Well, as some of you may know, my laptop's been kaput for some time. It was an HP Envy dv7, and about a month ago, I shipped it to the company for repairs (mainly physical damage). Everything was going fine and dandy until first they called and said repairs were being delayed, then called again about a week later and explained that they're missing a part they need and the company that provides said part is having issues. Therefore, they're basically saying that it's unlikely that I'll get my laptop back and they're looking to work some kind of deal out with me.

In the meantime though, I want to get a new laptop. Most other computers in my house (the one I'm using is a Vista desktop) are relatively slow. I've realized I can pretty competently complete my work on this thing, so I want the new laptop to be a gaming one, preferably one that could run something like, say, Arkham Asylum without overheating like the old one did. I don't want it to be too expensive either, but I'm not entirely sure how much these sort of laptops run for.

Any suggestions?

How long did the old laptop lasted?

5 years.
It ran like a charm, the problem was that the case/frame/whatever it's called is pretty badly made, mostly plastic bits glued together. They also have what is apparently a very common issue with the hinges being terrible on them. The hinges on my thing literally came detached such that the laptop monitor flopped about. As a result, the case began to crack in various places to the point that the thing was literally falling apart.

If I had the need, and the wherewithal, this would be my computer of choice:

http://alienware.com/laptops.aspx


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ljOj6GVcnQ

Depends on how much you want to spend and how much graphical performance you need. For newer games, obviously you want to look for something with a GT950M at least, 960M even better.

If you don't mind taking some risk, you can call Dell Outlet (over the phone, don't use the website) and tell them the model or spec you're looking for. I bought the Dell i7559 refurb through this for $500 instead of $800 new, there is a one year warranty. Although I don't particular recommend that model which do have some issues, being a techy I can work through them.

For me, I stick with Dell because of the reliability of their support. I am a bit biased because its what we use at work

I avoid Lenovo now, although they have good value. Their Ideapad Y series are catered to gamers. I don't touch HP laptops at all.

You can scan through here for some deals: http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9&sort=lastpost&order=&icon=23

If you want to try HP again, this looks like an excellent deal on paper: http://slickdeals.net/f/9165971-hp-pavilion-17t-17-3-1080p-ips-i5-6300hq-8gb-ddr4-128gb-ssd-1tb-hdd-gtx-960m-2gb-wifi-ac-win10-home-laptop-680-w-f-s?v=1
Look like a much better package overall than my current Dell i7559. Lots of complains of slow performance and wireless issues with these laptops seems to be due to the software that come with the laptop which can be fixed by installing a fresh copy of Windows or upgrading the network card.

Would help to provide more requirements, other than "gaming laptop". Is the weight an issue? The laptop's dimensions? Will you be using it on battery or (almost) always plugged in? Will you be using its own keyboard or will you be using external ones?

I recall ASUS having some laptops with serious oomph for their price, but they did weigh 12 lbs or more. But if you are going to be lugging the laptop around, the weight will be a definite minus.

I've heard of Alienware before supposedly being really good/tailored to gaming.

Has anybody had an Alienware laptop? Can you confirm it's any good? Weight and dimensions aren't an issue, my last laptop was fairly hefty in size.
I intend to use it on its own keyboard, but I could buy an external one if necessary.
I heard somewhere that always plugging it in drains it, so I'll see if I can take better care of the new battery. I'm willing to spend more than $600 if the laptop's good enough.

@zeogold: Just tell us your budget and we'll recommend you best laptops for that money.

This, plus budget. On a laptop you can spend anywhere from $250 to $5,000 without searching very hard.

I refuse to go HP ever again. Thanks for the recommendation on the graphics thingamabob, I'm pretty much tech-illiterate when it comes to that sort of thing.
What's the advantages/disadvantages behind refurbished laptops?
Again, I'm really bad with estimating prices, but...
I think after a laptop hits $1,000, it stops being reasonable. At that point, I'd just get a desktop.

I have a MSI computer and it runs everything I've thrown at it so far with no issues:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz

Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M

Video Card #2 Intel(R) HD Graphics 530

RAM 16 GB

https://us.msi.com/Laptops

So portability is how much of a concern? I'm a laptop guy but if you can live with a desktop without much sacrifice then you can certainly get a better price / performance ratio that way.

i can second tha msi make solid laptops. misses machine is msi.

If you're after a gaming laptop, the choice appears less extensive nowadays than it was a few years ago. You've got a fleet of MSI laptops, with and without OS, but they seem to suffer from the usual issue of gaming laptops : overheating. You've got Alienware, that will rip your wallet open. Then Asus , usually good but if you're unlucky and get a bad pc, you'll have to do with their support ( assuming it's as customer "friendly" in the USA as it is here, not the best experience you can have ). Then Acer just launched their Predaror, and it gets good reviews ( although its look is... well, a matter of taste ) . It's also priced acceptably, but here too... a terrive aftersales service if you need it.

As for HP cases falling apart, as you said it is a known issue. Have seen quite a few, and very little to be done about it. Problem is that the loss of integrity also causes damage to some components. It's also awfully expensive to repair because of the amount of time necessary to unbuild / rebuild the thing once the case start losing its integrity.