I'll give my two pence seeming as just seen this thread and custom build my desktops.
A) Depends on exactly how much gaming is involved from a graphically intensive point of view an i5 core would be very suitable and not give you any issues. If issues were to be noticed it would only be during games with the graphics quality turned up (which you cannot expect to do on a standard laptop anyway, they are simply not gaming tools). I run a fairly old i7 currently in my two year old desktop and never seen it get pushed past about 20% utilisation, but I have a dedicated GPU also. An i5 may see a bit more utilisation than that due to it lacking the hyperthreading pushing it up to 8 cores but it won't prove an issue, they are still capable CPU's.
B) Touch screen in my opinion is a bit of a gimmick. Windows 8 is obviously pushing towards it with their metro layouts but I am still personally not a fan. Have set my Windows 8 to behave exactly like Windows 7. It could still be a good idea though especially if looking at more hybrid tablet/notebook style machines however these will most likely lack the performance you would look for.
C) Yes. As noted above I run mine setup to be similar to Windows 7. I skip the metro tiles start page, have a standard taskbar, don't use the metro apps, dont have hotcorners active. It is still notably quicker than Windows 7 performance wise and so its worth looking at from that point of view.
On the topic of Apple, I can say I have been there before and personally prefer windows simply due to being an "OTT Gamer" in your words
Apple computers however DO hold their performance levels. Windows PCs are made up of a complete jumble of parts from different manufacturers which over time do notably slow down a bit. Apple use entirely their parts and don't seem to suffer this issue as much, my 08' Macbook Pro still performs fairly well for a device running on a dual core cpu still (even though it now lives in a cupboard as I never use it). 
I've never been a fan of VAIO after past experience. My work laptop is a Lenovo T520, not sure the price of it but its running an i5 and 8gig ram. It has easily handled 20-30fps on the games I tend to play while away from home (may have a hidden personal ssd in it
) so i5's can certainly perform. Lenovo is also a very sturdy build and has been pointed out by others in the thread. I would consider one myself if I ever needed to buy a laptop again but I'm long-converted to desktops for gaming.
SSDs / Hybrid SSDs have been mentioned in this thread also. Their relevance to you is again down to your expectations from the computer. I don't run them in my desktop at present (due to firmware issues with sandforce drivers) back when I built it. I can still boot the computer up from cold to be usable in about 40~ seconds. My work laptop hidden SSD boots up to usable in about 7 seconds from cold. It all depends on whether you are bothered about speed that much. With light gaming, films, and other standard computer use I wouldn't see the need for one really.
WiFi signal could be the result of a poor router, not just the wireless card. I have never had any issues with stock wireless cards on any machine I have run. I do however have a non-standard router. Virgin provide their crappy combo router/modem and I just have that set to act as a modem and use my router. Features available on other network cards such as bandwidth limitation per application are pretty much gimmicks to a user such as yourself as I would never ever see them being used. Maybe in a corporate setting.
I agree with the advice to head into somewhere and try out the machines in person, John Lewis isn't a bad place to go for sure, laptops do have different keyboards and some are awful. I would personally recommend something along the lines of a Lenovo/Dell.
Sorry for the wall of text, rarely find threads on here that fit my knowledge and interests specifically :evil:
A) Depends on exactly how much gaming is involved from a graphically intensive point of view an i5 core would be very suitable and not give you any issues. If issues were to be noticed it would only be during games with the graphics quality turned up (which you cannot expect to do on a standard laptop anyway, they are simply not gaming tools). I run a fairly old i7 currently in my two year old desktop and never seen it get pushed past about 20% utilisation, but I have a dedicated GPU also. An i5 may see a bit more utilisation than that due to it lacking the hyperthreading pushing it up to 8 cores but it won't prove an issue, they are still capable CPU's.
B) Touch screen in my opinion is a bit of a gimmick. Windows 8 is obviously pushing towards it with their metro layouts but I am still personally not a fan. Have set my Windows 8 to behave exactly like Windows 7. It could still be a good idea though especially if looking at more hybrid tablet/notebook style machines however these will most likely lack the performance you would look for.
C) Yes. As noted above I run mine setup to be similar to Windows 7. I skip the metro tiles start page, have a standard taskbar, don't use the metro apps, dont have hotcorners active. It is still notably quicker than Windows 7 performance wise and so its worth looking at from that point of view.
On the topic of Apple, I can say I have been there before and personally prefer windows simply due to being an "OTT Gamer" in your words
Apple computers however DO hold their performance levels. Windows PCs are made up of a complete jumble of parts from different manufacturers which over time do notably slow down a bit. Apple use entirely their parts and don't seem to suffer this issue as much, my 08' Macbook Pro still performs fairly well for a device running on a dual core cpu still (even though it now lives in a cupboard as I never use it). I've never been a fan of VAIO after past experience. My work laptop is a Lenovo T520, not sure the price of it but its running an i5 and 8gig ram. It has easily handled 20-30fps on the games I tend to play while away from home (may have a hidden personal ssd in it
) so i5's can certainly perform. Lenovo is also a very sturdy build and has been pointed out by others in the thread. I would consider one myself if I ever needed to buy a laptop again but I'm long-converted to desktops for gaming.SSDs / Hybrid SSDs have been mentioned in this thread also. Their relevance to you is again down to your expectations from the computer. I don't run them in my desktop at present (due to firmware issues with sandforce drivers) back when I built it. I can still boot the computer up from cold to be usable in about 40~ seconds. My work laptop hidden SSD boots up to usable in about 7 seconds from cold. It all depends on whether you are bothered about speed that much. With light gaming, films, and other standard computer use I wouldn't see the need for one really.
WiFi signal could be the result of a poor router, not just the wireless card. I have never had any issues with stock wireless cards on any machine I have run. I do however have a non-standard router. Virgin provide their crappy combo router/modem and I just have that set to act as a modem and use my router. Features available on other network cards such as bandwidth limitation per application are pretty much gimmicks to a user such as yourself as I would never ever see them being used. Maybe in a corporate setting.
You can be my new friend
I agree with the advice to head into somewhere and try out the machines in person, John Lewis isn't a bad place to go for sure, laptops do have different keyboards and some are awful. I would personally recommend something along the lines of a Lenovo/Dell.
Sorry for the wall of text, rarely find threads on here that fit my knowledge and interests specifically :evil:
