Help Picking out a laptop

I am a computer Science and engineering Student.

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

- Around 1700$

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook?
- USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
- Nope

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
- designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs, Photoshop, 3DS Max , Auto Cad , Maple etc

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
- both

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

- would like to play some games during free time like GTA 5, Cod[ games running on even minimum settings would do the job. i dont want it to lag though.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
- As much as i can get.
10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
- No issue
11) What OS do you prefer ?

- Windows and Linux

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

- if it looks stylish, its a bonus..but not going after looks.
15) When are you buying this laptop?
- Aug or early Sept 2011
16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
- 5 years
Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; Do you want a SSD drive?
640GB [not ssd]
18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
- CDRW/DVD-ROM + DVD Burner