What's the best gaming PC in the $1,500 price range?

I think you could do worse than http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231089. I own an earlier version of it (purchased in February) and it's excellent.

Do not get a laptop. I clicked in to thread with a significant point of my purpose of commenting just to say that. I've owned several gaming laptops and regretted purchasing every single one. They're big, heavy, hot, loud, pick up cosmetic damage easily because of the case designs and even in the 17in range have a smaller display than you really want to game on. They suck suck SUCK as laptops to be used for any laptop-like tasks(unless you get a small portable one like the alienware m11x or the much nicer clevo w110, but those are even louder and hotter and underpowered for the money). A gaming laptop is sort of like a tablet. Good for a few select things, but poor for a lot of tasks you'd actually want a laptop for. If your son needs a laptop, buy him a cheap refurbished laptop from the newegg refurb section, lenovo outlet, dell outlet, or just one of the $250-300 basic models on newegg and spend the rest on a desktop. I also came here to plug /r/buildapc, but mostly to link http://www.logicalincrements.com/. It's updated constantly, and yea. You just pick the parts off the list and go buy them on newegg/etc. You don't need to spend more than $900-1k on the machine to have something that will be able to play any game on ultra right now and for quite a while, and still on high(probably with some settings turned up too) for several years. And after that it will likely keep playing games on medium-high. Power is so cheap nowadays. Spend the other $500 on a laptop if you need one, and on one of http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1130704&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2. If you're absolutely determined to buy a laptop no matter what, do not consider anything but the asus or sager/clevo models. Everything else by hp/sony/etc is poor quality and overpriced. Alienware is incredibly overpriced but OK quality. You're flushing money down the toilet regardless, but you get the most bang for your buck out of asus or sager/clevo, and asus has higher build quality than pretty much anyone but lenovo or apple.

Also if you want a pc that can play games for another 3 years go with a desktop.

Have a look at the latest http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/07/ars-technica-system-guide-july-2013/ and build your son the http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/07/ars-technica-system-guide-july-2013/3/ (a mid-range custom gaming rig) using the parts they specify. You can get everything from NewEgg using the convenient links in the System Guide and put the resulting computer together in about 2 hours. Much better than what you could buy pre-baked, and future-proof in the sense that he'll be able to upgrade components in the tower as needed to keep up with shifts in technology in the future.

I could also be described as Steam-addicted, so this is basically going to reflect what I would do if someone plopped that kind of money in my lap and said "Have at it." $1,500 is enough to guarantee you can get something really, really nice. These are what I consider the most delightful things available to a PC gamer right now: - a http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/-compatible monitor. One of http://www.blurbusters.com/faq/120hz-monitors/ basically. I'm saving up for one of these myself. This should be way more pleasant and even provide a slight competitive advantage. He probably doesn't even know he wants LightBoost specifically, but trust me, if he plays games, he does. Don't spend more than $1000 without at least getting some kind of 120hz+ monitor. - a second monitor. This is sooooo nice to have. If the old computer is a desktop and has a decent monitor of its own, re-use it as monitor #2. It doesn't need to be gaming quality. Otherwise, buy something cheap. - a solid state drive. Basically a given at this point. I wouldn't go completely bonkers on spending money on the GPU right now, and even the CPU can be "midrange" rather than "luxury" and be 100% fine. Both of these components are easily upgradeable, and GPU technology especially progresses so quickly that shelling out the cash for the absolute top-of-the-line is basically nuts. Buy something Very Good rather than The Absolute Best Money Can Buy because The Absolute Best will be dethroned in If you've got room in your budget and he doesn't already have good speakers/headphones, that makes a big difference too. Another vote for "Build it yourself," by the way. It's so much easier than it sounds--"build" is a misleading word. It's gonna be about half as tough as putting together some IKEA furniture. And yeah, this all assumes a desktop rather than a laptop because we're still not at the point where laptops can really compete. Best of luck! I'm sure your son will be really, really excited.2>

If the goal is to play Steam games, you might wait a couple days. If the neighborhood's rumors about an imminent Steam settop box announcement are any indication, this might be of interest, unless you want a PC for more than gaming.

All the serious gamers I know use desktops. You might want to consider investing some of that $1500 into a good ergonomic chair for his gaming battlestation. Keep ergonomics in mind when selecting a mouse and keyboard as well.

Thanks, again, for your suggestions. I opted for an Alienware 17.

I currently have an IBUYPOWER machine purchased from Newegg and it runs all my games with zero problems. I've had no power issues and if I do well I can always replace a malfunctioning part easily (which is not so much the case with laptops)