Vostro 1500, Lattitude D830, Precision M90/M6300 -- which is best? And help configuring please!

Hi,
I finally decided to buy a Dell, but not which model go for, and I would also appreciate some help to configure it -- please!

1) What is your budget?
£1000- £1300 or (if possible) less
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen, though I may also consider a 17 in
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
UK
5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
I don't do any gaming, but speed is important to me because I use voice operated software, and don't want to wait ages for it to respond. I need at least 4MB of L2
I will also be using it for watching /writing DVDs, spreadsheets, wordprocessing, Internet etc. There is a possibility I might start using CAD software for a Garden design degree in approximately three years time though I'll probably only be using AutoCAD, and it's not as if it is highly technical engineering stuff...
I don't really want to kit out an expensive laptop specifically to suit that need, because it might never arise. On the other hand, if it was the case of spending an extra £100 and people felt that my laptop was likely to survive that long/and not need upgrading anyway, then I might consider looking at something with a better graphics card.
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Leaving it in situ -- looking for something around 3 kg
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
No
8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Not a priority.
9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
must be XP
Screen Specifics
11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen
12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
I'm having a big problem with screen resolution. I've just sent back a WSXGA+1680x1050 because I found the text on websites very small to read (even having increased the font size and dpi -- and I tried reducing the native resolution, but this just distorted everything and I couldn't bear it!). My mother has a laptop with a widescreen resolution of 1280 by 800, and this is much better for me. As for anything in between, I don't know, as I am unable to go out and look at computers in person. I don't know what 1440x900 on a 15.4" would be like for me...the screen is usually a couple of feet from my eyes.
I am thinking either a wxga 15.4" 1280 X 800, or a 17" 1440 x 900 -- (this might be stupid question) -- because they are both wxga , does that mean that the text will be the same size on each of them? Only there will be more room on the 17 in. -- for having several applications open at once etc ?
Widescreen
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Definitely a mat/non glossy screen
Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Fairly
15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
I want it to last at least three or four years -- as long as possible without spending an absolute fortune now.
Notebook Components
16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
Anything above 100GB
17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
I need a DVD reader and writer

I'm thinking of:
Vostro 1500 (might also consider the 1700 if, by ringing customer services, Dell will customise it with XP!?! Do they do that sort of thing?)
Lattitude D830 Precision M90
Precision M6300
The Vostro is cheap, can have a WebCam integrated, and comes with Microsoft Works 8 (in the UK). It also has no option for hard drive petitioning. (How easy is it to do that one's self? -- I would describe my computer literacy as reasonable) I might ring Dell and see if they can do this for me -- what you think?
I'm worried by the reviews I've heard about the Precision range -- that the screen is halfway between a matte and a glossy, perhaps 50 to 60% glossier than a matte. I definitely don't want a glossy screen, and unfortunately have no way of knowing what this might look like...

I'm not obsessive the the about screen quality, but don't want a really grainy screen -- I know many people have been suffering with these. Are any of my options better than any of the others in this respect?
Does ' Ultrasharp with nonreflective technology (antiglare)' mean matte?

I'm planning to buy extra memory from somewhere other than Dell. Most of the options above come with 2 x 1GB, which should be plenty for now. If I ever decide I want more (for example if I upgrade to Vista at a later date), I was going to buy 2 GB for one of the slots. If this okay? I seem to recall once reading that you were supposed to have equal amounts of memory in each slot...

Finally, what sort of warranty should I go for? Is business support worth it? What about complete accidental care?

I've read something about AutoCAD and 32 bit v 34 bit operating systems. Am I just getting bogged down in technical stuff? I'm beginning to think I should just abandon the whole CAD idea for this laptop, and just settle for something decent for now, and buy an even bigger laptop later -- if indeed I need it...

Many thanks to anyone who's made it this far through my long post! Any advice you may offer would be most welcome
THANKS!

Configuration will be at least core 2 duo 2GHz processor, 4 GB L 2 cache, hard drive 7200 rpm

 

Anyone?... Please?

 

vostro 1500 would be good enough for your task, with low resolution LCD option, it's unlikely you get grainy screen.

 

hi -
in the market and wondering about the M6300 vs. Vostro myself.
just wondering which you picked, and how you liked it ?
- k