allien is cool as i know. i suggest cyberpower as it has low prices. u can check it.

Go with a graphics card that has HDMI output; will look much better if you can hook it up to an LCD or Plasma.

I would prefer Dell....

Dell XPS 1530 will do. If you would like to go for a Desktop, try BOXX

Check out Sager laptops. Top quality specs, but they can get expensive.

i believe that you already had bought your laptop.. since your post is about how many months behind. try getting a process of core 2 duo 2ghz up and a memory ram of over 1 gig..i think that should do it

Would advise against getting a laptop for gaming. Gaming laptops usually cram in high end cards and discs. THe problem is that all these generate a lot of heat. Most laptops are badly designed for heat dissipation .... i had alienware that suffered from that.

For gaiming, highly reccommend desktop. It will take you further. If graphics card becomes outdated, you can usually repolace for stronger card without replacing any thing else. On laptop, your options are limited.

Also, desktops generally have higher performance. Memory and chipset busses usually go into the 1066 or even 1333MHZ ranges, whic notebooks are usually 533 or 800. Memory buses are much faster as well. Fairly decent graphics cards will use all the advantages of the PCI-X interface, whil notebooks usually share the PCI-x with other south bridge devices.

Go with desktop.