hmmm looks pretty sweet. i wonder what the battery life of an i7 laptop will be like? Have you considered an i5? It might be a better choice if you arnt into heavy multitasking.

I don't know what the battery life is but it's a 9 cell battery rated as an 85 Whr lithium ion.

I'm looking at the core i7 because the cores turn on and off as they are needed, plus who doesn't enjoy using a fast computer? I'm currently using a desktop with Pentium 4 in Hyper-thread mode.

Honestly I would go for the newly updated 15" HP ENVY. Especially if this laptop is for gaming (which I am assuming if you want a mobile i7). The largest perk is the graphics card, 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 Graphics (only 25 Watts). This will probably be able to play most games at High settings, and it is also DX11 capable.

Also the laptop you pointed out was 17" but the Envy is 15". I currently own a 17" gaming laptop, but now for mobility reasons I wish I had a 15". Plus the Envy is magically 1.04" thick. This is more a personal opinion.

Then there are the negatives of the Envy. The price with the Core i7 is $1549.99, and if you want a 1080P screen that will cost another $75-100. Another one that does not bother me, but seems to bother others is the lack of an internal optical drive. I personally hate my optical drive because I bump it open all the time and maybe use it once a month (ripping a new cd). For games I use Steam or find a no cd if they are possible.

Sorry for writing a book but buying a laptop takes a lot of research and I have looked into getting an Envy for myself, I just need the money now.

Specs of the 5830 (sorry no benchmarks):
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5830.24733.0.html

Link to the HP Envy:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=ENVY15_series&a1=Category&v1=ENVY

PS. If you consider this laptop do not buy the quick ship model as it comes with a plethora of productivity software that you probably won't use.

The only games I play on computers are card games, pinball, minesweeper, and the 3D tetris game I downloaded last year. This means I'm looking at the core i7 for speeding-up apps and graphic renderings.

Second, the Dell Studio 17 has a built-in sub-woofer, wireless n, and multi-touch.

Here are 2 videos about this computer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rBLR5RZBpk (multi-touch),

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVUc3TF2koU (Dell Studio 17 Touch)

Okay well then for your needs/wants the Dell is probably the choice for you. It looks as if you have thought this out. The multi-touch is something new to laptops (non-tablets), so I looked around and I think Dell is the only company currently with the multi-touch and i7.

Dude! If your not like heavy gamer or heavy media worker. 3D graphics, adobe photoshop, after effects etc. you dont need an i7!

I would advice the i5, wich someone else also posted. i7 costs much more, and even though its fast and cool, those needs are too low imho.

graphics rendering on a laptop??

uhh ok... bad idea.... expensive as hell and 20 minutes battery life

desktops are for graphics rendering....

Personaly i think for you, an i7 is just overkill.

lol-Seconded

Dude really-I build rigs from scratch for $700-$2000 and let me tell you for $1000 you can build one HECK of an awesome rendering machine that beats any labtop. Labtops are just for notes-internet-and some light gaming-everything after that is just a waste because labtops are not desighned for hardcore needs.

First, the type of graphics rendering I plan on doing is through a program called Apophysis found here: http://www.apophysis.org/ .

Second, I'm looking for a MultiTouch 17-inch because I'm comfortable with the size and weight plus I won't have to cary around a mouse to plug in the side or worry about the mouse's battery going dead on me since I don't like using those small touchpads.

Third, I want a laptop, not a netbook or a notebook.

Last, tell me what the performance difference is between core i7-720QM and the Core 2 Duo T9600.

i googled that for you but found out that the i7-720qm is faster but you only get 38 minutes of battery life before having to plug it back in.

It seems you are pretty stubborn and have your mind set on this (which isnt a bad thing its what you want) but i hope you have the money to spend cause you're going to need a little big more then 4GB of RAM that a normal laptop comes with ;)

Goodluck

From what you say, it sounds like Intel has a bad laptop processor and I'm better-off getting a core 2 duo or quad version that doesn't drain so much current.

its not bad at all, its amazing. It just doesn't fit your needs is all im saying.

You have to understand that i7's are power-hungry multithreaded computing machines. They are not meant for labtops. i7 Labtops almsot always have a 17 inch screen which is massive for labtops-You should really go check one at a local store, weigh almost 10 pounds (very heavy) and short battery life. I would get a desktop to do hardcore programming(much cheaper and faster) and a labtop for work on the go which would not need more than a core 2 duo. A core 2 labtop's battery can last for many hours, it weighs a few pounds less, and is smaller/more manageable. The final decision is still ofcourse your choice but if you go with an i7 labtop I think you will find yourself with a sore back and always attached to an outlet.