Need help selecting the right laptop!

Hello Guys, my name is Alex and I am currently a freshman electrical engineering undergraduate student in desperate need for a new laptop. The current laptop I own is an old 17” HP which is much too large for me to consider hauling around campus all day. I have been researching laptops for last few weeks and have been frustrated in my attempts to weed through the multitude of options out there and trying to determine what laptop is right for me. Just a note: I was considering the Dell XPS 14z/15z but I was deterred by Dell’s poor quality control, build, and customer support reported by other buyers. I truly appreciate any help you guys can give me in finding a laptop that will satisfy my needs as a student/ casual gamer/ musician (primarily the first two)
1. What is your budget? $1000$1250 (though I would be willing to spend a little more if need be)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 14” or 15”

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1920 x 1080 would be preferred, but I could settle on one that was in the 1600 x 900 or if necessary 1366 x 768

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Definitely more on the portable side

5. How much battery life do you need? Anywhere from 4 hours and up will work for me (there are a litter of outlets on campus)

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)?
Yes I would like to dabble in some casual gaming here and there. Portal ½ (medium settings), Team Fortress 2 (medium settings), and also I enjoy playing the campaigns of the FPS’ out there (low/medium settings)

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) As an electrical engineer I will be using the program MATLAB r2011a frequently in the upcoming years. Also, I wouldn’t mind if it could handle audio editing (not at all going to make or break my decision)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Greater than 500GB HDD works for me (im thinking 750GB @7200rpm is a nice place for me to land? But I am not well versed in how this might impact the performance)

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Mainstream sites, Bestbuy.com (for employee discount  ), newegg.com, amazon.com, direct from manufacturer (basically searching for the best deal like everyone else out there)

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? At least the next 3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? Bluray would be cool to have, but the standard DVD drive is just fine.

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. In the past I’ve used HP’s but I would like to switch to a different brand. Unless what I’ve been reading is false I would also like to stay away from Dell. Up for anything except Mac’s!

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Once again I really appreciate any help you guys can give me in finding the right laptop! I would like to buy the laptop in the next few weeks.
Thanks again,
~Alex