There's an important question you need to answer first, and maybe it seems a bit redundant in the thread but OP's statement about just wanting to play a few steam games and MMOs push its importance.
Does it really have to be a laptop?
If you're in a situation where you're often moving your gaming from one location to the next, then yes a laptop is very convenient, but there are downsides:
The trade-off is of course portability. If you're the sort of person that travels for work often, or visits family or friends often, or lives in a dorm room, then yes a laptop is worth all of the downsides. In that case using the model Aysun linked as a guide is a good start.
Does it really have to be a laptop?
If you're in a situation where you're often moving your gaming from one location to the next, then yes a laptop is very convenient, but there are downsides:
- For the price of a good gaming laptop you can build a desktop that will blow it out of the water for the same price point, often less than the same price point. Even if building is not an option for you there are good pre-built vendors that will do the same thing for a little more (but still less than the laptop).
- You can't upgrade a laptop.This might seem like a duh moment, but in the desktop world you can put down $1000 (or less) on a very nice rig, then upgrade the graphics card three or four years later. I have several friends who are using an i5 2500k, a processor released four years ago mind you, that have only had to upgrade the graphics card once since the initial build to keep their desktop on par and able to play modern games smoothly on highest settings.
- Wear and tear. Gaming laptops simply don't last as long as desktop counterparts. All of the components in a gaming laptop are crammed together in a tiny case, and while they've gotten better at laptop cooling the truth is those components suffer greatly over time from heat.
- Repair considerations. This is related to the prior point but warrants its own bullet. When a desktop component breaks you take out that component and replace it, easily. When a laptop breaks the repair costs can be astronomical, and you can't do it yourself unless you've the tools, know how, and manufacturer replacement parts access.
The trade-off is of course portability. If you're the sort of person that travels for work often, or visits family or friends often, or lives in a dorm room, then yes a laptop is worth all of the downsides. In that case using the model Aysun linked as a guide is a good start.
