[Can] < $1000 engineering laptop

I did not get much suggest on reddit.com/r/suggestalaptop so I'm testing my luck here.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Country of purchase: Canada
Budget range: < $1,000
Purpose : Music producing, Engineering (CAD Solidworks, Matlab, Optical design (zemax, codeV), light gaming (not a priority)
Screen size preference: 14-15" ; 1600x900, 1920x1080; touchscreen appreciated but not essential, matte
OS preference : W7 or W8 if touchscreen (already have my own licences)
Gaming requirements : light gaming, SC2, XCOM, Minecraft
Performance requirements: CPU intensive calculations, Solidworks, hyperthreading
Method of computer support: Self
Brand preferences and reasons : anything with decent build quality
Any particular style that you like: I love ultrabooks for their portability and sleek designs such as Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Acer Apsire S7
Which of the following qualities would you prefer? (Choose one, the other, or balanced)
Long battery life -vs- Low weight: Balanced, That is the most difficult compromise to make as I want both a high portability and battery life (min. 6Hrs), I'm thinking Haswell CPU for that reason.
Build quality -vs- Low price: Build quality
Low noise/heat -vs- High performance: High performance as long as there is no big heat issues or the need to use a "cooler pad" (i don't know what they are called)
Would you pay a premium for something that has:
High resolution screen: yes
A great keyboard: meh..as long as its not shit
A great touchpad/mouse buttons: yes
Great audio: not really as I will use an external sound card with speakers or headphones for most of my music.
**List any features that are critical: SSD (>128Gb) or easily upgradable to one, >6Gb RAM, HDMI port, USB 3.0, SD card slot, ethernet port, matte screen preferred

Additional note: Some of the laptop I considered before the Hollidays
Acer V7-482PG-6662/482PG
Lenovo y510p
Inspiron 14 7000 Touch