You guys probably see topics like this all the time - but after weighing my options on the variety of forums that I go to, I figured this would be the best place to ask - so just stick with me for a moment and we'll be through this in no time, heh.

Basically - right now I've been using a laptop for about a year and a half now that I only purchased because my Wal-Mart discount was amazing, it was the last of the item in the store and also happened to be the display model - it's a Gateway NV40 and not all that amazing when it comes to gaming. The 14 inch screen is a bother as well - I can't get any decent resolution with it. Either way.

I'm getting a new laptop for Christmas - hurrah, and this is the one I've pinned down.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=DoorCrasher&product=2515248

I'm pretty sure it's already been picked up for me - I enjoy the 500GB of space, real video card and screen size really - but due to my poor laptop (I bought Minecraft and this thing BARELY runs that, not even at a decent speed) I'm out of touch of how good this is going to do me. With the ATI Mobility Radeon™ 4250MHD what are my limits for games? I've always wanted to try out the STALKER series and I might want to play an MMORPG...

Any kind of opinion would be nice. :)

It's going to be dicey, since the processor will be the weak point. The good news is that it'll run most new games thrown at it, the bad news it that you'll have to set them at 800x600 with minimal details to get a comfortable framerate. Just DL the game demo (if there is one) and you'll see what chance you have. If you want easy access to demos, steam hosts a ton.

But, STALKER SoC will run mostly smooth, pick a resolution you are comfortable with and set the in game details until you feel the gameplay is acceptable. BUT STAY AWAY from the complete patch, since that makes the game more demanding. It'll run the new one as well, how well I can only guess.

But apart from games, you'll see a big difference in everyday computing since programs and boot times will be faster and responsive. Just make sure to maintain the computer, programs like mydefrag, ccleaner, advanced system care and Microsoft security essentials will ensure your computer stays fast and optimized for games.

On a final note, make sure to update your GFX chip drivers, that will help in the long run. :)

Hope this feedback helps.

EDIT: Is your maximum budget locked? Or can you go higher? Stonebro's suggestions are good.

It's not really a good choice as gaming laptops go. The video card is pretty weak by todays standards and will act as the bottleneck in this system.

Get a laptop with a GT330 or better, or HD4650 or better (preferably HD5X series). You can easily find such laptops in the $600-$750 range.

I have a Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965 as my only computer, it looks like most of your specs are better and your graphics card is probably significantly better. I have an ATI Radeon Mobility 3100. My Specs

I have been able to run Stalker SoC/CoP very smoothly with some graphics features turned off, like HDR, etc, at 1366x768. I'm currently playing Fallout:NV comfortably on the lowest detail setting with the same resolution (it gets too choppy at higher detail levels).

So, I'd say your laptop will definitely be able to run Stalker well. Play it in the dark with some good headphones :)

I don't want to go too much higher than the 599 that this computer is already - and I am kind of limited by what is in the stores around here. I guess I shouldn't say that I am looking for a gaming laptop - I don't want to be playing New Vegas or Black Ops or anything like that at high capacity. I just want to run Minecraft at maximum settings and be able to play games that are a few years old now comfortably since I haven't really been on the PC scene in a helluva long time.

Well based on your needs it sounds like it'd do the job pretty well. One thing I would recommend though is looking into a laptop cooler, they may well have leared from their mistake but my HP laptop was a furnace, the cooler really helped out there (as did ripping it open and modding the heatsink but that model had a known design flaw)

You could also see how well your internet handles OnLive, since you can run trials for free.

I'am a heavy laptop user and i gotta second the Laptop Cooler recommendation... if your doing any 3D at all you'll need it.