Which Laptop Should I Get?

[BJZICA]

Hello, I'd like to start by saying that I am not virtually tech-illiterate. As such, I have almost no idea what half of the things I'm looking at spec-wise mean and I would really appreciate it if someone on here would recommend me a good gaming laptop, as well as helping me save on spending to much unnecessary money.

I'd appreciate it if anyone would please point out the pros/cons of each laptop I've listed or if they could point me towards a better one that's within my price range. ($800-$1200 area)
The ones I have looked at:

Dell Inspiron 17.3" Laptop 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive I17RSE-3589BK - Best Buy

Asus N56Series 15.6" Laptop 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive N56VJ-DH71 - Best Buy

Asus N56Series 15.6" Laptop 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive N56DP-DH11 - Best Buy

Asus 17.3" Laptop 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive G75VX-BHI7N11 - Best Buy

Once again, my price range is around $800-$1200. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps answer my question!

 

[PP Mguire]

The 17.3 Asus is the best out of the ones linked.

The only problem is it has a slow HDD.

 

[BJZICA]

Will the slow HDD make a big difference?

 

[PP Mguire]

In general performance and loading times, yes. It will not affect the FPS at all.
If you're spending that much then I recommend pairing it with an SSD.

 

[BJZICA]

How much more would an SSD cost? The fourth one is already pushing it a little.

And just out of curiousity, would I be able to run higher-end games such as Skyrim on high settings on any of the other 3 laptops?

 

[PP Mguire]

A good 120GB SSD would cost you around 120 bucks. The one I recommend in particular should be $129 on Newegg.

Simple answer, no. Vanilla Skyrim would be capable on the 650m, but anything else will start to be laggy at 1080p. The 670Mx is closer to the desktop chip than the other non X variants as it has most all of its shaders. Try to remember, that mobile GPUs are highly cut down to perform within their thermal and power envelope. A regular 670m is closer to something like a Geforce 560.
I would not consider the 635 or 7730 as they are both too low power.

The difference in price between the Dell and Asus 17" laptops is simply because the 670Mx is that much more powerful. It'll be capable of maxing almost anything out for a while. If you can't afford an SSD then don't worry about it but I highly recommend getting one later on. The GPU power alone is worth using a slow HDD for a while.

To see a comparison difference.
SSD vs. HDD Performance Comparison - YouTube

 

[Jake]

When it comes to frisbees, I highly recommend the Ultra-Star 175 for sheer range.

Ultimate Ultra-Star 175 from Discraft