If you are getting new laptop, make sure you get the 2nd generation cpus (core iSeries).
What is a good price? -> Depends on what use you have for it. If internet is what you seek, just get a cheap one (particular note the ram / cpu and if it has an on board graphic card or not)
What is a good brand? -> 1.Dell 2.HP and then the rest (Personal Opinion)
What brand has the best screen longevity (my screen is going out that is why my computer is dying)? -> I haven't heard any real issues related to brands for this.
What brand has a durable power supply (also going out)? -> It is mostly based by model rather by brand. If I had to choose a brand, Acer usually produces models that last a long time without the need of electricity. Acer in general provides cheap laptops but they generally lack in general quality (case, keyboard, plastic used is generally cheap).
What is the minimum specs you recommend for a light gaming machine? -> The first you will need for a gaming laptop is a good graphics card. There are so many though. For a start make sure it supports DirectX 11. 1GB Ram should be more than enough but this is not a way to judge it either. Here is a site that provides benchmarks about graphic cards:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Gra ... 844.0.html
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An excellent choice is:
HP Pavilion dv7 (core i7 2630)
Just try to find a model with 6GB or 8GB ram. 4GB will do but I would prefer more as the pagefile + simple usage eats about 2.5gb
The particular model is 17" wide and comes equiped with a great graphic card (ATI Radeon HD6570)
You can find it with Blue-Ray or not
It's ram is DDR3
All in all, it is a lot better than a lot more expensive laptops. It is a high end machine and can be a bit expensive though. It is just the top selection for a power user right now and I mostly posted it to get an idea of how a powerful laptop is right now.
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