To be quite honest with you, I dislike acer's.
Yes, they are very cheap, I got to give that to them, but from the experience that I have been through (my sis has an acer and so does her bf) their "assemblage" (putting all the pieces together) is pretty cheap.
Also, their support is simply horrible. (My sister's bf called to ask to replace his earphone jack, she just answered you're out of the warranty and hung up at him)
Anyhow, although IBM's are reputed the issue that I see in them is the design. They are super well equipped with quality built-in parts, and well built, but their design is let's say basic, and their prices, a little high.
I would truly suggest you a Toshiba satellite, maybe like the one that Absorbation showed or maybe a centrino duo. Shouldn't be that expensive.
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