Considering an upgrade to my 3yr old lappy

Hello, everyone. My three year old MacBook Pro is still quite functional, yet sadly a game was released (GTA IV) that my graphics card will not run. I can run Fallout 3 on 1024x768 at the lowest settings just fine, but I think it's time to consider an upgrade.

1_What is your budget? Maximum $2000 USD but I would really like to keep it under $1500 if I could.

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? Anywhere between 15.4" and 17", I'm liking the new 16" varieties.

3_What screen resolution do you want? I'd prefer at least 1400x900, just nothing 1024x768 or lower.

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Weight isn't much of an issue as long as it's under 10 lbs.

5_How much battery life do you need? Preferably 2hrs+, but I will typically have it within reach of an outlet.

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? The main reason for the upgrade is that Fallout 3 barely plays on my 3 year old MacBook Pro. I would like a dedicated graphics card with at least 512MB and be a very capable gaming system.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing, surfing the web, playing music, watching movies, Etc.) I do a little bit of photo editing, but it's not a major concern. High Def movies aren't of the utmost importance so the addition of a Blu-Ray player is non-essential.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need? I would like at least a 120GB 7200rpm drive. I have external drives for more storage if need be.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them. I really like Newegg.com but anywhere with a decent return/exchange policy is fine.

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop? I'm shooting for another 3 year or longer laptop, but I can drag out the functionality more than most people I know.

11_If you would like to mention some other things about purchasing your ideal laptop, post them. The laptop must have a backlit keyboard. I don't know how I had survived without one before my MacBook and how so few laptops have it even as an option. Also, I would really prefer to not have a glossy screen; this is a major concern as not many manufacturers list if the screen has a high reflectivity. That being said; if I must have a glossy screen, I can learn to deal with it or buy some anti-glare film.

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. I like Apple, but I find myself in OS X less and less these days. It served its purpose well while I was a student learning multiple OSs, but now I use the computer mainly as a gaming rig in the living room. Other than the price, everyone is fair in my book.

13_What country do you live in? USA


I have looked at the Dell Studio XPS 16 system and was wondering if there are any better options out there.
Thank you,
egghead