Asus vs HP's Quad Cores

1_What is your budget?

1000 euros , 1400 $

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15.6'' or 16''

3_What screen resolution do you want?

Not important

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

desktop

5_How much battery life do you need?

Not important

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)?

Only sometimes, not the main purpose for the laptop.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)

- Mainly Photo , programming, web design, Virtual Machines and in general work stuff.
- Some home stuff (watching movies)

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?

Not important

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

As long as I can :-) that's because I want to invest in a good laptop.


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

No matter, but Blueray if is possible

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 HP or ASUS but I'm open to change

13_What country do you live in?

Europe, Spain


14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I want to buy a good laptop in terms of OVERALL PERFORMANCE, that runs smoothly and FAST in general. I need the laptop for programing and some graphical programs (mostly web design), and for home use (play movies, play music, a bit gaming but the last is not the main purpose...)
I want to buy a good laptop, 15.6'' or 16'' max and around 1400$ (=1000 euros) without getting stuck with some applications.
My first options are:
- HP dv6t Quad Core (Core i7 720, 4 Gb DDR3 and Geforce GT230M ) or
- Asus N61VN (Core 2 Quad Q9000 or T9600 / P8800 , 4gb DDR3 and Geforce GT240M)
Any better suggestion?
Another friend told me that the Asus M50VC ( P8400, Geforce 9300 GS, 4gb DDR2) is really good choice for 1000$ and that I don't need to buy a Core i7 or expend 1400$ for a laptop for what I'll be using the laptop.
What are ur suggestions? Better to buy a Core i7 for the same price? Will I notice the difference between these processors (core i7, Q9000, last T or P series)? Better to go for a better Graphic Card (ASUS N61VN)? Expend more in RAM memory? Is worth it to wait till next year because new processors?

Thanks Marcia for ur answer! So if I understand well:
HP dv6 Quad Core (i7-720QM) : 999 euros
Asus N61VN (Core 2 Duo P8800) :999 euros

Same price, always better to go for an i7?