Looking to get a second laptop around £800 for gaming, could use some advice please.

[mikej]

I got my current laptop about a year ago, it runs fine for what I use it for at the moment but I'm wondering how I can improve it.

Chassis & Display Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive NONE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser Google Chrome™
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Miscellaneous FREE £90 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 650 / 750 /7000M / 8000M Series GPUs
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £657.05
Price £788.46

Would I be better getting a similar Cosmos laptop or going for a different one, Optimus 17"3?

 

[keynes]

Intended use?

 

[mikej]

Steam gaming mainly, nothing major. Like I said, the laptop I currently has done fine. But as its a year old Im thinking I could get more for the same money.

 

[Jamie0202]

For your budget I think this would be a better build.

Chassis & Display
Proteus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4720HQ (2.60GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 4 in 1 Card Reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Proteus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200mAh)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 150W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
PROTEUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 720P 30 FPS HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £774.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/proteusII-15/x3aSjN9LGC/

Cons
Less storage. 750GB Scorpion Black not available on the Proteus so went with a 500GB 7200rpm drive. You can change to suit
No optical drive available on the Proteus. Personally I don't think this is a problem. I have an optical drive which I never use but could be a deal breaker for you.

Pros
Slightly cheaper
Faster graphics card. This is the main reason I changed your build. You intend to game on it so the more grunt you have in a GPU the better.
Slightly faster CPU
I've also chosen the silver warranty. At £5 extra it's excellent value.
Backlit keyboard.

I didn't know which catagory to put the general look of the laptop. I quite like it but it's certainly different and not to everyone's taste.
Also for an extra £101 you could change the GPU to a 970m which is a major upgrade over the 960m. Obviously it would put you over budget but in a gaming laptop the GPU is king and you would be thanking yourself for the extra power in the future.