Looking to buy a new laptop and need some recommendations (edited for price)

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Does it have to be a laptop for portability?

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Yes, I'm looking to replace my current laptop.

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If you're gaming and want 17", why not get something smaller with just as much power and dock it to an even bigger display?

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I guess it not being 17" isn't a deal breaker, but I've just gotten so used to having a large laptop screen

Refurbished Asus from Newegg... $830

LINK

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Intel Core i7 3630QM (2.40GHz)
8GB Memory 2TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
1600 x 900
Windows 8 64-bit
Blu-ray ROM with DVD Burning

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He also said around $1000 so I always go under budget. For around $1200 he can get a ROG 17" with better GPU.

Mine is a solid construction. Not the cheap plastic you get on lower priced units. I love mine. It's a N56VZ that I got a real good deal for at MicroCenter. Was a returned unit that was fixed back up. Got it for around $350. Just an FYI the computer posted is a Refurb so it only comes with a 90 day warranty.

My battery life is pretty good. I keep mine plugged in most of the time but when I did go unplugged it works great. Me personally don't have too much of an issue with refurbs. These two computers posted are quality units. Just an FYI they do have the 3rd generation I-7 processor. Not a big deal but just wanted you to know.

Asus makes so damn good stuff. Build quality on the more expensive machines is top notch.

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This is the same unit I have but this is Windows 8. The 1st unit liked has a 2TB 5,400 HD but the one I posted has a 750GB 7,200 HD. Other than that basically the same specs on both units.
ETA: 1st unit has an NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M. 2nd unit has NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

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Same price, lose 2TB storage 17" but get 750GB 7200 and GT650M on 15".

Damn, I might get one of these as well.

ETA: ETA: Didn't notice yours was 15" screen initially. That could be the difference for OP.

I just noticed it was 15" as well. Not a deal breaker, but I would much rather have a 17". I'm going to keep looking/researching but will definitely keep the Asus BamaHater posted in mind.

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How is the battery life on your ASUS?

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Let me start by clarifying that you should not look at battery life as one of your criteria for a gaming laptop. When you start putting a load on the CPU and GPU, you'll get about 30 minutes. Gaming laptops are meant for the convenience of being able to take your gaming machine from outlet to outlet, not for gaming on battery. Plugging in at the airport. Plugging in at the hotel. Plugging in at the office when no one is watching.

Battery life for normal office use is dependent upon how you configure the power usage and how much you do. Generally, battery life is advertised as hours under the most ideal, least-intensive usage... like editing a Word document at 20% brightness, and the laptop's CPU and GPU in super-duper-ultra power saving mode. Some companies are more honest about battery life, but consider that your average gaming laptop today will use an i7- or i5-4000 MQ/M series CPU, a GTX 700M or 800M series GPU running a 1080p screen, a couple of sticks of DDR3, one mechanical HDD, and a 6- or 9-cell lithium ion battery. Battery life isn't going to vary a whole lot. Basically, the more powerful the hardware, the less battery life you can expect under any meaningful load. Higher-end notebooks like that aren't meant for ultra-portable sit-on-the-beach-and-surf-the-web usage.

17" ASUS ROG notebooks will have two drive bays, so adding your own SSD wouldn't be a problem. Some of the 17" MSIs do as well, and some have mSATA bays. If a laptop doesn't have a second bay or any other extra interface for a second internal storage device, you can still use an HDDCaddy if you are willing to give up your optical drive ( LINK). What it does is replace your optical drive with a 2.5" drive of your choice:



There are a few value Lenovos out there:

15" Lenovo Y50 for $980: LINK
GTX 860M
i5-4200H
8GB DDR3
5400rpm drive (a hybrid drive with 8GB SSD for cache)

15" Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p for under $1000: LINK
SLI 755Ms, which will perform about the same as an 860M if the game supports SLI.
i5-4200M
6GB DDR3
5400rpm drive (a hybrid drive with 8GB SSD for cache)


15" Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p for $1029: LINK
SLI 755Ms, which will perform about the same as an 860M if the game supports SLI.
i7-4700MQ
8GB DDR3
5400rpm drive (a hybrid drive with 8GB SSD for cache)


Or get this 17" MSI with the 860M for $1019: LINK
i5-4200H
8GB DDR3 1600
5400rpm drive (but has two available mSATA slots for mSATA SSDs.)


Spend less than that and you don't really have much of a "gaming" laptop; if you figure an 860M might perform like a desktop 750 Ti, that's pretty much minimum for any real longevity. Those ASUS Refurbs have incredibly weak GPUs. The 860M is more than double the performance of the 650M. The 635M is even sadder. The ASUS ROGs are decent machines (I've had one for 4 years), but those generally start at a little above your price range new.

Do not use the CPU as your decision point. It doesn't matter. Honestly, I'd go with either the Lenovo Y50 (first Lenovo listed) or the MSI above, simply because they have a single GPU. The MSI would give you the extra screen real estate you're looking for, plus mSATA SSD space. mSATA SSDs are only a few dollars more than regular 2.5" SATAs.