I bought a
Samsung R780 last year and I'm very happy with it. Enough power for work (programming - C#, SQL Server, etc. ) and fun (even games).
Mine is as follows:
Core i5-460M@2.66GHz
4GB DDR3
500 MB Hard Disk (SATA II)
nVidia GeForce GT 330M with 1GB
Screen 17,3" HD
Double Layer DVD
4 USB 2.0 sockets (1 doubling as eSata)
VGA
HDMI
Ethernet 1Gb/s
WiFi 802.11 n/b.g
Card Slot 4-in-1 (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC)
Price at that time was around 820 €. I got it through a special offer at 720 €.