Purchasing Decision (battery life, etc etc)

I'm looking to purchase a new laptop for myself, and I've pretty much settled on Xotic, but I can't quite decide between a NP5793(m570ru) or NP9262(D901C). Basically, the tradeoff is between the quad core (I know for now, most software can't utilize more than dual core, but I want my system to have legs) and the added expandability that comes with the extra drive bay and the extra GPU slot in the 9762; and the ~$500 less, the extra battery life, and the matte instead of gloss screen (I know that is sorta superficial, but I like a monitor, not a mirror) of the 5793.

The use that I'm looking at for the machine is basically to be plugged in most of the time, but be ok for the commute time (~30 mins) on the bus from battery power. If I could run off batt for an hour or 2, that would be even better, but not necessary. I'm looking to do gaming, dev, and office-type work on the machine.

Both machines are configured with 2X HDD, 1 8800mGTX, the "lowest of the best" CPU available (in example, of the dual and quad cores available for the 9262, I chose the cheepest quad), and the 1900X1200 displays. Given these kinds of scenarios, I was wondering what type of battery life I can really expect as opposed to the pie-in-the-sky figures they show on the website. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Nobody has any real world battery life expectations for either of these models?

 

On battery power, unless you're doing some high end 3D gaming, you should easily get 1-2 hours.

Problem is a lot of time the 3D card performance is compromised a bit because the battery can't provide the juice it needs to run it at full tilt.

Very few laptops can run 3D gaming for any extended period on battery, unless its a five or six year old game (like RTCW or C&C Generals, etc)