Thickness and weight would be best if minimized. I want it to be portable and not a pain to carry around. I know the MBP is really thin, weighs about 4-5 lbs, and still has 8 GB of RAM, an SSD, good display, etc. Maybe about a maximum of 1.25" thickness and 6lbs.

MBP seems to be the frontrunner. Does Mac OS get annoying as a lifelong Windows user? Are most popular games on Steam compatible on a Mac?

RAM isn't very dependent on a lot of things unless she's going to be using it for more powerful productivity software like Photoshop or Final Cut, even then my Macbook Air can run both of those simultaneously quite well (I've always appreciated Apple's particular attention for RAM management).

For the actual laptop side of things, you want a think and powerful laptop with a good screen....then comes the battery issue. See, it's going to be hard to fit in everything without making it either bulky due to a larger battery, or other sacrifices that go elsewhere.

For gaming here is what I suggest (keep in mind these are not the best you can get for the money SPEC wise, rather they are more "chic" and more convenient, for example thinner):
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You're not looking for a full out gaming laptop, so I'll skip the 3 inch thick desktop replacements as I like to call them.

For productivity, almost any ultrabook will suffice, if you want to go the Mac route, the Retina MBP is by no means a poor performer, it's just not really ideal for the best price/performance ratio.

Final Suggestion is either a MSI GS70 or a Retina MacBook Pro for her needs. One has a larger screen, the other has a nicer screen, one is more powerful while one is more chic and has better battery life.

Hey NGU, my wife's birthday is coming up and one of the things I'm going to get her is a new laptop. I don't want to spend more than $2500 total. I'm looking for suggestions on what to buy. It can be Windows or Mac. We're familiar with Windows but having a Mac might be cool.

-good battery life
-good specs (8GB RAM, SSD hard drive, i7...as future-proof as possible)
-good fit and finish
-13-17" screen with good display

It'll mainly be for personal use like gaming, watching movies, surfing the web, etc. I'm currently leaning towards a 15" MBP with Retina Display, any opinions on this? I'll rep everyone who gives me a suggestion with reasons and a link!

Don't use my thread to up your post count.

and um what dose your wife do on a laptop to need a 2,500dollar one -.-
if so needed i suggest looking at this they are very good laptops and i personally would preffer one over a razer or alienware (i don't give a fuck about spelling btw)
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Prefreabley the GIGABYTE P25W

Because with laptops if you pay for quality it lasts a hell of a lot longer then a cheap shit one that's horseshit after a month

and um what dose your wife do on a laptop to need a 2,500dollar one -.-
if so needed i suggest looking at this they are very good laptops and i personally would preffer one over a razer or alienware (i don't give a fuck about spelling btw)
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Prefreabley the GIGABYTE P25W

She's in management consulting. She could easily buy one herself, but I make 3x what she does so I'm buying it for he as a birthday gift. I know she'll enjoy it since it's the best combination of what I'm looking for. $2500 is not a problem, it's for a special occasion and will last for a long time.

You can put Windows on a Mac through boot camp. All it takes is about 20gb of space and a Windows 7 direct download. Fuck Windows 8.