Reddit reviews 2018 Dell Inspiron 15 5000 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) Premium Gaming Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-7700HQ Processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 1050, Backlit Keyboard, Black
We found 1 Reddit comments about 2018 Dell Inspiron 15 5000 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) Premium Gaming Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-7700HQ Processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 1050, Backlit Keyboard, Black. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Intel Quad Core i7-7700HQ Processor(6MB Cache, 2.8GHz, Max Turbo Frequency up to 3.8GHz)16GB 2400 MHz DDR4 SDRAM, 512GB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD, No Optical Drive15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display, Windows 10 Home 64-Bit4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, 802.11ac Wireless LAN + Bluetooth, Backlit KeyboardIntegrated Widescreen HD 720P Webcam with Dual digital microphone array, 74 WHr, 6-Cell Battery
Freshman year I wouldn't recommend taking the time to build a PC, the year starts out pretty fast and you'll need a device to work with very early on. With that said I had a very similar criteria while looking for a laptop. I ended up buying the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Gaming. It's a very solid laptop, Intel Quad Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and a very impressive GTX 1050 (below recommended 1060 for VR)with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. It has a very solid battery life, it lasts me a full day easily doing anything that's less demanding that gaming. It's also fairly light for 15 inch gaming laptop. When it comes to gaming it is also pretty impressive for the price, I've had it run GTA V on high at around a constant 60FPS (while plugged in). It's a very solid option when it comes to a daily driver and a powerhouse. It has also taken a few hits (being in my backpack while I fell of my bike multiple times) testifying to it's durability. The only drawback to getting the 16GB of RAM is that you have to give up on some storage (which I believe you can install a second ssd or hdd because it has an empty slot inside not certain tho). And all of that is for under 1k. https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-15-6-inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B07BKVHNPK/
If you're willing to put more down for a good laptop, my laptop's older brother is also a very solid contender for 400 more. https://www.amazon.com/Dell-i7577-7425BLK-PUS-Inspiron-Display-Gaming/dp/B0764HW116/
It has the higher gtx 1060 (the recommended for VR :/ ) and a bigger form factor.
Also, this probably isn't a deal breaker, but neither have a CD drive.
Hope this helps