Nope, watching movie is a piece of cake for notebooks or ultrabooks haha

Mind sharing your usage?
Why do you need an i7?

Gaming requires a powerful GPU, not CPU
Can consider this:
15.6"
MSI
GE60K, i5-3230M + Nvidia GTX660M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM2899, 4GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, 2 years warranty

Otherwise can top up a bit for a Lenovo Y510p or MSI GE60-2OC

This post has been edited by [PF] T.J.: Sep 30 2013, 09:54 AM

Both the Gt750M and GTX660M are way, way better than the GT740M
Like I said, the GPU is more important for gaming performance. If you want a GT740M, RM2k can get you one already

Who?

My vote goes to the Y400/Y410p, better performance
Touchscreen is not so useful on a normal notebook, not really worth it. Some more since it is touch-capable, it will become another potential feature to spoil, and mind you, they are not cheap yo

How about this one?
14"
Dell Inspiron 14-3421, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT625M@RM1649[1.99kg], Ubuntu, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 6-cell; W8SL@RM1899

*price in RRP, negotiable
*sports a 6-cell battery, you'll get much longer battery lives there
*use remaining budget for warranty extension to 3 years onsite~

You can negotiate with Dell online sales agents at Dell website
Can try chatting with a few since different agents will give different deals

Check out the last two in this link: http://www.dell.com/my/p/inspiron-14-3421/...psed=false&pf=v

This post has been edited by [PF] T.J.: Oct 7 2013, 03:39 PM

Can consider these
14"
Dell
Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049

HP
Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8; colors: silver/black

Lenovo
Z400, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty; colors: chocolate *EOL-ed


Price in RRP, negotiable
They all have more or less the same specs, just go for the one that you like the most

Can consider these two:
14"
Dell Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049

HP Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8; colors: silver/black

The GE70 should be better since it is much thicker and cools better than the GS70
If you have the budget, upgrade to SSD (can upgrade later on when as well if you cannot at the moment). They are faster, cooler and last longer than conventional harddisk

Below are the specifications for both the GE60 and GE70/GS70
Apart from the budget GE60, all the other notebooks are powered by an Nvidia GTX765M, so the gaming performance is pretty much similar. And since all of them are FullHD, screen resolution (and size) doesn't matter~

MSI
15.6"
GE60-2OC, i5-4200M + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3099,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series KB
GE60-2OC, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3599,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series KB

GE60-2OE, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX765M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM4299,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, backlit keyboard
GE60-ONC, i5-3230M + Nvidia GTX675M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3299, 4GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8

17.3"
MSI
GE70-2OE, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX765M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM4499,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, backlit keyboard

GS70-2OC, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX765M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM4699[2.66kg][Dynaudio], 8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series multi color backlit KB
GS70-2OD (Stealth)-096MY, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX756M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM4899, 8GB, 1TB(7200rpm), W8, steel series multi color backlit KB

GS70-2OC, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX765M + 128GB + 750GB(7200rpm) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM5499[2.66kg][Dynaudio], 12GB, W8, steel series multi color backlit KB
GS70-20D (Stealth)-097MY , i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX756M + 128GB mSATA + 750GB(7200rpm) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM5799, 16GB, W8, steel series multi color backlit

Your Asus can probably be "fixed" by getting a new HDD or SSD to replace the aged one
But since it is a 4 year old notebook, usually its best to just get a new one as you never know which hardware might spoil even after you replace the original harddisk

Can consider this for your budget:
15.6"
Lenovo
Flex 15, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT720M + (1366x768; touch) + 8GB SSGD + 500GB HDD@RM2699, 4GB, W8

Heard the speakers are very good
Otherwise these:
15.6"
Asus A550CC-XX530H, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT720M@RM2099[2kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8; colors: black/red/white

Dell Inspiron 15, i3-3217U + AMD HD7670M@RM1499[2.25kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 6-cell, Linux; W8SL@RM1699


Toshiba Satellite L50-A100X/XW, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, W8SL; 3 years local warranty; colors:silver/white

*Prices in RRP, negotiable
*Macs are out of your budget unfortunately

It depends on what you need?
If you are looking for portability, then the 14" is a good pick IF you want an Alienware with superb warranty support (when covered) Otherwise, like devour mentioned, the slimmer and lighter MSI GE40 or Lenovo Y410p would be more portable, though not as well built.

If you are into performance, then 15.6 or 17" are better picks since they often come with more powerful CPU/GPU

Can consider these:
14"
Asus K46CB-WX060H, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, 4-cell, OD

Dell Vostro 5470, i3-4010U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8, 3-cell

Lenovo S410p, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT720M@RM2099[1.8kg], 4GB, 1TB, W8, 2 yrs

Sony SVF14217SG, i3-3227U + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768; touch)@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB, W8SL; colors:black/white/pink

Toshiba Satellite L40-AS109Xb/G/W, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, 3 years local warranty; colors: Blue/gold/white

All are good, just pick the one you like the most
And opt for 3 years warranty extension (except Asus)

Either the Y400 or the Y410P
Which one to get depends on how adventurous your friend is
I'm assuming he is experienced since he knows how to install OS and drivers on his own.

To maximize his budget, get the Y400, extend warranty to 3 years, and upgrade to an SSD!

Can consider these:
15.6"
Asus
S550CB-CJ102H i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M + 24GB mSATA + 500GB + (1366x768; touch)@RM2499[1.83kg], 4GB, W8
S551LB-CJ120H, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2699[2.4kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8, 3-cell
N56VB-S3070H, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2899[/b][2.7kg][B&O], 4GB, 750GB, W8

Dell
Inspiron 15R, i7-4500U + AMD HD8850M (GDDR5) @RM2499[2.32kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm), Linux, 65WHr; W8SL@RM2699

Lenovo
Z510, i5-4200M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2399[2.2kg], 4GB, 1TB, backlit, W8; 2 yrs, color: white

MSI
GE60K, i5-3230M + Nvidia GTX660M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM2899, 4GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, 2 years warranty
GE60-2OC, i5-4200M + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3099,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series KB
GP60-2OD, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GT740M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM2999, 4GB, 750GB, W8, steel series KB

Toshiba
Satellite L50-A100X/XW, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, W8SL; 3 years local warranty; colors:silver/white

*Prices in RRP, negotiable
*Do take note that processors with suffix "M" are more powerful, better for video editing. Personally I think the MSI notebooks offer the best in terms of specs for your usage. The FullHD screens can be really handy as well
If video editing is more important to you than gaming, then the MSI GP60 is the one to go for

Don't think you can get a Full HD 14" notebook on that budget

Yeah, the Z400 Touch with i7 is a pretty good choice since its a normal quad-core processor. But do take note that the machine is not easy to upgrade ya. Might want to upgrade to 8GB RAM too~

Can consider this one also, a bit old-tech, but comes with 3 years warranty:
14"
TOshiba Satellite M840-1034XG/XP/XQ, i7-3620QM + AMD HD7670M@RM2699, 4GB, 750GB, W8SL; 3 years local warranty; colors:gold/pink/blue

See bangla

Still need to at least state your budget bro
Light notebooks can range from RM2k- RM10k