Low-end business laptop recommendations?

[legocitytruck]

I am planning on purchasing a low-end (~$500-$700) 14 or 15 inch business laptop. I say business because I do not plan on using this for any movies or games. Also, I would like to avoid bloatware.

I currently have a Dell Inspiron 9300 which is too cumbersome and too slow (1.73 Ghz Pentium mobile and 1 GB of ram and lots of programs)

I plan on only using this for:
Microsoft Office
AutoCAD 2D
Adobe Acrobat
Internet browsing

I would like to keep costs low but still want to maintain a high performance level. I plan on using 32bit Windows XP. Will moving to 3 or 4gb make a substantial speed gain over 2 gb? Will moving from a 2mb cache Core 2 duo to one with 6mb cache make a substantial difference? Will core 2 quad notebooks be coming out soon and does it make any sense to wait for them when I plan on running XP?

I have looked at the Dell Vostro and IBM SL-series, what others might be good choices? What should be avoided?

Thanks in advance for any advice you all can offer.

 

[Brainonska511]

Dell Vostro's are a great value.

 

[ther00kie16]

the 3 mobile quad cores are:
q9000 (2.0ghz 6mb cache). these laptops run from $1600+
q9100 (2.266ghz 12mb cache). not too many of these and are $2000+
qx9300 (2.533ghz 12mb cache). close to $3k
if you need quad core power, then a q9000 doesn't look too bad though a high-clocked dual core for <$1000 would be a much better deal.
and ram is cheap enough that if what you buy doesn't have 4gb, you can just buy a 4gb kit for $40 and add it yourself.

 

[accguy9009]

Originally posted by: ther00kie16
the 3 mobile quad cores are:
q9000 (2.0ghz 6mb cache). these laptops run from $1600+
q9100 (2.266ghz 12mb cache). not too many of these and are $2000+
qx9300 (2.533ghz 12mb cache). close to $3k
if you need quad core power, then a q9000 doesn't look too bad though a high-clocked dual core for <$1000 would be a much better deal.
and ram is cheap enough that if what you buy doesn't have 4gb, you can just buy a 4gb kit for $40 and add it yourself.

Does this user need quad core power?

 

[ther00kie16]

Originally posted by: accguy9009

Originally posted by: ther00kie16
the 3 mobile quad cores are:
q9000 (2.0ghz 6mb cache). these laptops run from $1600+
q9100 (2.266ghz 12mb cache). not too many of these and are $2000+
qx9300 (2.533ghz 12mb cache). close to $3k
if you need quad core power, then a q9000 doesn't look too bad though a high-clocked dual core for <$1000 would be a much better deal.
and ram is cheap enough that if what you buy doesn't have 4gb, you can just buy a 4gb kit for $40 and add it yourself.

Does this user need quad core power?

I just answered a question. And note that I recommended a faster dual core (can be gotten for ~$700 through HP and Dell deals).

 

[accguy9009]

My apologies.