Gaming Laptops

Looking to get a new laptop that is capable of staying fairly current on the gaming front for a few years. Before anyone says ONOES get a desktop, I have one but I'm often travelling and hanging out with other peeps. I don't really know what to look at, and I'm leary of the botique brands out there because I'm not familiar with how they hold up. My friend bought from ibuypower and has had nothing but nightmares with hardware compatability issues which I'd like to avoid. Would like to keep it under 1500 but can go a bit higher for the right fit. Pretty much all the brands out there offer similar configurations, so its more a matter of what brand is going to be reliable. No interest in fancy extras like all the lights and garbage on Alienware laptops.

Biggest question I have: Is it worth the $200 or so to go from an NVIDIA 560M to a Radeon HD 6990M?

Second question is, anyone familiar with Origin brand laptops? They seem pretty solid, although they are a bit pricey by comparison. I've heard a few good things but don't know anyone personally who has experience with their stuff.

Any other brands/models I should look at?