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Hi Jennifer,
I think Sony "make" a better machine, I think Dell have better after sales support.
I would choose the based on these criteria
Warranty/Support - get 3yrs, with the easiest mechanism to return for support. You dont want to be spending $100 to ship it across the country, and you dont want to be spending 4 hrs travelling across town for support.
Machine - get the machine with the most RAM capability. You dont have to populate it right now, but having a machine the can be expanded in memory footprint will make it last longer. CPUs are so powerful now that it isnt a great concern. Still opt for a full multi-core machine (not celeron), but 2Ghz v 3Ghz is not much difference.
Faster HDD = better perfomance. Choose SAS over SATA (if you have a choice) and 7200rpm or faster, rather than more space for the same price.
Weight - choose lighter, it is more convenient in the long run and you will use it more.
Get everything builtin, ie DVDs, bigger battery capacity etc, dont go with systems that have "portable" docking stations, because they aren't as portable as they seem.
Good luck.
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