I have a HP Pavilion and it came with a backpack. You're making this harder than it needs to be. Edit: I made $1972.00 with it tonight.
I really like these: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c...=all&in_dim_srch=1&s=25 4294967002+4294966817
Honestly, I don't think there is any big difference in the same price range among them. So go to a store and look at them, lift them up and go with the shinier, lighter one.... P.S.: You should know what your priority is, like batterylife, screenbrightness,weight, security,webcam, etc.
Hmm, don't know why you chose that unit as for trading as it truly is overkill. Nice unit though! If you play your cards right and don't mind Vista as the operating system (OS), you could probably get it for under $1,200 on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Precision-...yZ140080QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I'd probably recommend a Dell D830. I purchased one and it's been great. I just had a client pick up three for his business and he's bubbling all over the place. Go here: http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-LATITUDE-D...yZ140080QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem These units have plenty of RAM and a faster hard drive. And, the OS that I prefer to tout for the next year. I am a computer tech (18+ years) and my home shop is Dell (12 laptops, 20 rack servers & 2 full sized servers), HP (3 laptops) and Compaq (4 laptops) based. IBM's are reliable bricks but they have never appealed to me. I got rid of my last one about three years ago and have not missed it at all.
Acer all the way. No invasive bloatware. solid machines. I like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115410 AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58(1.90GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 2GB DDR2 667 160GB DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G - Here are all the Acer that come with XP Pro: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=&Manufactory=1146&PropertyCodeValue=449:6965
I've never had any problems with any of my Acers that I have been using for years. You get more for your $ with acer easily than a Dell. Dell might be my second choice. HP/Compaq last choice