Even with core i7 8gb ram and nice graphics chip (though you should be clear that they will not reach the capabilities of a desktop pc graphic card!) you will not pass the 800$.
But why spend money for the sake of spending money, huh.

Why not a desktop? (build yourself one, don't get a crappy prebuilt).

With $1000 you can build something really awesome, more versatile, powerful and without overheating issues.

Actually got GTAV, I am running it WINDOWED @720p (RAM reasons) with everything cranked to max with Nvidia stuff on. To run it at 4k, you need a PC build outta gold with liquid cooling. IMO, You are better off with a custom desktop and controller than a laptop-a while ago I had a pick out a alienware for my little bro to play a game he had because NOTHING else had the GPU required. Basically wanna play older games? A laptop will suffice. Wanna play games that have console ports? Get a console. Wanna play PC ports and have quality at high? get a desktop. I hate to say it but you MIGHT be able to build a PC for a little more than that grand and be able to play games on high (GTAV excluded-that need a $350 GPU to run windowed)

You don't strictly need a desk for a desktop. My HTPC is a custom microATX PC, hooked via HDMI to a 40" TV, and controlled using a wireless keyboard and mouse set and a wireless Xbox 360 controller. (My HTPC is quite low specced, but it's not a problem to build a well specced one). Of course, if you go this way that won't leave a lot of money for the PC, so it won't be that powerful.

One more thought about PS4 vs. PC: PC may be pricier up front and to upgrade, but console is generally more expensive when it comes to games. Game prices on PC drop quickly and it's easy to buy old AAA games for $5 on sales (or even less if they appear on bundles). There also a larger variety of games on PC.

So the question is, what kind of games are you looking at. If you're looking for the latest AAA blockbusters and playing them at release, the PS4 is a better deal (certainly if you want its exclusives). If you're looking at a wide variety of games, and don't mind older AAA titles, a more expensive PC can end up cheaper over time.

(Of course, PS4 will still be easier, with assured compatibility of games.)

My experience with laptop gaming hasn't been even near as bad as you and some others suggest.

The $999 Acer that the second message mentioned can apparently run GTA V with a average framerate on 41.6 fps on high settings (112,7 fps on med settings), Whether that is enough to the OP, depends on him.

I would usually go with a PC since it does more than only gaming, but since you got that covered, I would really think about a console.
The choice must depend on what games you play. If you play a little bit of everything (DOSBox, NES, SNES, MAME, RTS, FPS, RPG...), a laptop would be better, since it is capable of handling more kind of games. I personally don't like laptops for gaming (too much heat/noise), but if you can afford some of those gaming beasts (like MSI), don't mind using your laptop as a small tower and has enough kick to run the latest you want, I'd say go for it.
But, if you are "casual" (not in that stupid "you n00b not master race" sense, but more regarding that you just want to play the usual and current AAA games), I would say a console is best. Despite I preferring PC, I think all that PC gaming is crap and a console is more than enough for playing the current set of games. Just buy the console, buy the game, plug it in and voilá.

tl;dr: console, unless you play a high variety of tittles and prefer older ones.

OP, if you really want to go with a laptop, you should check out reddit.com/r/suggestalaptop.

Lots of people there who can go over your options at your budget.

Admittedly, the 17" unit is a bit big for heavy commuting, but it works in my circumstance: with enough other crap to carry around, I got a roller bag so the size and weight don't cause any problems. Really, it doesn't get used on-the-move, as it were, so the size isn't any particular hindrance - for my uses.

Laptop size is REALLY situation-dependent, as our two cases show. The great thing is that we have choices galore.

I'll add some of my opinions for laptops:

- Some make a big deal of being able to play on a 50" TV, as opposed to playing on a "measly" 15" laptop screen. As long as your laptop has a HDMI or DisplayPort out (or similar), connecting one to a TV is simple. Every now and then I use two of my gaming laptops on my 47" TV, no problem whatsoever.

Regardless of that, I have no problem immersing myself into a game even through a 14" laptop screen. Even less of a problem on a 17" laptop, there I never really even miss a bigger monitor or the TV. I watch even movies on the 17.3" laptop screen.

- Someone mentioned that having a full keyboard on the laptop is a must, but I don't quite agree. For one thing, newer PC games don't seem to expect the separate numpad, it is mainly some older games that used to do that (e.g. Heavy Gear 2, Tomb Raider 1996 etc.). I'm playing e.g. Team Fortress 2 fine on the laptop keyboard of my smaller 14" laptop. And naturally if you play new AAA games with a gamepad, it makes even less difference what kind of keyboard you have.

Having a bigger keyboard can feel more comfortable though especially if you have bigger hands (I do, somewhat), so if you want a bigger full keyboard, you can easily connect one to your laptop through USB or wirelessly, and use the external keyboard. I quite often use my wireless Logitech K360 keyboard and M325 wireless mouse with my laptops.

So having a full keyboard on a laptop is nice, but I consider that far from being a deciding factor, as usually it means being restricted only the the biggest laptops (17.3" probably).

- I've been playing almost solely on laptops for years now, and I don't share those nightmare stories some desktop gamers have said earlier, how laptops will have severe heat problems or components failing and you can't use the laptop after that etc. I have laptops 12 years old that still work fine (admittedly, some of them business class laptops), my main gaming laptop (ASUS G75VW) has worked great for a couple of (three I think?) years now without any issues etc. Quite many components in laptops are replaceable too (fans, hard disks, DVD drives, keyboards etc.), which you normally can replace yourself if one would fail. The main difference compared to desktops is mainly the GPU, which is not really replaceable normally, at least not by yourself.

The desktop vs laptop argument mainly comes to what you prefer more, more power for buck (desktop) or portability and mobility (laptop). Unlike some suggest, laptops can be great for gaming too.

As for getting a console instead, I can't really give a suggestion there. I personally just happen to prefer PC gaming, as it is less of the walled-garden experience than consoles are. I could play TI-99/4A, NES, SNES, Amiga 500, Playstation, PS2, N64, Gamecube, arcade coin op, PC games from 1985-2015 on one PC; how many consoles can give a similar wealth of gaming options? :)

That was me, as a personal requirement. My game laptop is also my business laptop, so being able to do 10-key work is important. The 17" screen is a requirement for the same reason - business purposes. But it's also helpful for certain games, like the Crusader titles, early Civilization and Alpha Centauri, Pirates, really, any game where you use the NumPad to move units or the cursor, or steer. If one's games don't need it, and if it doesn't have a productivity use, then yeah, that requirement could easily go away.

Your other points vis a vis the add-on desktop keyboard and also connecting to a large TV: spot on. People seem to forget that laptops have nearly all of the same connectivity options as a desktop does. Want a second screen? Then plug it in. Want a regular mouse and keyboard? Then plug them in. When you travel, simply disconnect and go and you still have a fully-functional unit without lugging all the external hardware around.

Yeah, the naysayers... I'm thinking they're not using the right laptop. On the odd occasions when mine runs hotter (Town of Guns does it, Stalker doesn't) I just plug in a clip-on fan to blow on that side of the unit. I don't see how this is functionally any different from adding extra fans to a case in order to run a hotter desktop GPU. Same problem, same solution, different packaging.

GPU replacement shouldn't be that difficult physically - with a decent set of dis-assembly instructions the innards of a laptop isn't that bad to deal with. I think the harder part would be finding one that will actually fit in that specifically-engineered spot. It's the cooling bits that will cause the most fuss, I would think, since the piping snakes around a little bit. I've done a 1-to-1 GPU swap before and it was pretty easy, no harder than swapping a motherboard on a desktop.

In most modern laptops, GPU replacement is impossible, as the GPU is fixed on the mainboard. Some use MM slot videocards, but even they are hard to replace, because you most likely need a different cooling solution for the new card. MSI offers GPU upgrades for the GT72 series, as other gaming laptop manufacturers do, but the price is very high and you have to change the whole heatpipe construction (roughly the whole back of the case).

This said, playing with a laptop is no real problem, the Acer VN7 with 860m or 960m will do well in the budget, but you wont get highest details in some AAA titles. The 980m, which is inside the most highend laptops, is way too pricey and you need a good case with enough cooling.
For gaming at least FHD is a must for me and with 17" you dont even have to scale down. The newest 3k or 4k resolution screens dont work too well with windows atm and the videocard is too weak to support these resolutions in high quality anyway.
Some advantage of a laptop over a PS4 hasnt been mentioned yet, you can sit or lie down nearly anywhere and place it on your lap and play some strategy or rpg titles and yes it works quite good with a touchpad or a small wireless mouse and the 8cmx10cm space most armchairs have on their sides.
I for myself own a MSI GS70, highly mobile 17" "gaming" laptop which i use for work and playing and like it very much, it even nearly replaced my desktop which is more powerful, as it can do everything the big one does, just everywhere.

When choosing a laptop, most important for me is writing down your needs (mobility, screen size, GPU power, expansion possibilities ....), then checking at notebookcheck.com the pros and cons of several models and then choose what you want.

Edit: Btw, PS4 games are way more expensive than PC games and with nvidia experience GPU driver updates are automatic and windows is way less problematic than it was in former times. My laptop runs a month without shutting down, just going to deepsleep. Only reboots when its needed after patchday or so ...

Assuming that's a realistic appraisal, that's still way more than twice what a PS4 costs. If he's looking for something that matches the price and performance of a PS4 in laptop form then he's not going to find it.

That said, a PS4 isn't portable. So if a PS4 a consideration then clearly portability isn't a concern. So why not a far more affordable and capable desktop system? That could effectively replace his iMac and those things typically retain their value much better than PCs. So reselling that will increase his budget for the PC into the bargain.

See, once you start stretching the question beyond what's stated all you wind up with is more questions.

On the face of it the PS4 is the only logical option as a gaming machine of the two options provided. Simple question. Simple answer.

Thank you everyone for your continued advice, I am reading everything very carefully and taking notes even if I don't respond individually to you all :).

Shopping around will get you some nice deals on PS4, I got Bloodborne and The Order 1886 (crap) for free with it, the console has also just received a price cut. There are some nice exclusives like Infamous, The Last of us etc. and down the line games like Uncharted and console agnostic games like Final Fantasy XV, Witcher 3, Batman etc
Its way cheaper than a PC..

Cons :

Games are bloody expensive new, but 2nd hand quite cheap (compared to 360/PS3).

Its a console, so lacks the versatility of a PC.

If its mainly for games I would get a PS4 and a decent-ish laptop (should be within your budget), if its more for PC I would suggest getting a VERY good laptop so you can play some games on it too, all you will miss are the exclusives.

If anyone is curious, I pulled the trigger on the PS4. I decided I really didn't want to mess around with all the hassles and headaches of a second computer with an unfamiliar OS (Windows), and I went for the plug-and-play simplicity. The PS4 will also be much better for family co-op (although such games are increasingly rare these days, thankfully the main game my son wants does have it, at least for some game modes). Plus my wife said if we had a TV she'd use it to watch movies, which was no small factor in the decision making :D.