azuan, from my exp (correct me if im wrong)

-For gaming, GPU will do all d processing calculation and poligon movement. So high GPU is needed for high end gaming

-For programming stuff, autocad, simulations and all that u need good CPU and RAM. So i5-520M 2.4GHz and 4GB DDR3 should be enough for little programming stuff.

my suggestion for u? well im looking into Dell vostro 3700 or Asus A42JR
Dell (i5-430M 2.26GHz proc with 1G GT330M GPU)
Asus (i5-520M 2.4GHz proc with 1G HD5470 GPU)
both around 3k. but of coz, if u have high budget, then u shud consider better lappy =D