A good laptop for school work and gaming?

I just bought a new laptop.
Mine needed GREAT graphics (for gaming and movie binging), it needed to be touchscreen (windows 8), quad-core, at least 2 GHZ, at least 4 gb of ram, etc. I looked for about a whole month- nothing within my (by my, I mean my dad's) price range. But I finally found it: Acer Aspire V5 522P.
I got it refurbished on Amazon for $430, but you can get it new for $500. I was really reluctant to get a refurbished laptop because it usually comes with scratch. I currently have it now and I love it (came in pristine condition).
Pros:
-Can do the easy stuff (Youtubing, email, web search, writing essays)
great, great quality and graphics; It's compatible with every game I play (The Sims 3, League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, DC Universe Online) with high FPS and quality and little to no lag.
-Big, clear screen
-Touchscreen (which is highly convenient)
-High RAM (6 gb)
-Windows 8, but easily upgraded to 8.1
-High ghz (which means faster speeds)
-It's really light compared to other 15.6 screen laptops.
-I think its 700-750 GB, can't remember but it's A LOT.

Cons
-Battery Life SUCKS when gaming or watching movies. Other times, battery life can be 5 hours at most. I'd understand if this would be a deal-breaker since you're a college student and will always be on the go.
-Can heat up really hot when doing to heavy stuff (movies, photoshop, gaming
-Jumpy mouse pad (In the beginning it got so bad that I would've returned it if it weren't touchscreen. But it later got better; i don't know if it's because I got used to it or because it actually resolved itself)
-No optical drive
-Looks really chunky in photos but it's actually qualified in the ultra thin category (<1 in. Thick). Lol, is this a con?

Also check out
ASUS vivobook
ASUS zenbook
(although ASUS battery lives aren't always the best. But they're designs are super sleek and modern, they're really nice)
Lenovo brand (they have the ones that can convert into tablets which might be useful as a student so that reading and watching stuff can be easier. Also easy to transport. Plus their brand is one of the best when it comes to portable computers- ultra thin and light and good battery life)
When in doubt, just go Macbook Air, lol. But you'd really miss out on the touchscreen since I think it's super cool. And I think they're way overpriced. But keep in mind that most people at your school will probably have Windows so everything might not be compatible. But the Air has AMAZING battery life- up to 8hr. Sometimes

According to Laptopmag I believe Apple was voted best brand, then Lenovo, then ASUS. Acer was around 5/6.

Whatever you get, look into refurbished. They're not so bad but make sure it has a return policy. Sometimes they come So much cheaper than the new ones with no difference at all. If they simply open the box, it has to be considered refurbished. And you can spend that extra money on food, clothes, books, dorm room items, etc.

Good luck and I hope I helped.
EDIT: Sorry this is so long.

If that's what you want the laptop to do the Y50 would be the better choice. I say this because it has all the better hardware over the Y510p. Even though the Y50 is a little more pricey the Y510p has a big issue when it comes on to heat. People normal complain about how it's so easy to overheat, this can be a very bugging thing for anyone. With the Y50 they have thought about this overheating problem and sorted it out. The only downfall for the Y50 is that it lacks an optical drive, so if you're the type that use this hardware much you would have to get an external optical but otherwise, it's all gold. The Y50 can give you 50-60 frames on high for those games you have mentioned and a good 30-48 on ultimate so there's not reason to worry about lagging and if it will perform well for the next 5-8 years. Here is a link also to get it one the rather cheap side

If you really don't care about the price check out the razer blade - http://www.razerzone.com/...zer-blade/

If you want something a bit cheaper (obviously the blade is expensive) check this out -
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=special