Help With Purchasing My First DS System

Budget:
$1800

Expectations:
Ability to run most modern games on high settings, surf the web, be able to listen to streams/music while gaming.

Usage:
I own a budget gaming desktop, so I plan on using a gaming laptop to use around the house, so when I want to game I don't have to be stuck in one spot at all times.

Special Needs:
Would really like to have the mobility of the laptop, unless someone can convince me to upgrade my 1 year old $500 gaming rig.

Saved Ticket #: 826635

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm x17 Laptop (Model: 9170)
Display: 17.3 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Matte Surface) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 3630QM (2.4 GHz Turbo Mode to 3.4Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Stock CPU and GPU Thermal Compound
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x4GB Sticks)
Primary Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Secondary Hard Drive: Intel 120GB SSD (520 Series) (SATA 6Gb/s)
Optical Drive: DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive (Writes and Reads DVDs, CDs)
Wireless Card: Intel Advanced-N 6235 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Video Card(s): AMD Radeon HD 7970M 2GB
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

That's the setup that I am considering to get. I was wondering if getting an expensive gaming laptop is as disappointing as people seem to describe it? Would I be able to get a better gaming desktop for a cheaper price? Would it be worth to upgrade my 1 year old rig?

I'm new to this website so I haven't been able to look too in depth at all of the PC and laptop possibilities, but at the moment the x17 laptop and the Bolt desktop seem to be the two that look the most intriguing to me.

All information you guys can supply for me is greatly appreciated, I don't know too much regarding computer specs or components and I am excited to learn more.

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply Dom, I have a few questions for you:

How long have you had your laptop? Is it still functioning nicely?
Are you capable of doing other things on your laptop at quick speeds?
Has your laptop ever overheated on you while gaming?
Do you own a gaming desktop? If so how does it compare to your laptop in regards to price and perfomance?
Is a SSD really worth the extra money?
And lastly, is there anything in the build that I can change to maybe save money while keeping good perfomance?

Sorry about all the questions, I appreciate all the help you can offer.
Thanks!

Justin,

I've had my laptop for 11 months now and I'm still amazed every day at how fast it is.

Pretty much anything on my laptop is done at quick speeds. The i7 processor and SSD make everything fast. Aside from gaming I do some light video editing which works really well on this laptop.

Laptop has never overheated. I occasionally do some Folding on my laptop which runs the CPU and GPU at 100%, and I've left my laptop running while folding for 12+ hours at a time with no problem. The fans can be loud when stressing the system like that, but they do their job. Under normal gaming load they aren't annoying if you have headphones or speakers.

I don't personally but I built one for my brothers last year for around $1500 and it wins in graphics but about equal everywhere else. It's also a heavy system that isn't going anywhere. With a laptop you don't have to worry about dragging along a monitor, keyboard, or heavy system, it's all right there.

Like Lusiphur said, a solid state drive is definitely worth the money. Everything is so much quicker. It's not just boot times that are faster, but overall system responsiveness is much quicker. I have a single 240GB SSD in my laptop and a 500GB external HDD that I use sometimes. You could consider dropping the HDD for a larger SSD, because external hard drives are pretty cheap if you get them on sale.

Lastly, your build is pretty much spot on. The CPU you have is great, the video card is the best for the money, just consider bumping up the SSD size if you play a lot of games.

Hope this helps!

The laptop has a wifi card in it, so wifi works like any device. It is quick and you can change out wifi cards pretty easily, but you shouldn't need to.