Wow, thanks for all the info!
My current laptop will be passed down to my kids, as they're little gamers as well, and my old desk top (also a Dell) is about dead and barely plays Dungeon Siege II any more (which is my daughter's favorite game). Since my kids are still young-ish, they're still playing older games w/o all the blood and guts of new games. But the other desk top is a Vista, and is slow as all get out for games.
Also trying to reduce clutter. I'm thinking of the best solution to cover all our bases without there being only one comp (the kids have no reason whatsoever to EVER access my computer!)
I do prefer a matte finish on the screen (which my Vostro 1720 has), so I'm glad that it was brought to my attention that screens do vary widely. I'm "monitor shopping" (you know, window shopping online) the various computers (and what is available through NewEgg.com). I really like the specs that were mentioned by candlebbq-- the Asus g73 (I think I prefer the nVidia graphics, which is what I've got now and found it better than my previous graphics card-- which was a replacement for the issued graphics card on the desk top).
There seems to be a lot of commentary about Asus taking forever to run the software updates and there being "bloated software." I do despise bloats, which is why I liked getting a Dell business laptop-- just the basics and I add only what I need. But, given the heat of this Dell laptop (my left wrist and hand sometimes comes up completely red and looking minorly burned after playing ED or Gothic 3... or even now which is just doing internet stuff!
Anyway, I will definitely be checking out the links and continue to do more research. I was pretty bummed about the discontinuation of the Vostro 1720 line, as it's been a great comp (other than that heating issue, which is probably only an issue because of my. . . delicate skin).
So, thanks all for the time. I look forward to future replies and assistance. What a great little virtual community this forum is!
All best,
~~CierraShore
