Looking for affordable gaming laptop.

okay well, the good news is there are choices in your budget, they are not the ultra high end gaming rigs that some people own but they will get the job done for what you are looking at.

personally i have never had issues with toshiba, i have owned and used their machines before. in fact many off my friends use toshiba machines and dont have issues at all regarding the machines or the service toshiba provides for them. the toshibas are likely to give you the most power for your money in your price range, with a good second choice being the asus machines. pesronally i avoid HP because of their past track record which was really not good, though in recent years it has improved and people who are buying them.
now seem to like them. price for specs wise though the DV9000 is not the best of the bunch.

buying a cheap machine now is an option though honestly i dont see the point. santa rosa has already technically been released and some brands have released their first machines with it. high end machines cant be far off which is good for most people wanting one. the only downside is that the high end machines are also going to carry a high end pricetag which means that you had better have even more than your current budget when you go to buy one of those. on top of that bigger price tag you have to add the cost of a very cheap laptop now which means even more cost. then you need to factor in that a very cheap laptop now may not even be able to play the games you want so would be rather useless for you.

all things to consider but i would say if you can do it, hold out with what you are currently using now, give things a month to let some santa rosa laptops come onto the market then go and make your purchases.