Current budget has me at 960M now, how will Pascal change that?

Hi,

My 5-year-old laptop (specs in sig) died recently and I've been considering replacing it. I have a desktop so it's more of a want than a need, but I would like a new one; I just don't know when we'll replace it (hoping within the next few months, maybe take advantage of holiday sales).

That being said, my budget is about $800 give or take $100, but could maybe be talked into going up a little more (I don't know if I can get away with more than $1000). My understanding is that puts me at the GTX 960M being my best option. I had been looking at the HP Pavilion (17.3" version, as that's the size I want) because with coupons it is good specs for the price. However I was made aware of the new Pascal coming out and was advised that waiting might be better.

I want to preface this by saying that other than the little research I have done today/yesterday I have little knowledge/experience about the performance and price trends of GPUs, so please forgive my ignorance.

So my questions are: How do you think the release of the Pascal line would affect my GPU choices? Clearly a 1060M would be better than the 960M, but how will it compare in price? Will it be within my budget? Will it bring other currently more powerful out-of-budget cards like the 970M into my budget range? If I was hoping to buy a laptop by the end of this year or so would these card availability/prices have taken effect yet, or will I have to wait longer?

On a side note, I considered upgrading the i5 to i7 and FHD to UHD for about $150 more (with coupons). In your opinion is that worth it, or not really? I tend to play older games, but also like to play some new games as well, like Starcraft 2, Civ V, Heroes of the Storm, and Star Wars Battlefront. I consider myself a casual/moderate gamer.

Thanks.

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Current budget has me at 960M now, how will Pascal change that?