Gaming Laptop $750-$900 & Some Questions

Hi everyone, I am currently planning on purchasing a new laptop during the Black Friday sale. This laptop will last me for the next 4-5 years in college so I'd like to purchase the best that is available at a maximum budget of $900. Could anyone give me links to laptops they'd recommend for this price range?

Some of the key parts I am looking for are (ranked in order of importance):

-Reliable (no BSODs, overheating, faulty network cards, etc.)
-i5 or i7 CPU
-ATI 5650 or better graphics card
-15"-17.3" monitor
-Good battery life

I've also been looking around and it seems like there aren't many sites that give benchmarks for mobile hardware so here are some of my questions:

1. In a gaming and practical standpoint, is there a significant difference in having an i7 CPU over an i5 for laptops? I know the i7s are quad (8 thread) cores but they are clocked significantly lower than the i5 dual cores. I've also heard that with i5's it uses less power so what is everyone's take on this?

2. What would an ATI 5730 be compared to in peformance for desktop graphics cards?

Thanks for reading this, I hope I'm not asking for too much.