I am ridiculously happy with my laptop, but it's a Mac. Are those possible for you with your programs? I got the MacBook Pro 15.4" with 1G RAM, 120G hard drive. (The basic version of the the 15.4"). When the 2G RAM chips go down in price, I'll add one, but they're too costly just now.
Graphics are beautiful and the processing speed is plenty. Battery life is pretty average, I'd guess. (I always have a cord with me.)
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...eQDD6HN/2.?p=0
You can get it cheaper if you're in school, but it starts at $2K without a school discount.