Your thoughts on this specific laptop?

The N53SM is nice, but you get more bang for your buck with the Y580. Gaming would be a lot better with the 660m vs the 630m for sure. As for the 1080p screen, its a nice bonus but really over rated for screens this size as your eyes can not tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on something this small.

To a certain extent you're right about the eye not being able to see as much between 1080p and 720p... but because of the increased pixel density- there will be more content on the screen at any given time.. Let's say the OP is viewing pictures zoomed in 100%, he will be able to perceive more on the 1080p than he would on a monitor below that resolution. Same goes for video editing, and even gaming- depending on the type.

Anyways, like the other members here- I agree that you should go with the Y580.. More bang per buck.

Good luck,