Looking for some laptop advice

Thank you for your interest in a Digital Storm gaming laptop. Our X17 and X15 are almost the same size in terms of bulk versus the M17x R2. However, our xm11 and xm15 might be an ideal choice. You will sacrifice performance, as the X15 and X17 are larger due to the higher end hardware and cooling power.

If it's one 5870M it should be similar performance on the xm11 and xm15.

I don't know laptops but if the video cards in desktops and laptops are similar in the difference in performance this link might help.    

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/511?vs=555

Good luck.   

The DS x15E will be more portable than a x17, but has almost the same power.
Here's a x15E that is probably more powerful than what you have but will be lighter and more portable.

Build #:728200
Cost: $2459

Chassis Model: Digital Storm x15E Laptop (Model: 9150)
Display: 15.6 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Glossy Surface) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 3720QM (2.6 GHz Turbo Mode to 3.6Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Premium IC Diamond CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise)
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz (4x4GB Sticks)
Primary Hard Drive: Intel 240GB SSD (520 Series) (SATA 6Gb/s)
Secondary Hard Drive: - Not Available
Optical Drive: DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive (Writes and Reads DVDs, CDs)
Wireless Card: Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1202 (Reduces Latency for Online Gaming)
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M 4GB with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

I bought a x17 from DS, so I based most of the parts off of personal experience.

The 3720qm is very powerful and should be more than sufficient for all games.
From my tests, the Intel 240gb SSD is the fastest commercial hard drive available, and solid state weighs less than a hard disk drive.
The GTX 680m is the only piece of hardware that I don't personally own, but I've heard great things about it. I prefer Nvidia cards, and this card will be much faster than the 5870m. I haven't run into a game that my 7970m didn't max out, and the 7970 is much cheaper. Were the 680m available when I bought my laptop I probably would have gotten it.
Additionally the x15e display is available in a matte surface for an additional cost, which many people prefer over glossy.

This build will definitely give you the power to max out any game you play. The other more portable laptops may not max out every single game, but they're still powerful and will be much more portable, in particular the x11.

Hope this helped out a little!

Thanks for the suggestions.  It sounds like a single 680M won't be that inferior to the 5870M in Crossfire.  Plus, I find that a lot of games still have issues with multiple GPU setups, so a single card isn't such a bad idea.