Indecisive and looking to buy a gaming laptop -- please help!

[bbat24]

I'm a second-time laptop buyer looking for a computer that will fit my needs. I play a handful of games, none of which are extremely demanding (Starcraft, mainly). My current laptop runs some, but not all, of the games I want to play at low-medium settings. I would like a laptop that can handle these games at higher settings and that will allow me to play the more demanding games that are released in the next year or two.

Any suggestions for a laptop that can do this at a price range of $700-$1200 would be very appreciated.

One that caught my eye while browsing was this Lenovo Y500, which is on sale right now

IdeaPad Y500 Laptop - 59360241 - Dusk Black: Weekly Deal :: ~930 USD
Processor: 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor( 2.40GHz 1600MHz 6MB)
Operating system: Windows 8 64
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 2GB
Memory: 8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
Display: 15.6" FHD LED Glare Wedge 1920x1080
Pointing device: Industry Standard Multi-touch 2 button touchpad
Hard Drive: 1TB 5400RPM+16GB SSD
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
Battery: 6 Cell Li-Polymer
Network Card: Intel Centrino Wireless N-2230
Bluetooth: Bluetooth Version 4.0
Warranty: One year
Form Factor: Notebook
Camera: Integrated HD Camera
HDMI: HDMI (Out)

Someone suggested this one to me.

Sager NP9130 :: ~1250 USD
Display: 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Matte Finished Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670MX GPU with 3GB GDDR5 Video Memory - Winter Savings Promotion!
CPU Processor: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.40GHz)
Thermal Compound: Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® 8 64-Bit Edition
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
Primary Hard Disk Drive: 750GB 7200rpm SATA2 Hard Drive
Optical Drive Bay: Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card: Internal 802.11 B+G+N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Primary Battery: Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
Integrated Security Device: Fingerprint Reader
Microsoft Office: Microsoft Office Starter 2010 / Office 2010 Trial - Included in Price
Warranty: Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty

Is the second laptop worth the $300 price difference?

Specifically, I'm wondering how important the Video Cards and Primary Hard Disk Drives compare between the laptops.

Any input on these laptops or suggestions for other gaming laptops would be very helpful.

Thanks!

 

[setishock]

Stay away from LiPo batteries. They have this real nasty quirk of CATCHING FIRE. If it does go foop and burns it gives off some of the most toxic gases you'll ever be around. I fly model quads using LiPo batteries. They go out in grand style. BOOM!!!
Not knocking you wanting to get a gaming laptop but why a laptop?
All that hardware will suck the life out of any battery in short order. And it will get mucho grande hot. If you get one you won't be able to have it in your lap or on the bed covers. You'll block the air vents and all those goodies are gonna get hot.
Seriously though you might think that over and look in to a hotrod desktop system.

 

[bbat24]

Stay away from LiPo batteries. They have this real nasty quirk of CATCHING FIRE. If it does go foop and burns it gives off some of the most toxic gases you'll ever be around. I fly model quads using LiPo batteries. They go out in grand style. BOOM!!!
Not knocking you wanting to get a gaming laptop but why a laptop?
All that hardware will suck the life out of any battery in short order. And it will get mucho grande hot. If you get one you won't be able to have it in your lap or on the bed covers. You'll block the air vents and all those goodies are gonna get hot.
Seriously though you might think that over and look in to a hotrod desktop system.

I would love to get a desktop. However, I am always going to friends' houses with my computer and it wouldn't be ideal right now. Next comp will be a desktop for sure though