Need help choosing a laptop

[ashwinprakas]

Hey guys, I really need your opinion on this, my Asus 1011 Netbook just bailed on me after 6 months of use and am in real need of a laptop. I'm not the flashy type, so dont want utterly useless features like a remote or changeable covers etc. In short am looking for a machine thats coming from a reputable brand and costs around or within $500. My dad owns a IBM Thinkpad T43, and am real astonished by its performance, its as solid as a block of iron and still functioned well i.e even after almost a decade of torture. So am looking forward to getting something like that. My needs are such that, I need a laptop that can run Win7 and has enough juice for all the basic computing stuff and all like Photoshopping etc, with ease. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[WR2]

HP ProBook 4530S 15.6-inch Core i3 Notebook $500
Lenovo ThinkPad T520 15.6-in Sandy Bridge Core i3 Laptop $750

 

[ashwinprakas]

HP ProBook 4530S 15.6-inch Core i3 Notebook $500
Lenovo ThinkPad T520 15.6-in Sandy Bridge Core i3 Laptop $750

The Thinkpad looks alluring, but its way out of my budget. The ProBook suits my budget but there's a Sony Vaio model thats got an almost similar price tag. Here take a look. VAIO™ Laptop & Computer - E Series