Laptop specs:
i7 (doesn't have to be Haswell)
7200 RPM hard drive or SSD
5 GHz wireless (AKA 802.11a)
dedicated video card (Nvidia preferred)
accidental warranty available (this
kinda stops any boutiques like Razer. Getting it through SquareTrade
is fine)
17” screen size preferred, but 15 is
OK.
I'd rather not have to compromise on
anything that isn't a preference. The only thing I may be
willing to compromise on is the 5 GHz. There is a reason for all the
specs specified, but to head off questions I know will be asked:
The 5GHz band is only used by one
person at our house and could alleviate some of the congestion.
802.11n can do either 2.4 or 5 GHz, but any given wireless adapter
may not be able to see the 5 GHz. For a laptop in particular, it is
way too easy to spill something on it or drop it etc, hence why I
want the accidental warranty. The rest should be obvious for
mainstream gaming.
The only problem with the Asus G750JH
is that it has the best video card Nvidia has to offer for notebooks
and a price to match. I don't think the other Asus models do 5 GHz wireless
for some silly reason.
My absolute max is probably around
$1800, but I'd prefer lower than that. This does not include the
price of the warranty.