[Billfred]

At the risk of starting a holy war, I'd also submit the 15" MacBook Pro for consideration. The aluminum unibody construction has proven amazingly durable over the past year I've owned my 13" MacBook; a freshman year spent with a Dell Inspiron taught me the value of build quality in a college environment. They're down a bit on video RAM compared to the Lenovos, which may prove a sticking point for certain applications, but it's hard to say without reference material from the original post. They start around $1,700 with the college student discount (which is good for $100-200 off, and later in the summer may combine with an iPod Touch offer if past summers have been any indication).

Worth at least investigating; whether it works better for you (which, remember, is what's important here) is a question only you can answer.