Gaming Laptop Under 2000

Budget:
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$2000 USD
Expectations:
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I want a Laptop that can be used for school, and for gaming, as well as having a good battery life and can be upgraded(if possible). I am flexible with any amount of changes. Thank You to anyone who responds.
Usage:
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Varies from light(Sometimes),moderate(likely),heavy(very likely)
Special Needs:
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I would only need the base configuration, but have some of the other things chosen if possible.
Saved Ticket #: [Please Type Here]
1217016
Specifications:
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Edited by TheStudiousGamer - 05 Jun 2015 at 5:20pm

Here's an example of my suggestions.....

Config # 1220317         Cost $ 3180

Chassis Model: Digital Storm Avon 15.6 Inch Laptop (Model: S:9752)
Display: 15.6 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Anti-glare) LED-Backlit Display
Screen Calibration: - Not Available
Processor: Desktop Class - Intel Core i5-4690K (Up to 3.90Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Premium CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise)
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
Storage Drive 1: 250GB Solid State - Samsung 850 EVO
Storage Drive 2: 1TB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Optical Drive: External USB - Blu-Ray Writer & Player (Blu-Ray 6x) & DVD/CD Writer
Wireless Card: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 + Bluetooth 4.0 (M.2 Socket)
Graphics Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 8GB with NVIDIA Battery Boost + NVIDIA Optimus
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2013 Home and Student (PC Attach Key PKC Only, No Pre-install)
Cooling Pad: ZALMAN High Performance Notebook Cooler NC11
Extra Charger: - No Thanks
Extra Battery: Extra Battery for Avon (8 cells) (Model: S:9752)
Carry Bag: Targus CityGear Messenger (Supports Up to 17 Inch Models)
Audio: Corsair Vengeance 2100 Wireless Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset
Mouse: Steam Big Picture Gaming Package: Includes Wireless Xbox 360 Controller
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: Please Prioritize: Ship Within Four Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Saves you $1200 if the changes are good for you.

You're welcome.  

I'll just go ahead and post my recommendations for a couple of sub-$2K laptops.  I didn't see you specify size really, other than it needed to be portable for various reasons, so I'll recommend one at 15.6" and another at 17.3".

First, a 15.6" Triton model at Level 3 with a couple of changes: added RAM and better thermal compound. 

Saved Configuration #1221518.

Processor: Core i7 4710HQ
Thermal Compound: Premium CPU and GPU Compound
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
Storage Drive 1: Samsung 850 EVO 120GB
Storage Drive 2: 750GB 7200RPM
Optical Drive: None (recommend you purchase an external drive on your own if you actually need one)
Wireless Card: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 980M 4GB
OS: Windows 8.1
Etc., etc.

This came in at $2050, so slightly over your budget, but worth it for the changes.

If you can swing it, the Triton Level 4 would be better for the 250GB EVO.  You want as much SSD space as you can get so that you install games on that rather than a normal platter drive.

Saved Configuration #1221526

It comes in at $2126, however, so might be too high.

The 17.3" Triton Level 3 comes in at $1984 and has basically the same specs as the Triton, but I had to sacrifice the SSD boot drive, turn it into a 1TB platter drive and then remove the second drive completely to achieve that price.

Saved Configuration #1221534

The reasons for my choices are:

1) You definitely want 16GB of RAM and not 8GB
2) You definitely want the 980M GPU
3) You don't need a desktop Core i7 that comes in the Avon and the Harker
4) Higher quality thermal compound is recommended because heat is always an issue with laptops, although so far I've heard that cooling is good on DS laptops.  I have a Krypton and can attest to it as well on that model.

If you can swing the extra money, I would say you should go to the Avon or Harker as it's been reported that they have better screens, but it's not like the screens on the Triton and Forbus are bad; they're just not as good.

But if your budget is truly that tight, you can certainly do a lot worse than the Triton and Forbus.

You could also potentially sacrifice 8GB of RAM and add another stick down the road.  8GB is good enough, but if you multitask, you may find that you'd like more, especially if you're like me and turn off the swap file so that everything possible is in RAM and not being cached to the hard drive or SSD.

Other recommendations if your budget has some flexibility:

1) Big SSDs!
Get the biggest SSD you can possibly afford as your boot drive.  Even sacrifice a second drive now to buy an second SSD aftermarket later when you find your games have filled up the boot drive.

2) Big SSDs!
This bears repeating as your number one bottleneck on a modern system will be the drives.  In this day and age, and especially in gaming, you want an SSD.  Nothing less will satisfy.

I started with a 256GB mSATA and 750GB platter drive on my Krypton and almost a year down the road I added a 1TB Samsung EVO 850 that's dedicated to all my games.  Definitely no regrets.  I don't think an mSATA is an option on any DS laptops, which is a shame, and I don't know why they removed that option, so that's why I say go with as big an SSD you can for your boot drive, and later you can either add an SSD as your second drive, or replace the platter with one if you went with that option.

I hope this has been of some use.

If you can, what other specs do you recommend if I can increase my budget? Especially if I want my laptop to be as future-proof as possible?