Which is better for gaming:

i5 2450M / GTX 560M

or

i7 740QM / HD 5870M

2nd one. Especially if you're going to be playing CPU intensive games like GTA IV and StarCraft 2.

Whichever one costs more.

i7 beats i5 but GTX560M beats HD5870M

So yeah...they'd trade blows depending on the game.

what galaki said obviously.

I ended up getting the i5 with the Gtx 560m. (and yes, it was more expensive) The other one was a factory refurb and the warranty was almost expired, plus I would have had to upgrade its hard drive.

I needed an upgrade from my 360 and PS3 until the next gen arrives. I would have loved to have been able to invest into something more high end, but I'm pretty excited to see what this laptop can do. I've been using my brothers laptop to play Amalur, and the difference in quality between the PC and console version is pretty massive. And my brothers laptop isn't nearly as powerful as the one I just bought.

Thanks for the responses!