Student looking for a laptop that will last me quite a while!

[crossfirehurricane]

1. What is your budget?
Max ~$1000
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
No larger than 15.6"
3. What screen resolution do you want?
HD resolution- I'm a big movie watcher and I like clarity
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

5. How much battery life do you need?
Doesn't matter, I wont be away from an outlet for long
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Yes: Skyrim, Assassins Creed series, and The Witcher 2 are the only games I play- I don't need high settings by any means, I just want to play at fullscreen without frustration.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Photoshop, some video editing, and other basic student stuff
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500 GB? 256? I'm not too choosy on this.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Doesn't matter
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Potentially 4-5 years... going in for the long run
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM/Writer, but a Blu-ray ROM would be NICE
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I've had my eye on ASUS for a while
I'm really skeptical of Toshibas.
13. What country do you live in?
USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Prostar Computer]

I would say a MSI GE60-0NC-498US is worth consideration. You could use any remainder of cash to upgrade to a blu-ray drive, or a SSD.

Or the GE60-0NC-262US; it's $1,080 but with an available $80 mail in rebate. Then you get an i7 cpu.