New Gaming Laptop

Was looking at HP HDX18t with the following stats for a price points of ~1,350$ with discount from employer

* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
* 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) - For 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M
* 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M - For DDR3 Memory
* 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
* Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
* Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
* HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* No Productivity Software
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Looking to do some gaming (WOW, CoD, Halflife, counterstrike) and electrical engineering applications such as pspice, labview, matlab etc.

Wondering if i should get a quad core processor and wether or not i should look for a different brand that could support the GTX 230M ... or a better, or maybe ATI graphics card.

I know that it is near impossible to upgrade a laptop and wanting this to last ~3 years probably. I really like the large screen and full keyboard.

Willing to look at other brands also, except for Dell.