Need Advise on Purchasing a 6000

Hey guys.
I'm going to college in the fall as a business major and I need a laptop to purchase. My emphasis is probably speed, multitasking, and media storage. I also do occasional gaming. There are certain requirements I'd like to meet in my laptop:

Windows XP Pro
Double Layer DVD burner (must be double layer)
at least 2ghz
at least 512mb RAM
40-60GB of space (preferably 5200RPM or faster)
Warranty is crucial
Average graphics nothing too fancy is required
I have no knowledge of what kind of monitor I want.
Not TOO heavy
Budget: under 1400

According to my requirements, I narrowed my choices down to a Dell 6000 or Compaq r4000. The compaq seems to have more bang for the buck:

Specs for Compaq R4000 [Price: 1291.99]
Windows XP Pro
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0GHz/512KB L2 Cache)
15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory(TM)
1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
2-year HP Express Repair extended service plan

Specs for Dell 6000 [Price: 1337.65 WITH the 750 off +free shipping]
Windows XP Pro
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
15.4 inch WXGA LCD Panel
512MB DDR2 SDRAM 1 Dimm
64MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics
40GB Hard Drive [probably a slow 4200 RPM]
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
6-cell Lithium Ion Battery (53 WHr)

Now, on paper it seems that Compaq R4000 is the winner. However, according to reviews, it seems that the AMD processers are loud and battery soaking? Also, who's customer service seems to be the of the better Compaq or Dell? In my position, which of the two would you pick? Any help will be appreciated. I realize that this will ultimately be my decision to make, but this is my first laptop and I want it to be worthwhile.

Thanks a lot guys!

 

M gives you better battery life and arguably it's a faster CPU.

since you don't list battery life as important, i guess it doesn't matter.

at this point, it seems like u should just buy the one you think is prettier.

 

My first instinct is to say the Dell, mainly because it runs on a Pentium M CPU which will drain FAR less power than the AMD 64 will. But then I look at the batteries and see that the Compaq batt. is 2x bigger than the Dells...but that also means it probably weighs 2x more.

I agree though, right now its down to which you think is prettier.

 

omg, why does your 6000 cost so much? do you have an insane warranty coverage or something?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by KrnMackMattsta

 

Please don't cross-post between the forums. [ ]

locked, please go see the same post in Hardware forum for replies and additional comments.

cheers,

yass

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by KrnMackMattsta