Opinions on These 4 Laptops Please

[Stoney]

I came across the following on sale for this week from Staples and Best Buy. Please tell me of the 4 what do you think would make the best laptop for college work (no gaming) and then in descending order. This is the best information I have right now, but there are USB ports, wireless, etc. The standard stuff. Thanks!

Thinkpad Z61m - $850 (after applying an additonal tax of $60 this is really pushing the budget)
* Intel Core Duo T2300E (1.66GHz, 2MB, 667MHz)
* 1 GB PC-5300/667MHz
* 80GB (5400 RPM SATA)
* DVD+/-RW
* Vista Business -- will the fact that it isn't Home Premium make that much of a difference?

Lenovo 3000 N100 - $700
* Intel Core Duo T2250
* 1 GB PC-5300/667MHz
* 120GB (5400 RPM SATA)
* DVD+/- RW Dual Layer
* Vista Home Premium

HP DV6308 - $650
* Turion 64 X2 TL-50
* 1GB memory
* 120 GB hd
* Reads and writes dual-layer DVDs/CDs

HP DV2315 - $750
* Turion 64 X2 TL-52
* 1GB memory
* 160 GB hd
* Reads and writes dual-layer DVDs/CDs w/ Lightscribe

[azzey]

If you want me to include price as a factor, then here:
HP DV2315 (Relatively cheap, DVD-RW, large hard drive)
HP DV6308 (Very good value, decent sized HDD)
Lenovo 3000 (Also good value, decent sized HDD, price is higher considering CPU)
Thinkpad Z61 (Small HDD, too expensive, unused CPU potential considering price)

Yeah, you will pay more for a Core Duo CPU, and for college, price is always a determining factor (I know all about it). The only advantage to having a Centrino class laptop in this case is the extra power saving features that come standard. Of course, there are always more factors in determining a laptop suitable for you, especially battery life which is not specified.