - Gaming Laptop

Thank you for reading! Sorry in advance for typos or bad english lol

1. What is your budget?
$1500 - $2000
I want to keep this laptop at least 3~4 yrs.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15 inch ~ 17 should be ok. I think beyond 17 inch is too much.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1080p(1920x1080)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
I need a laptop that can handle every desktop-tasks. Weight is one of important factors, but it's not as critical as its performance.

5. How much battery life do you need?
this laptop will be tethered 99% of time. 1~2 hrs should be enough.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
I believe i will play many games from steam, MW3 and some others. Currently i'm playing counterstrike source and half-life 2, but my old HP laptop cannot handle them anymore....

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
a gaming laptop should have enough processing power for MATLAB and some other simulation programs i think...

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Over 500GB 7200rpm should be enough. but if possible, i want to try a SSD as my main hard drive. (if affordable) I already have an external hard drive.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
http://www.ibuypower.com/
http://www.xoticpc.com
I explored those sites last few days but i couldn't make a decision.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3~4+ years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
I don't have a blu-ray disc, but if there is a blu-ray ODD option, i would take it.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Currently, i have a HP laptop. it has served me perfectly for last 3 years. If i need an average laptop, i would purchase a HP laptop but this is not the case.

I heard AMD GPUs are showing great performance in these days.... But many games are still optimized for nVIDIA. It's really hard to make a decision.

13. What country do you live in?
USA (MA)

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I want a laptop with great processing power, so i can use it both for my school works and gaming. preferably a laptop that is upgrade-able.


Thank you guys all for great technical tips. hope i get a good answer from this forum!

Best answer selected by hellgatemaker.