I use a Dell Inspiron 9300 myself, bought three months ago, with all the options maxed out. I use it primarily to 4 table, I've backpacked with it to Australia and haven't had any problems with it. there are no physical defects that i've noticed, although there is a lot of annoying preinstalled software to get rid of.

I know a guy that uses the Vaio A790 for graphics work, and he loves it. It's heavier, but the 17" screen is the best and brightest I've seen on a laptop, and it feels better designed.

Other that that, the Dell line and Sager notebooks (no experience with those but i've heard good things) you might want to check out the Thinkpad T42p if you're willing to deal with a 15 inch 1600x1200 screen, seems a little too small for me but from my past experience the build quality of Thinkpads is top notch.