TheUnknownGamer

The part where it is alleged LTT auctioned off a prototype water block they promised to return is troubling. That requires an official response.

How old is the laptop and is it under warranty?  It's possible a section of the backlight has gone out.  A picture would be helpful, but it sounds much like a backlight issue.  
 
If under warranty, get it checked out.  If not under warranty, What model is the laptop?  You might want to check online and see if there are videos to help open the system and reseat the harness to the LCD and on the mainboard.  Next, you can search online for a replacement LCD at someplace like laptopscreen.com and get a replacement for your laptop.  

Thanks i think i will now

Get the IdeaPad. It's just better. 1080p IPS display vs 900p TN display. It's not even close. You also get a better keyboard (Dell don't really make good keyboards sadly)

The Lenovo has a higher resolution screen with better colour and a stronger CPU.
The Dell has a bigger, lower resolution screen and a stronger GPU.
 
It's a tough decision. I think I'd get the Lenovo. If you animate and code that 1080p IPS screen is a LOT better than the Dell's 900p 17" LED piece of crap. It will be a fair bit worse at gaming, though.

The thing is, aside from turbo boost, the i3 and i5 are completely identical. I'm thinking that the i3 would be a bit better for gaming in terms of performance, as the 940MX will more likely be what holds back in gaming performance.
 
I'm not too fond of the 1600 x 900 resolution, though.

You probably will only notice the size. 900p and 1080p isn't much of a difference. 900p has 1.44 MP, and 1080p has 2.0736 MP, which is not that much.

the thing is: none of them is suited for gaming very well because they both have low powered chips.the GTX960M isn't that bad, but the i3 will probably hold it back pretty much. the i5 wouldn't be much better either because the biggest difference is the variable clock speed (known as turbo boost  ) but the 940MX isn't good at all at 1080p. Can you render over gpu? Then the one with the 960 would be better.

The Dell Inspiron 17 is the best laptop on that list of the 2 laptops, and it is actually quite good for what you're gonna doing. Buy that one.

I think you may want to look at used ThinkPads or Elitebooks. Getting something good in that budget new is next to impossible.

here is a better value Headphone http://thestatusaudio.com/products/hd1?variant=11154543239

Superlux HD 668B.

Another cheap mic is the Takstar PCM-1200, but I can't find many tests of them in the net.

Fair point. Although if you're doing a video with other people (who have better microphones) then it can become an issue too.

To be honest I don't care that much about the quality of the microphone (beyond it not distorting to the point of inaudability[it is amazing how quickly your ears come to recognise that sound as normal]), but sniffing, uhming and ahing and strong (almost indescipherable) accents will make me click off a video.

There aren't any good microphones that cheap unless you find a good deal on a more expensive one or second hand. You probably start to get into the "decent" category around £40-50 which you'll probably want if you were planning on a youtube channel that people will actually want to listen to.
 

i would get the apple earpods until your ready to drop money for a really good money.

yes

Yes you can. all three display port can all be active at the same time.

Yes 

yes
 
Just make sure you connect the VGA adapter to the DVI-I port.