Help getting a new laptop

[harybd]

Hello,

I'm planning to get a new laptop because I had to move and can't take my desktop with me.

Most of the things I’m looking to do are:

-Web surfing
-Netflix
-Photoshop
-Video editing
-Gaming: Hearthstone, Dota 2, maybe some WoW now that there's a new expansion coming.

So I considered the rMbp 13, 256gb, 16 ram (1699 before taxes). I know it's not a gaming machine, but for what I've seen (reviews and youtube), it can handle all those things (gaming on low settings and low resolutions), plus is superportable, has a great battery life and for me is a good looking machine.

However, just by curiosity I checked Alienware's web and found this:

Alienware 14
Quad core i7
16 gb ram
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M with 2GB GDDR5
Blue ray reader
*1599 after discounts

For what I've read is a powerful gaming laptop, can use it as a desktop replacement, I'll be able to play many more games: like starcraft 2 or Diablo3, but it seems to be noisy, big (not that portable), with poor battery life (I know this isn’t new on gaming laptops), gets hot and not to pretty, to my eyes at least.

I know I'm choosing between performance, portability and good looks (subjective).

However, I wanted to ask you:

-Will 16 GB ram be too much on the rMBP or the Alienware?
-Are this reliable laptops?
-What other options do I have, 1699 $ top. (Looked at the Razer blade, but it seems to have a much lower resolution screen and it's more expensive)
-Please comment any experiences you have with these laptops

Any piece of advice will be great.

Thanks for everything; this is my first post and sorry for the grammar. English is not my mother tongue.

Greetings from Peru.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Which is more important: gaming or portability? If your budget is 1600 dollars, you might be able to get a full size laptop with something like a GT750m for around 1000.00 and a hybrid like the Asus T100 for 400.00 and have the best of both worlds, or an even cheaper windows or Android tablet for mobility.

Personally, I would be reluctant to game on an Intel igp. You probably *could* play those games, but I dont know how good the experience would be.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

Have you looked at the GT60 or the GT70 series from MSI ? I have he GT60 0NE-403US and the build quality on their notebooks are great. They have many different options in that price range to choose from. Plus if you get the GT60/70 you will have an upgraded Steelseries keyboard which is insanely good in both feel and performance. I have yet to touch a notebook keyboard that comes close to this. I love mine and use it as a total desktop replacement - trying to be energy efficient so I don't use my desktop rig much.

 

[ralfy]

Several sites have a list of top laptops for the year and filter options by price, specs, etc.