Got some money, need a laptop!

[kuthedude]

Hello all! I sold my desktop and my old laptop and want to invest in a new laptop!
Budget $900-$1400

I will be using this for work, and at home to game. It has been about a year since I have looked into this and had a few questions after some searching.

Processor: I had a i5 2500k in my desktop and loved it. Is there any difference between i5 and i7 in terms of gaming? I will be using photoshop a decent amount at work, but no 3d rendering etc. Do I really need to care about 3rd gen i5 vs i7?

Ram: (Could be an idiot here) I would like to get 24gb of ram. I know I need w7 pro to do it, but my question is, are all mobo's compatible w/ 24gb? As in, if there are 3 slots, can I just pop in 3 8gb? Also, any way to indicate if there are 3 slots available? Plus, I probably dont need 24gb, but I would like the option if I chose to upgrade since ram is cheap.

Graphics: Kinda lost on this. Just looking for something somewhat higher end, nothing crazy. Just want to be able to run new games fairly high.

Hard Drive: Would like a ssd, but I really don't know what the difference is between a ssd and a hybrid configuration. I guess just staying ssd is better.

Size: Want to stay around 15 inches

Basic optical drive

Cool Stuff: Would really like a backlit keyboard. Full size keyboard too.

*I would like to stay away from ASUS, as the last one I had had a messed up trackpad where the mouse jumped all over the place.

Sorry for my ignorance, just been out of the game for a while. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Labrynthian]

Hmm. All right. Firstly, the best laptops in your budget are the Lenovo Ideapad Y580, the Asus G55VW/G75VW and the MSI GE60. It's unfortunate you're turning away from Asus, because their G55 and G75 laptops are really good. Anyway, the thing is, your RAM requirements are pretty crazy. 24GB of RAM is A LOT. I understand your need to have the option of upgrading it, but I really think 24GB is excessive, unless you're absolutely sure you're going to be loading the computer to THAT extent. The other thing is, in your budget, I'm not entirely sure that they have the option to upgrade up to 24GB RAM. The best you'll get in your budget is 16GB RAM.

Anyway. Let's actually scrap the Lenovo Ideapad Y580, because it comes with a default RAM of 2GB and can be upgraded to 8GB... Which, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be happy with. So the Asus next... The G55VW-ES71 is a 15.6 inch gaming laptop with a 1920x1080 resolution. It has a 3rd gen core i7 processor and comes with 8GB of RAM, upgradable to 16GB. Not sure if you can upgrade it more, you'll have to check. It's stocked with a 2GB NVIDIA GTX 660M graphics card, which is a mid level class one card and will play most games on high/ultra settings without an issue. It comes with a 500GB HHD at 7200RPM.
The Asus G75VW-AS71 is the higher version of this, with a 17.3 inch screen and a 1920x1080 resolution. It's stocked with a 3rd gen core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 2GB NVIDIA GTX 660M or a 670M, depends where you get it from. This RAM should be upgradable to 32GB, but again, please check. It comes with a 750GB HHD at 7200 RPM.
The MSI GE60 is a 15.6 inch laptop with a 1920x1080 resolution. This has pretty much the same specs as the G55. 3rd gen core i7 processor, 8 or 16GB RAM, 660M card. This is a custom laptop, so you can choose a lot of the specs.

SSDs are much faster and more robust than HDDs. They're also silent, produce less heat and consume less power. The thing is, they're really expensive. You don't really need an SSD if you're running your HDD at 7200 RPM. You can manage perfectly with that.

All these laptops have full sized-backlit keyboards.

Here are the links. Keep in mind, the specs MAY differ (may be higher, not lower) than what the site says, so check and double check from the local market, or wherever you're getting it from.

Asus G55VW - http://www.amazon.com/G55VW-ES71-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Notebook-Black/dp/B007Z9WWDW

Asus G75VW - http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Gamers-G75VW-AS71-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B007MW73C2#productDetails

MSI GE60 - http://www.xoticpc.com/msi-ge60-0nd257us-p-4982.html?wconfigure=yes

Don't be so quick to discard the Asus laptops. They're really good. One messed up trackpad shouldn't account for boycotting the entire company's products.