Dell, IBM, and Toshiba are the one's I look at. Probably in that order although I rate Dell and IBM very close. (I own a Toshiba and rate it behind Dell and IBM.)
my sister has the Sony K series review for college and it's a very sleek machine.
the monitor is the best i've seen on any laptop. dvd playback is amazing.
the sound is also terrific...if you notice that most laptop speakers are god awful, everything about this laptop is superb.
however, i can't say anything about hardcore gaming on it, since it has integrated graphics..but you can play some games...but don't expect to rock the house w/ Doom3 or anything..
but for the price your looking for...this model would get my vote.
but your budget would definitely put a damper on a truly stellar "gaming notebook"....