Hey guys, so I'm trying to put together a laptop for school in September, and I have a budget of anywhere up to $1600 for it. I'm trying to put together a fast laptop with a pretty good video card in it, because even though I don't really game much anymore, I figure I'll probably enjoy gaming every now and then to relax from my studies.

I'm trying to find a brand or company that can allow me to build the fastest possible laptop for up to $1600.

From Sony Vaio I can build an F-series like this:
Intel Quad Core i7-740QM processor (1.73GHz)
Windows 7 Home Premium
8GB DDR3-SDRAM at 1333mhz
320GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
16.4" 1900x1080 pixel full HD display
NVIDIA GeForce 330M GPU (1GB VRAM)
Keyboard backlight
Up to 4.5hrs battery life

$1401


From Dell Studio 16 XPS I can build:
Intel Quad Core i7-720QM processor (1.6GHz)
Windows 7 Home Premium
8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
500GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
15.4" 1600x900 pixel HD display
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 - 1GB
Soundblaster X-Fi High Definition Audio

$1604

Anyone know any laptops that would be better than these for me?
Or any brand I should look at?

Hmm, those seem pretty close. I would go for the Sony, just because it has more pixels, non-shared memory and more clock cycles :p.

Also, if you ever for some reason want to try installing a Linux variant or a hacked version of OS X for some reason, the hardware specifications of the Sony will give you less trouble.

Why not just buy one from Newegg or TigerDirect or CC?

I was in the same situation as you in first year. Trust me, get yourself a desktop and a cheap netbook. You can find netbooks at about $300 that are perfect for taking notes and easily push upwards of 8-10 hours of battery life. A desktop that can match the laptops you're looking at would only be around a Grand and will actually be able to be upgraded so you wont have to spend a grand again when you feel it's getting a bit old.

Carrying a hot, heavy laptop that likely won't be able to stay charged for an entire school day from class to class that's still only going to be a so-so gaming computer just isn't worth it.

http://eceplayground.com/2010/06/21/...vn-x1a-laptop/

old deal, but shipping is now free!