The best laptop for your money if you want a fast processor, good ram, good hard-drive and a good brand GET a HP DV6t Quad Edition.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/store_access.do?template_type=cto_store&sto_cto=XW898AV&brand_name=hp
$1000 and you get:
I7- 2630QM
1GB GDDR5 Radeon...