ElHadji

I also say desktop but I'm not 100% sure on the CPU though... A 3570K would be better than a 3450 when it comes to gaming. Buying "ready made" computers such as Dell, Alienware (also Dell but still...) tends to be more expensive than buying a rig from scratch from parts you pick yourself. Im not saying that you should build it, but aren't there companies where you live that delivers custom built computers?

To illustrate what I mean: a 3570K isn't much more expensive than a 3450 but its way better for gaming. In the desktop above theres a 2TB HDD. I'd rather go for maybe half that size and spend that money on a better graphics card instead. See what I mean? I'm a Nvidia guy myself but its a matter of taste if you go for GeForce or Radeon cards. Just make sure you get one that WORKS well for games you are going to play. Google benchmark tests for different cards. That will give you a pretty good idea about how well a certain card performs.

I don't know where you live Scott but here in Sweden I can get both: custom built PC's with 24/7 support and solid warranties. :)

Speaking from experience desktops are usually better for gaming than laptops. And video memory isn't the only important here. Also look at the GPU clock speed. I use a MSI GeForce GTX 680 Lightning with 2GB of memory. Out of the box it runs at 1175 Mhz or something like that. I have overclocked it to approx 1300 MHz which made quite a big impact on my FPS in most games.

The CPU also affect your framerate and so does RAM size AND speed. As and example there is a difference between a i5 3570 and 3570K processor in terms of game performance. If I were you I'd set a budget for my rig and let that decide if I should go for i3, i5 or i7 processor. Then pick a graphics card that fits my wallet and my gaming needs.