Unfortunately, what you're basically saying is: "I want a decent steak, but I don't want to pay steakhouse prices." (You're gonna wind up at family diner trying to convince yourself the dry, 6 oz. flank you ordered isn't that bad.
)
The trouble with your request is that off-the-shelf systems are simply not built (or configured) for gaming. This is
especially true of off-the shelf
laptops. Even if you find a system that seems like a "deal" (e.g. decent graphics card and a nice monitor), it's almost assuredly cutting corners in some other area (likely CPU, motherboard, RAM speed, slow or no SSD, etc.) I would recommend the following:
1.) If you can consider a desktop, look into to buying the components yourself. The system I built back in 2014 was priced over $7,000 on Falcon-NW (just for the tower!) I put together the entire rig, identical hardware (minus the liquid cooling, since I don't overclock), PLUS a new monitor, Razer keyboard and mouse, and a nice set of 2.1 speakers for just over $2,000. Yes, one can save
that much...but it takes research and time. It took me about 6 months to get all the parts for good prices. This is the best way to go for gaming, as desktop components are cheaper, more powerful, and often last longer.
2.) If a desktop is completely out of the question, save just a few more pennies and spend it on a budget
ASUS Republic of Gamers system or the like. I've owned one G51 and two G71 systems over time, and both of them were magnificent. Truly desktop replacements. The lower end G51's will likely run you between $1,100 - $1,500, but deals on overstock can be found online or in stores sometimes. Frankly, these systems, while they may seem to have lower-grade components, are often more than the sum of their parts since their hardware is specifically chosen and configured to work
together. (Other, standard, off-the-shelf laptops that tout things like, "
GTX 1000m Series for
BLAZING graphics and gaming!!!" fail to mention that the wimpy CPU it's paired with will never be able to keep up with it, creating a bottleneck that strangles performance...or that the cooling for the system is so inadequate that the laptop will overheat and shut down if you try to play something heavy on it.)
In short, if you intend to buy an
non-gaming, off-the-shelf system, it's a roll of the dice. In all the years I've been buying / building my own systems, I only got lucky
once with a non-gaming laptop. It was a Dell, a bit pricey, but contained what seemed like well-balanced hardware...and to my surprise, it worked
beautifully with games. (I later learned that Dell had purchased Alienware...so what I had bought was likely an "in-between" system put together by the Alienware crew. Since that time there has been a pretty clear divide between
Dell laptops and
Alienware laptops.)
How much were you willing to spend?