Replying to NS Build me a laptop

Ok so next year I will be going to ISU for ME, and all of the professors I talked to said not to get a Mac. The base price of the Macbook Pro's doesnt get me too stoked either. So NO MACS. The whole net system there is extremely secure and I wont be downloading anything so viruses are not an issue.

As far as specs go, I need at least 500GB hard drive (im thinking about getting externals?) And enough speed to run Autodesk and Solidworks programs without bogging down my computer. Other than that it will be used for music and pictures, no video production or anything of that sort. They also told me to get a really good graphics card.

So if any NSers know anything about laptops other than macbooks, feel free to post or PM me some much needed advice.