2 laptops, need advice please!

Duffman

I'm going to get someone to pick up a laptop on a trip to the US. Prices seem to be much lower but the flip side of this plan is that I'm limited to a few models in large stores with no scope for customising anything.

I'm looking at 2 machines in Bestbuy, a HP and a Dell. There are tradeoffs with both machines and any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Both are $999 / €736

-HP dv3510nr

Processor Platform
Intel® Centrino® 2
#
Processor
Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile
#
Processor Speed
2.0GHz
#
Display Type
WXGA high-definition widescreen with LED BrightView technology (1280 x 800)
#
Screen Size
13.3"
#
System Bus
1066MHz
#
Cache Memory
3MB on die level 2
#
System Memory (RAM)
4GB
#
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To
8GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR2
#
Hard Drive Type
Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
#
Hard Drive Size
320GB
#
Optical Drive
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Optical Drive Speeds
Drive speeds not specified
#
Direct-Disc Labeling
No
#
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
#
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce 9300 GS
#
Video Memory
512MB (dedicated); up to 2302MB total available graphics memory

This is a special version of the HP dv3510 exclusive to Bestbuy. I'm considering it because it has some nice features like a backlit keyboard and a really thin LED display that's supposed to be nice.

I'm wondering about the clock speed though. P7350 2GHz isn't amazing although 3mb cache is fine. RAM is also DDR2.


The other machine:

-Dell Studio XPS 13

#
Processor
Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile
#
Processor Speed
2.4GHz
#
Display Type
WXGA widescreen with 1280 x 800 resolution
#
Screen Size
13.3"
#
System Bus
1066MHz
#
Cache Memory
3MB on die Level 2
#
System Memory (RAM)
4GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR3
#
Hard Drive Type
Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
#
Hard Drive Size
320GB
#
Optical Drive
DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Optical Drive Speeds
4x8x8 DVD+RW; 4x6x8 DVD-RW; 24x10x24 CD-RW
#
Direct-Disc Labeling
No
#
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
#
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

That's Bestbuy's version of the Studio XPS 13. Main difference between it and the HP is that it has a P8600 2.4GHz and DDR3 RAM rather than DDR2.
GFX is Geforce 9400M compared with the 9300 GS on the HP.

So the specs are better but I'm not sure about a few things. As far as I can see this is a totally stripped down version of the Studio XPS for Bestbuy.

The screen is the basic CCFL and I don't think it even has the backlit keyboard that's standard on Studios from Dell. Given the chance and the cash I would get a custom Studio with an LED screen and backlit keyboard but that's not an option.

Both machines have eSATA and HDMI outputs.


So choice comes down to higher speced Dell but with an inferior CCFL screen and no backit keyboard or a weaker speced HP with a much nicer screen and keyboard.

Haven't bought a machine for years so I'm not sure how significant or even noticeable the different in specs would be.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Duffman

Any suggestions? It's decision time!