Quote from: fsk141 on July 19, 2012, 01:42:15 AM

If it were me I would get an Lenovo X series or a Macbook Air...

I love how only one guy has mentioned a Lenovo so far. I currently have an Edge series laptop that I only use for word processing, web browsing, and streaming video. The Edge series maxes out around $1200, I believe, but there are other options from Lenovo that you should seriously consider, such as the W series. You get nVidia Quadro series cards (which are really used for professional 3D modeling, but are also very applicable for gaming) and overall it's quite a nice package. You don't get Dell's shoddy build quality, nor HP's. You don't get the outrageous prices of Apple and the useless OSX. Lenovo's are legendary for their build quality and customer support. I've had multiple Dell laptops, an Acer, and an old IBM; guess which still works perfectly after 10 years? The IBM (now Lenovo).

The W530 (I know, I sound like a salesman) is probably the best package from Lenovo for you, but don't let that stop you from exploring other options from them. It starts at $1200 and can go beyond $2k, but for around $1800 you'll get a great system with everything you're looking for. It even has a backlit keyboard!