Stars have aligned:
At Pax East, some people I met inspired me to get more into PC gaming.
My netbook it literally becoming unhinged.
Gog is now selling games I cannot play on my computer.

Time to upgrade. My requirments are pretty tough, though:
Essential:
Under 4.5 Lbs. (I travel a lot for work)
Graphic preformance cutoff: ability to play skyrim at 25 FPS
5+ hours battery
Prefer:
Matte Screen
$550 USD or under

Should I wait for an Ivry Bridge machine? I hear the new integrated graphics fit are just above my minimum requirements. I'm on the road a lot, so a desktop will not work for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Honestly, I don't think you will find a notebook which is capable of running Skyrim at 25 fps for 550 USD.

Amd historically sells hardware much cheaper then intel, they are targeting the 550 USD pricepoint in terms of sleekbooks.

I really appreciate the trinity tip, and this sound promising. However, I just read about a light Ivy bridge machine that might fit the bill:

http://liliputing.com/2012/06/asus-introduces-x301-x401-x501-budget-ivy-bridge-laptops.html

According to Notebookcheck, intel's new 3rd generation graphic process can handle Skyrim on Low at 29 fps when coupled with an i5 chip. However, I worry that these cheaper Asus notebooks will have an i3 processor. Can anyone guess if the i3 with 4000 can hack it? How much of a hit would I take going from i5 to i3? My cutoff is 25 FPS.