I am temporarily back from the land of silence to get your opinion on a laptop I'm looking at. Those fuckers at Geek Squad couldn't fix my computer and scratched the hell out of my case, so I'm taking it to some real professionals, IT people who work at my parent's workplace. In the meantime, I have college to consider, and looking around, I've seen a laptop that looks like the perfect system; the Alienware m11x. With 8.5 hours of battery life and a powerful NVIDIA card inside, along with a great price, it looks pretty sweet, but I still want to go over the specs of the custom build I would choose, were I to buy it, and see whether it is worth it.
Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 1.3 GHz (3MB Cache)
4GB RAM
250 GB HD
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M
11.6 inch WLED screen
Internal High-Definition Surround Sound Audio (5.1)
1.3 MP Web Cam
Integrated 10/100 Network Interface Card
One thing of note is that Bluetooth is an extra $20. Would Bluetooth be worth it, and is this laptop a good buy?

What are the upgrade options (if any)?
What are the primary tasks you want (do you need modern gaming on it)?
Do you have any significant need for bluetooth (cable synching with devices is faster)?
How much is it (hard to tell if its a good buy without a price)?
It does look good but is it overkill for your needs & budget?

It's a great deal. Since college isn't that far off then I would expect holding out for the eventual quad core version would not be an option. Bluetooth is one of those things that you THINK you don't need but when you do and you don't have it, you're screwed. I suggest getting it now just in case.

First off; do you have a desktop which you will use for all or most of your gaming?
If yes, then that machine is the wrong one for you. Do you really need a second, portable gaming system?
Also, with a fairly weak processor, I'm not convinced the machine will perform adequately in newer titles despite it's relatively powerful video card. In addition, playing modern games on a 11.6" display doesn't sound very practical. It sounds like eye torture.
In my opinion, get a cheap netbook or equivalent for taking along to campus, or simply use the schools public computers. If you're just looking for a machine to take around while you'll be playing games on a desktop, any Alienware would be complete overkill.
In fact, those specs are ... weird. The processor is a very low clocked SU type for high battery life, but the video card is a power hungry brute. I doubt the figure of 8.5 hours of battery life, although the modest processor and small display probably take the battery life a good 3 hours above your average 16" with a non-SU processor.

I didn't notice the price anywhere in your post, but if you're looking at Alienware then it's almost guaranteed that they're going to be seriously overcharging you. My advice is to look to suppliers and manufacturers other than Alienware if you don't want to end up spending way more than you should be for any given set of hardware.

It uses Nvidia's new Optimus power saving feature. Essentially it monitors what your computer is doing and only turns up the GFX card when an application needs it. At least it's supposed to, the drivers have been flaky from some reviews. The 8.5 hours is probably assuming the card is off and you are running basic graphics. Load up Modern Warfare 2 though and you can expect the lappy to last 2 hours at most.
On the Laptop itself I have to agree with the others, the CPU is really low clocked expecially for a gaming lappy. You would be better off looking at one with a higher speed CPU and maybe something like the Mobility Radeon 4850.

I will likely be abandoning my current computer to my siblings, since I have no need for multiple computers. The battery life is 2 1/2 running full power, but they recommend you switching to medium or low-power to do almost everything else, which is where the 6 1/2 and 8 1/2 battery life comes in. The computer has been tested by many websites, and they all say the same thing; as long as you're not expecting the graphics to be top-notch (they say it runs well on medium-high settings), and if you don't mind a very glossy screen, this is a good laptop. If you know of a better laptop around this price range that would play games at medium-high quality like this, I'm open to suggestions. Really, as long as I can find the best deal, I'll be happy.
Also, a lot of people are raving about its abilities to play Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2 at the highest settings, as well as Mass Effect 2 at good-looking settings, so it sounds pretty good to me.
This laptop is actually part of their new lower-priced plan. It starts at $799, and I have it up to $1,079 currently.

Where the hell have you been?

Any suggestions for a powerful laptop with a decent battery life and a price around this range?
A place where the most graphic-intense game I can play on a computer is Deus Ex (the original one). My desktop is still broken.

Answer to your first question: MacBook Pro. Known for awesome battery life, Steam is gonig to be out for Macs, and the graphics card is pretty damn nice, thanks to the latest model update.
Reply to your second comment: ARGHHHHH

Check Newegg there are a lot of options. Not even a serious search and I found a Core i3 with Radeon 5470 for less http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127084

Is there any way to see the actual battery life instead of it just saying "Lithium Ion"? Also I don't know the difference between a good or bad ATI. Are the numbers similar to NVIDIA?

Would I have to get the top, top-tier MacBook Pro to get great gaming results? On Mac's website they brag about Doom 3, when Doom 3 came out a long, long time ago.

Actually a friend just got a 15-inch, somewhat high end, but not the maxed out MacBook Pro, and he's running MW2 and COD 4 and all that maxed out. The graphics card is a GT 330, a little weaker than the 335 but still very good.

That model, according to Apple's website, goes for $1700. Out of my price range.

Have you looked at the dell studio xps range? They're pretty similar to alienware without the fancy name and are generally cheaper because of it.
If you custom configure one, you can probably get something better for a similar price. Ideally get the minimum amount of ram and upgrade it yourself, they rip you off shamelessly on ram upgrades