Tsunami Gaming

So as some of you know, mostly my CA nubs, I'm finally getting a new laptop that can handle more than just rene at 45 fps.

Though this computer *should* support light gaming, I'm also looking for these aspect:
Price: Under 1200
battery life of 4.5+ hours and would prefer 6+
Stylish(not bulky/ blocky etc)
performance( vid card/proc/etc)
Portability for class note taking
Good ports (VGI/HDMI/SD card)
Windows 7 or xp required(prefer 7)

So far here's what I've come up with, but I wouldn't mind some other opinions.
1. HPs look like crap(too plasticy looking)
2. Lenovos look like a transformer robot
3. Dells are crappy(except for Alienware which is overpriced imo)
4. Asus/Acer etc are ok.
5. Macs are good quality, but can't game as well(especially with my older favorites).

Right now I have a SONY VAIO, and even though it's pretty much crap right now(performance wise), I'm sure everything else would have blown up by now after my 4/5 years of use.

So my current opinion is reinvesting in a VAIO, either a SR or NW model.
link:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... humbClick4

SR: longer batt life/portability
NW: Larger screen size

ideas and or opinions on the comps I like or others?

My bro has a VAIO very nice

That or a Toshiba. Toshibas are the ****. Need to buy a sep. battery after like a year or 2 though.

i have a sony vaio FW series its great (a little big...) but can play every game this community supports and looks nice. I got mine with 1080p graphics so in turn i have a ATI HD graphics chip which makes all game look crisp and i have vista right now (upgrading to 7 probably at Christmas) dual 2 GHz processors and 4 Gb of ram but only about a 2.5 hour battery life at max performance. i also have a Bluray read only CD drive and a 320 Gb 7200 rpm HDD and all this only cost me $1070 great value in my mine.

And lazer engraving came free (at least with mine)

Also has 3 usb 2.0 ports, a VGA out port, a HDMI out port, one firewire, one card port (for like an extrenal wireless card), SD and Sony pro duo card slots.

if the SR model was 15.4 inches then I'd already know what I was getting. FW is nice, but too big to lug around campus and no batt. life, 13.3 of the SR *might* be a bit too small to game on. it's got everything else I want. I'll look into toshiba, thx scorp.

yea its heavy too ...

i normally just leave mine in my dorm room or throw it in my backpack

Invest in a VAIO that has good battery life and a decent monitor and you'll be happy. They're good laptops, but people usually get screwed with power sucking hardware that will have your battery dead in a half hour. No good.

And don't think that because its a laptop you have to have a small monitor. Larger screens for laptops are becomming more common. And as a gamer you'll want it. Max resolution won't be as important as refresh rate.

Shop sites like PriceWatch, too. The more wholesale you go, the less fancy is may look - but the more bang for your buck you'll get. Well worth it! That's how I managed to build my new PC for so cheap.