Buying a notebook

After getting confirmation of my trip down to Sydney next month, I had to draw up a list of things to do. One of the things was - get a notebook to keep self entertained over there :p ... ok, no life but I don't care. Everything is just so expensive there, even to play badminton costs 3-4 times as much as it would here , and that is the cheaper club. I've evaluated a few options and shortlisted my choices. Greedy as I always am, looking for everything in a notebook - performance, reasonable price, portability and some style. Trying to look for something that will replace my old desktop and will last me a couple of years to come.

Evaluation:

Green: Pass with flying colours

Blue: Acceptable Pass

Red: Not Pass

1) Dell XPS M1330

Performance: - Coming with the Dual Core 1.8 GHz processor and a Geforce 8400M GS. Definitely enough power for me. Sound is ok but I don't really expect superb surround sound from a notebook.
Price: Ouch, checking in at just over RM5k for the basic set definitely will put a huge dent in my pocket.

Portability: Weighing just under 1.8 kg with power features, fantastic portability. I can effortlessly carry it every time i go to Starbucks for a drink of coffee.

Style: Surprisingly, looking at the XPS it is sleek, and exudes style and class. Though not as stylish as the macbook designs, definitely an improvement over previous dell units.

2) Dell Inspiron 1420

Performance: Coming with similar specifications to the Dell XPS M1330, same verdict. Sufficient performance for me.

Price: Priced at more then RM1k cheaper than the XPS, definitely more reasonably priced and at the price range that I am looking for.
Portability: Weighing at 2.6 kilos, definitely a bit on the heavy side. With accessories and charger, definitely not something I want to be carrying while on the move.
Style: Bleh ... nothing exceptional about this unit, typical Dell - not very well known for styling of notebooks

3) Acer Aspire 4920G

Performance: Sports similar processor speed to the dell units and an ATI X2500 card instead of a Geforce card. Although graphics performance will be a little worse compared to the Dell units, still acceptable for me. I don't expect to be doing any F.E.A.R gaming at highest detail settings. Sound shines with this unit, would be good when watching dvd's, etc. but not very high on my list of requirements. A good earphone or set of speakers would solve the sound woes.

Price: Priced slightly higher then the Dell Inspiron 1420, still more than RM1k cheaper than the Dell XPS unit.

Portability: Weighing a bit more than the Dell Inspiron 1420 at 2.7 kg, too heavy for my liking.

Style: Curvy "Gemstone" design by BMW, some people like it, some people don't. For me personally, definitely better than the Dell Inspiron design.

4) BenQ Joybook S41

Before I get into the mini review, I hear some people saying "What! BeeennnnQ??!! You sure about considering getting a BenQ brand notebook?" I am not really taken in by branding as such, proven reliability is more of a concern to me. I've surfed around for opinions from owners of the S41, besides the common problems of optical drives with notebooks, all seems fine.

Performance: Similar processor to the rest, but coming with the Geoforce 8600M GS (DirectX 10 compatible, with DDR3 and HDMI output! - and with turbocache expandability up to 1GB) Graphics wise, this notebook blows the rest away. Sound is reported to be soft and without umphh, but as mentioned not a very big dent for me on the performance of the notebook.

Price: Priced similar to the Acer Aspire unit, reasonable pricing but for the performance, definitely good value for money.

Portability: When I first looked for the weight specifications, I was expecting something similar to the Dell Inspiron and Acer notebooks due to the high end performance components of the notebook. I was blown away when I saw - 2.05 kg with battery. Hmm, light weight and with performance.
Style: Unique design, some say looks good on the inside but yucky on the outside, but hey looking at the pictures, I like it. Not as yummy as the Macbook design but acceptable for me.

Conclusion: After going through various other factors besides those mentioned (I am going to be spending a fair bit of money, so I look through all the other specifications and expandability options, but just too lazy to write them all down), I am leaning towards getting the BenQ Joybook. Just found out there is a BenQ service center down at Wollongong, Sydney - so there is a rescue center nearby, just in case.