I'll be studying abroad for a year starting next month, so taking my big ass desktop is probably not an option. While I'm there I'm going to stay on a dorm, it's a private room, but I doubt space will be much to talk about anyway, so I thought a small laptop could be useful. I know a computer would be provided for me in the lab to work on, but maybe having my own that I could bring with me could be useful, or maybe that won't matter. Desktops would be cheaper and more powerful, but then there's the matter of bringing it home later, which isn't all that different from my current conundrum.

The thing is: whatever I do get, I want something that can play games. I know, I'm there to study, but I'd go crazy if I didn't have this fall back on when I need to relax, regardless of how often I'll actually get to do that.

To make things worse though, I come to GOG a lot but I also like to play plenty of new stuff, I've been itching to play the new Batman or Watch Dogs, and I get how hard it is to get these running on a laptop.

To give you some perpective, my current desktop has an i7-2600 3.4GHz, 8gb ram and a GTX 560 graphics card. I got it two years ago and I wish I won't have to trade down.

I've kinda been leaning on an Alienware 14 but I'm open to all suggestions. The graphics card in it is actually better than my current one (I think), but I hear you just can't escape the CPU with these things. Unfortunately I have seen games I played benchmarked in it and they apparently ran on lower settings and still got 15 fps less than I did. Doesn't ruin things but it is still a bummer.

Price is kind of not an issue, emphasis on "kind of". With taxes, electronics are so expensive here in Brazil, that maybe I could sell it when I come back for less than the market price and still recoup all my money...maybe. It's still a big initial investment though.

tl;dr: What is your advice on laptop gaming?

Read up on the cooling. That's the most important in a laptop (especially high-end). I have an Asus G73, and I can play any game, though for some I have to reduce the details. The CPU doesn't matters much in gaming. So get the best graphics card you can afford with a good cooling. Good luck!

So what is the screen size you are looking for? Is weight important? And where are you going to buy it?

I don't care about the screen size, or weight, and I have no idea where I'll buy it. I'm going to Sendai, Japan, so a japanese shop would be helpful, since most american ones don't have international shipping. Aside from that I don't really know.

How exactly it will be regarding price remains to be seen. Good to know though that I should focus more on the GPU. Like I responded in another post, where I'll buy it is sure to be a bit of an issue, so what I liked about Alienware was that I could get it straight from their website, unfortunately I can't do that with MSI.

The best I could find was on amazon.jp http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B00D5PN9DW/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP

But that's 400$ more expensive, has 2,4GHz instead of 3.2 and half of the ram.

Edited, your future self will thank me.

As someone who owns an Alienware, I actually advise against it. They're good laptops, but the parts aren't very reliable, and I'm sure you can get a laptop with about the same performance for a fraction of the cost.

You probably should care about the screen size that if you e.g. get a 17.3" laptop, you'll have quite a bit harder time carrying it with most backpacks or laptop bags, especially if it is something like ASUS 17.3" laptops which really need a 18" laptop bag due to the extra cooling "wing" at the back that makes it even bigger.

So if you need to be able to carry it with you every day between your dorm and school, I'd go with some 15.6" model. At least that should fit to normal bags. But if you mostly keep it at the dorm as a desktop replacement, then a 17.3" laptop can make sense too, and probably stays cooler too than the smaller version (more size = better cooling). And, a bigger screen is of course nicer to look at, and doesn't make eyes as tired as a smaller screen.

And since you want to play latest games too, NVidia GTX 660M/760M at minimum, I guess (and with those you sometimes need to drop to medium settings with latest games, or use a lower resolution than 1920x1080). 680M/780M is the highest end at the moment I think, without going to dual-GPU settings.

And yes, for gaming laptops the GPU is the bottleneck more than the CPU.

Well, you'd have to do probably about 15 minutes of online "homework" to figure out the details, but you may be in a situation where it makes sense to pay for a US-based mail redirection service. The idea of course is that you buy from Amazon, ship it to the mail redirection service, which then ships it on to an address you give them in Japan. I've done this before, but not to Japan. For a single package, it should only set you back about $9 or $10 USD, plus, of course, shipping.
But you'd need to make sure what the applicable laws are regarding customs fees, if any, for stuff getting shipped from the US to Japan.

Check Dell's outlet for Alienware laptops. Some are refurbished, others are simply canceled orders. Either way you might get a good deal.

i5 with a dedicated video card if you plan to play new AAA titles. 15 inch is standard. 17 inch will probably be too heavy to be portable.
While refurbs might be a good idea, there is no way to tell what the original problem was (if not a cosmetic or minor exterior issue)

Don't get an Alienware... overpriced POS in my opinion

http://www.gamingonlaptops.com/buy/clevo/

I'm thinking about getting this myself - http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP7330

(also goes as the Clevo W230ST on other sites)

Depending on budget there are also a plethora of 15 / 17 inch models available as well...

I've been gaming on a laptop exclusively for the last 7 years. Your options these days are very good. Different people like different things, but if you plan to move your computer around at all (either travelling or just around your living space) I recommend a 15.x screen size. It's still plenty big and more portable. Also, as others have mentioned, get the best gpu you can, cooling upgrades, and a solid state drive if you can afford it.

I use this site for shopping brands and specs, but I've never purchased from here: http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-gaming-laptops-ct-118_96_98.html

I do recommend that you stay away from MSI. My newest laptop is the MSI GT683dx and it has several problems. The keyboard is difficult to use for some inexplicable reason and the machine hard freezes once a day or so. You can tell by handling it that the construction is cheap in some regards. Most importantly, the customer service is very poor. It was an absolute ordeal for me to get my power brick replaced after it burned out in about 5 months. That alone speaks of the quality.

My two cents: I recommend a big laptop, 17 inch screen, as they tend to have better cooling systems, and a tablet (maybe and iPad or a cheap Windows 8 tablet) if you need a device to carry around with you.

For example, Toshiba, a Japanese company (maybe better support and prices over there?), has the Qosmio line (huge gaming laptops) and the Encore, a cheap Windows 8 tablet, just released. I would also look at other Japanese companies, like Fujitsu or Sony. But, as I said, I have no idea if they offer better support or prices in Japan.

ED: Oh, and the Surface RT is dirt cheap for students right now. So you could take the tablet with you to your classes and, if it gets lost or stolen, is not such a big loss.