Dell Inspiron 15R vs Lenovo Thinkpad (Edge or L512)

Hi!

I want to buy a laptop but it's hard to choose between:

- Dell Inspiron 15R
- cpu - i7-720QM 1.6GHz
- gpu - hd 5650
- ram - 4GB
- hdd - 500GB 5400rpm

- Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 15
- cpu - i5 460M
- gpu - hd 5145
- ram - 4GB
- hdd - 500GB 5400rpm

Lenovo Thinkpad L512
- cpu - i5 450M
- gpu - intel GMA
- ram - 2GB
- hdd - 320GB 7200rpm

Now of course I'd like to have a Thinkpad L512 with the i7-720QM under the hood but that's just too expensive. Normally I would go for Dell but I'm not so convinced about the build quality/reliability of this model. With those monsters inside, I'm afraid it will burn or something...

I don't like so much the Edge 15's design (a single weird red power light and no hdd led etc.) but it should have an excellent keyboard and the rest also looks pretty good.

I really like the L512 model as it looks very well built but it doesn't have the performance of the other two. It has only the integrated intel video. However, it has the best battery life and it doesn't get hot. They say it has an outstanding keyboard and it is very reliable.

All of the models cost about the same, the Edge 15 being the cheapest and the Inspiron 15R the most expensive.

So what would you choose?

The first question is: What are your planned uses for whichever laptop you choose? If you are a gamer or do a lot video/photo editing, etc..., I'd shoot for the Dell. I personally haven't had a problem with Dell laptops, as many relatives have had them over the years without any issue. However, I'm sure there are those who would say different. If you aren't a gamer or do any graphic intensive stuff, I'd shoot for the Edge 15, as it will give you the performance you need for daily tasks without any lagging and such.

Technically speaking, you can play games even on an integrated Intel video chip. Below is a link to Crysis Warhead video capture (using FRAPS I suppose) on a X4500 chip. There is a list of other video games as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT8fMggS0jU

As an owner of an IBM ThinkPad T40 from 2002/2003, I can pretty much say that ThinkPads have excellent build and quality. I'm still using it. I haven't heard of any slippage in build and quality when IBM sold it's PC & laptop division to Lenovo.

I would recommend the ThinkPad Edge 15 as well. I don't trust Dell's laptops except for their Latitude series.

I too am considering a new ThinkPad for myself, or maybe their IdeaPad series...

With my budget (~900 euros) I can get the better design and quality with a modest performance or mediocre design with good performance but not both. Anyway the price is not so relevant since where I live the electronics are more expensive than the rest of the world. If I lived in America, I could buy myself an excellent custom-built system from these guys: http://www.xoticpc.com. Unfortunately, I don't and the shipping costs are just too expensive.
In the end I think I'll go for the better design - Lenovo Thinkpad L512.