The title says it all.  I need recommendations because I only know basics about tech inside computers. I have cousins who know how to put together a computer so if I needed to I can ask them for help if I go with building a PC.

So, first I found a good laptop from Sager with these specs for $1884 with the gtx 680m or $1684 with the 7970m:

- 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)

- Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M GPU with 4GB GDDR5 Video Memory or AMD Radeon HD 7970M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory

- 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.40GHz)

-  IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU

- 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 4GB

- 750GB 7200rpm SATA2 Hard Drive (would upgrade to SSD later on)

What do PC gamers think of these specs.  I know they are probably really good, but I want to hear it from someone else.  

If I were to buy all that seperate with slight variations and make it into a desktop would it cost more or less than this laptop.  I want to go with the cheaper option, while still having the gtx680 or 7970. I am willing to go with either no matter what.  I should also note that I will be running the most recent Autodesk Maya and UDK or Cryengine 3. Is the processor in the laptopgood enough for these programs?

Of course I probably won't get any of this until the summer or after when I finally get a job. 

Well, do you travel a lot and play games at other places rather than your home?

Rules of PC gaming:

1. Never buy a laptop for gaming. (unless you live in your car or subway/parking bench)
2. Always build it yourself.

Exception: Disregard these rules if you have lots of money.

No,  I usually play at home.  The only thing that I can see I would like to use outside of my home is Maya and UDK, but even then I don't need to use them really outside of my house because my college campus has workstations with Maya and UDK on them.

I'll take that as I should build it then because I don't have lots of money.  Some guy I was talking to in one of my classes had a sager laptop that I think he uses for gaming.   But I think he has decent money because he was talking about a lot of the stuff he has at his house.

With a PC you have less worries. ( No running out of battery, won't break down, etc)

True.  Didn't really think about that. Do you think I could get the same type specs found in the laptop for less/equal/more when building a PC?

If you always game at home then desktop is the way. You can build a desktop better than that laptop at about half price.

Having a desktop also mean you'll be able to upgrade it later.

Keep in mind a Core i7 for notebook is not the same as a Core i7 for dekstops and GTX 680M is less powerful than GTX 680

That's just my opinion. I have a 15,6'' HD Ready laptop, it's not a really high end laptop but I'm happy with it (I don't really need to have all settings in ultra mode, I just like to play games at medium-high fps).

gaming laptop will having to be plugged in constantly. You will also want an SSD from the start because it's just so much better. Unless you are planning on being stuck away from home all day build a desktop.. My personal preference is amd/ati because it's so much cheaper.. the specs you are looking at are way more than you need to run games @1080p 60fps..

not that you asked.. i just wanted to add you can save 50%

PCs are most of the time more than 50% less of the price you would pay for an equal Laptop.

Its always > Build your PC or let it build.
Search for a good hardware shop and let it build from them - We in Austria have some really good ones.
Pure power for the lowest price and mostly 1k Euro cheaper than ones you could buy in a normal electronic shop.
You probably have something in your area or country too.

And its much more comfortable to play on a desktop.