My DAW has just crashed, and I was due for an upgrade anyway, and this time it wants to be a laptop (I think). I have some room to spend, and would appreciate recommendations, specs. as you good folks have the time to post them. 

Look here on KVR

Bapu, that would have been just fine - I went ahead and bought a SSD laptop a few days ago. Spent $1500, and yours woud have been a nice price alternative.
 
As soon as it comes, I'll be mud wrestling to re-install Platinum, Ilok, EastWest, Addictive Drums and Keyboard, Melodyne studio and the list goes on and on. It should be completed just in time for me to need a new computer.
 
Thanks for the reply.

are there any decent laptops under a $1000 that will handle my Sonar X3 Studio program?

I ran SONAR X3 on the laptop that I posted the link about in post #2.