A few of my friends bought Asus brand laptops and love them (I'm rich and bought an expensive Dell). while the plastic case on them is not the best, as long as you don't drop them they will last a good number of years.
17" model, 8gb ram, 1.66ghz Core i7, Mobility Radeon 5870 $1,599.99 out the door:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220695
15" model, 4gb ram, 1.66ghz Core i7, Mobility Nvidia GTS 360M $1,274.99 out the door:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220700
And kicks the shit out of even the just released updated macbooks xD
Damn.... I might buy one, my dell is getting kind of old