Back to school/need something to compare with old notebook

1_What is your budget?
around 500
2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
doesn't matter
3_What screen resolution do you want?
doesn't matter
4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
portable
5_How much battery life do you need?
2-3hours +
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)
More of a casual gamer, World of Warcraft (low-medium) Guildwars (medium) company of heroes (medium), if possible mw2 (medium),etc... newer games on medium to low
7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
watching movies
8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
not too picky, 250gb preferably (have a external for extra space)

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
no
10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3+years

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM/Writer
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.
no pref
13_What country do you live in?
US

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Using a compaq presario F767NR Notebook PC at the moment
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01...
hoping to get something of equal or better performance. would really like something that is reliable, does not get extremely hot like the current notebook I'm using,