Laptop for programming/light gaming

[jubei]

If i was looking for a laptop primarily for programming but also for some light gaming (street fighter, dota2) would i be better off with a 15 or 17? I have never owned a laptop myself so am unsure of exactly how 'big' 17 is. I want this to be portable as i spend most weekends away from home so it will be carted around a lot. But is 15" going to be big enough to code on? Is 15 inch a little 'too' portable to use comfortably.

Also what gfx should i be looking for? Radeon or nvidia? someone said the 460m on another thread smashes a 540, how do these naming conventions work lol.

Finally, does a Q in the processor name mean quad core or is that a silly mistake? How do i ensure i am getting a quad?

Thanks guys.

 

[Prazynothh]

Consider Acer Aspire series as they got good Laptops which offer NVIDIA graphic card support at affordable price. My brother is using Aspire 5755, which is great for a light gaming.

 

[pcunite]

I don't know about the Q, but I can tell you that 17" is a big laptop. Truly though, you just need to try it out, it is an extremely personal thing. As far as coding, well I used the older square shape 15" years ago ... but today's wide screens at 15" only have 768 vertical resolution ... I don't think I could stand that.

Personally, I think you should get a small ThinkPad X220, and then buy something nice ... like a NEC 2490wuxi2 and hook the laptop up to that when you're at home/work. But that just me.