Gaming laptops under 1000?

Hey guys! So I just want to know what your opinions are on a good gaming laptop that wont cost me a fortune, hopefully fulfilling these requirements:

1. What is your budget?
700-1100$

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15-17"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
HD

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Portable...though if its a little heavy thats okay

5. How much battery life do you need?
Preferably at least 4 hours, though i do keep my current one plugged in a lot anyway

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)? High for all, just games like Dragon Age, Sims 3, Walking Dead, WoW, Portal 2, From Dust, and others.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Photo editing would be nice

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500gb at least

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
newegg.com, but i am open to others

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
As long as possible

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
At least cd/dvd burner

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've been looking into Toshiba lately, mostly because they have the best/cheapest options i can find so far.

I really don't like Asus. At least the one i have now, it is very laggy, overheats very frequently even if i am using a cooling pad, and is just giving me problems all around.

13. What country do you live in?
US



That is all   I am looking forward to your suggestions, thank you everyone!