HP Envy 15 is it good?

[Wrenchead]

I've been looking for a laptop that has good gaming performance and that isn't too bulky as i'm going to use it for university. I wanted at least an i7, 8GB ram, dedicated graphics, and 500GB hard drive. My max price is $1000.
I found a nice HP Envy 15 with pretty good specs and price.
Has anyone used a recent envy laptop, if so how do you like it?
Also do you guys think this too big to carry around all day, I usually just have a backpack.

Any other suggestions I prefer to buy HP, Asus, Dell or Sony

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...B71AV?HP-ENVY-15t-Slim-Quad-Laptop-Best-Value

• Windows 8.1 64
• 4th generation Intel® Core™ i7-4712HQ Quad Core Processor +4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Graphics
• 15.6-inch diagonal Full HD WLED-backlit Display (1920x1080)
• 8GB DDR3L System Memory (1 Dimm)
• 750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
• 6-cell 47WHr Lithium-ion Battery
• No Internal DVD or CD Drive
• Backlit Keyboard
• 802.11b/g/n WLAN [1x1]
• Dimensions (W x D x H)
  • 14.94 x 9.87 x 1.1 in
  Weight
  • 5.07 lb