the alienware mx15 $1199
i understand this a gaming laptop but it does fit your required spec.
it has 3gb of ddr3 1066mhz ram for an extra $50 you can get 4gb of ddr3 1066mhz ram.
15.6" screen 1600x900
Intel® Core™ i3-330M 2.13GHz (3M cache)
250GB SATAII 7,200RPM (add $25 for a 320gb)
backlit keyboard
win7

well the m15x is a little too thick for me. I guess I didn't really include that but it's like 2.5" thick (shut) and plus at $1200 it doesn't include enough for me and I feel like I'm really paying for a name more than anything else.

Nice amount of money for a laptop. I would look at the i3 laptops. Get Windows 7 Pro.

i think your asking to much. you do know that the thinner you go the less performance

I know I'm not asking too much because I see laptops with what I want. The problem is choosing the best laptop for me. I think I'd rather go with an i5 over an i3. Looking at upgradable Toshiba Satellite A500 and Sony F series notebooks and can't choose between the 2 and also looking for other opinions.

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/laptop-model.jsp?family=Satellite&model=A500&lid=A500

and

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644691999

(respectively)

Nice budget!

Check this one out. Definitely a high end laptop:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114796

great lappy nil! Only problem is i'm looking for more portability :/ so 18.4" is a little big for me :( Lovin' the specs though

How big is too big? You want power, but from what I know of laptops power comes with size. Sounds like what you need is a Netbook, but most of them lack power.

Just tossing this out there for you too look at.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115685

anything 17" or above is too big. anything like 14 and below is too small. I know i'm being picky but I know what I want in a laptop and I'm just looking for the best for my money and the things I'm looking for

Then it sounds like you should go to one of your local stores and have a look at what you like and then come back and let us know so we can get the best deal.

Here's a chart that explains the differences between Windows 7 versions:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/default.aspx

Do you really need a backlit keyboard? And why not go with Asus? They make really nice laptops.

For availability reasons, where do you live? The new Asus i7 G series Notebooks are nice: http://event.asus.com/notebook/G_series/

I live in the U.S.

So did you check out some of the Asus G series I7 notebooks?

Check this out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=core+i7+notebook+nvidia+1920+x+1080&x=6&y=28

I really like the look of the G51JX-X1. My only concern is the battery life

Well with the i7 laptops, you'll probably still get some pretty nice battery life because they're not clocked very high, but they are still very capable, especially because the i7's can automatically overclock themselves when they need to use more power.

Unfortunately Vortex that is not the case-i7's have absolutely terrible battery life. A large part of the blame falls on hyperthreading which just burns power at an insane right. Most i7's get 30mins-1 hour even at low clocks. You can buy an extended battery for like $70-80 which doubles the battery life but then the labtop weighs a lot more.

in that case I guess I'll add an intel core i5 processor into my wants. Do you think the i5 would be more energy efficient or should i look for a core 2 duo? Anyone see the specs I want in a laptop?

Core i3 is still better than a core 2 duo and I'm guessing it would give you more battery life than an i5...or maybe not because i3's have hyper-threading?

i5 is ok-The comprimise between power vs. battery
Normally Like 1-2 hours on a low clocked i5. i3 can get 2-4 hours but it is only a dual core so it does not sound like what you want.
Personally in your situation I would get an i5+extended battery to have the a ton of power last (3-5) hours but it would be a bit on the heavy side (7-8 plds)

Well something to keep in mind is that the i3 is a dual core, but it has hyper-threading technology as well. So it acts like a quad core, but it's not a true quad core.

Hyperthreading does not equal a quad core-that is just marketing. Hyperthreading only adds 0-40% performance at BEST-most things only marginally.

Well then I guess it would be almost equal to a tri-core then, lol. Just keep in mind that right now most people don't even need a quad core. Most things run just fine with a dual core cpu.

Yes most things run fine with a dual coal but serious gaming can really take a hit with a dual core-especially low clocked ones.
No I would not count hyperthreading as an extra core-it helps you pretty much jack squat for most applications but can really help for video encoding-and PS etc. If you had an extra core then it could do everything the other cores can not just help sometimes. Plus HT generates a lot of heat while some 3 cores as cool as duals(non-HT).

in a game the difference between a dual core and a quad core is more than a few fps

Most games don't really utilize more than 2 cores though. I'm sure they will start making some that do utilize them more in the near future though.

these days games do trust me

the days of "nothing really uses 4 cores" are over