Best notebook under 1200?

It's looking like an excellent gaming laptop. I recommend getting an mSATA drive too, although it's possible to get by without one, it makes the whole thing feel so much zippier. And with what you're already paying, I definitely think that it's worth the extra money.
 
I have the 17" model, the HX7-100 but with the 770M GPU. Indeed, it's a great performer and I expect you'll be very happy with it.