Gaming/Schoolwork Laptop for a Software Student

[honeypot11]

Hello there, thanks for taking the time to check out my thread!
Now...onto the questionnaire.

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
I have a max budget of $1500 including tax. I would love to find a nicely spec-ed laptop at around the $1200 mark (of course cheaper is great too).

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
between an 11"-15.6"

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
Canada

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Asus, Alienware, MSI, Sager, Acer, Lenovo, etc. (basically any brand besides the ones I "dislike")
b. Dislike: Hp, Sony

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
I would if they were from a trusted source people have had experience with. I would be willing to resort to this if no decently priced laptop is found from a retailer :s

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Schoolwork (mostly programming), adobe photoshop tasks, gaming, movie watching

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
I am a university student and I commute back and forth everyday, I'm hoping to find a good laptop to take with me on my journeys. I will be taking it out of my bag multiple times.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
Yeeeeep. I'm hoping to play the recent games as well as newer games that are coming out this summer. Involving Guild wars 2, Mass Effect 3, Diablo 3, Skyrim, etc. etc.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
4 hours would be greeeat, just a laptop that could at least last me two classes (1hr each or so) without plugging it in.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
I would of course like to get a chance to see it, but online would be fine too. The internet in my own opinion is an ok place also to get an idea of how it will be, as well as owner's accounts of their laptops ^.^ (hinthint)

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
I prefer Windows 7, however I am also hoping to dual boot it with Linux at one point.

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?
1366x768 minimum. Of course I would love a higher resolution for my gaming needs if the price is reasonable enough.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?
I'd prefer no glossy screen, but I'm willing to sacrifice. ;p

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Yes, but it will all depend really.

15) When are you buying this laptop?
halfway through this July 2012 for sure.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
for the next four years. At that point I hope that the laptop will be able to at least play some games on low

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
500 GB for a HDD minimum, I think I'll personally install my own SSD on the laptop after purchase if possible.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
Nope, don't really need, but I guess a Dvd burner would be nice.

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If you have gotten this far, I declare you awesome.


So I have already started looking at Alienwares in fact, but I honestly have zero experience with dell. I've heard so many rumours online, something about them being overpriced and blahblahblah. I myself am kind of open-minded. Though if you have an opinion on either of these two purchase ideas, please don't hesitate to comment on them!

Specs for the M11x:
-All for $1199.99 CDN (due to a sale atm--saves $300)

Components
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-2637M processor (1.7GHz, 2.8GHz with Turbo Boost, 4MB Cache)
6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz
1TB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT540M graphics with 2.0GB Video Memory and Optimus
Internal High-Definition Surround Sound Audio (5.1)
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 a/g/n 1x2
11.6" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight
1 Year Basic Service Plan
McAfee SecurityCenter, 30-Days Trial


Specs for the M14x r2:
-All for $1299.99 CDN

Components
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
6GB DDR3 at 1600MHz
1 GB DDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with Optimus™
500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s
14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner, DVD+-RW
63WHr 8-Cell Primary Battery

[Prasad]

The Alienwares are far too low on performance at that price point, not to mention too heavy! Consider the Sager NP6110 (for ultraportability and max battery life) , NP9130 (middle ground) or the NP9150 (maximum customizability). Try XoticPC or Eurocom, since you hail from Canada.

[honeypot11]

The Alienwares are far too low on performance at that price point, not to mention too heavy! Consider the Sager NP6110 (for ultraportability and max battery life) , NP9130 (middle ground) or the NP9150 (maximum customizability). Try XoticPC or Eurocom, since you hail from Canada.

Thank you for taking the time to post, and those are pretty good suggestions!--I will definitely consider looking into them.
I actually haven't heard too much about Sager laptops on my end, you've had good experience with them I presume?

[Mk017]

Try Reflex Notebook or Malibal instead. stay away from Eurocom, some members here had really bad experiences with them.

[pepper_john]

If you are not into graphics intensive gaming, then consider Thinkpad X220.

[Prasad]

Thank you for taking the time to post, and those are pretty good suggestions!--I will definitely consider looking into them.
I actually haven't heard too much about Sager laptops on my end, you've had good experience with them I presume?

See for yourself here. I'm a customer too, and their service and support is as grand as their products are exclusive and unheard of. Superb build quality too, btw!