The Latitude Z600 with 128 GB solid state drive and dual core is, get this, under $1,000. Adding in the warranty is going to push it into four figure territory, but I'm still drooling over the solid state drive like a big old geek. Intellectually, I understand I've had really good experiences with regular spinny platters, but at an emotional level - solid state.

Then there is the XP versus Vista question. But this is a preliminary assessment stage.