barebone notebooks?

[dasRatsel]

howdy:
i'm looking to get a laptop for college that c'n do the whole school thing and play some of the new games. i have my eye on the new sony vaio FE series, but have noticed most reviews say other manufacturers offer better components for cheaper, and it has some quality problems, so i'm thinking about putting together my own notebook. problem is, i dont know how to go about finding a barebone system with my specific taste requirements .. .. so here goes:

somewhere between a 14.1" and 15.4" WXGA screen
good balance between mobility / power in the processor (duo maybe)
dedicated gfx (ATI 'r NVIDIA)
the usual USB2.0 and maybe a 1394

but most importantly, i'm looking for a thin/light weight machine (i figure under 1.5" and around 6lbs) that has a nice, sleek design and minimizes on the misc. buttons. this is the main reason i am drawn to the vaio. are there any sites 'r manufacturers i could check out that has something kinda like this, or would i need to change what i'm looking for if i want to build my own notebook?

 

[MrBond]

I like the Thinkpad T-Series from Lenovo, you can configure them with mobile Radeon graphics.

The best thing about the T-series is they're built like tanks and will last forever. I dropped mine while it was running onto a hardwood floor and it's still chugging along (this is not a model with the auto drive park either).

Thinkpad laptops are not cheap (when compared to a Dell), but I'd take a Thinkpad over a Dell any day.

Also, do you really need a laptop for college? In my entire undergrad career, I never needed one. They're useless for taking notes in technical classes (since you're drawing figures and whatnot). If I needed a computer, there was always a lab close by with plenty of open desktops.

Hell, I'm in graduate school now and the only reason I use my laptop is my office doesn't have a computer in it so I bring my laptop to get work done. There's still computers around to use, I just like sitting in my office.