I'm using the online build feature of different manufacturers to build the best possible laptop under $1000, and this is what I came up with for $993:
Dell system, 15.4" screen
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm...