I am going to get a laptop in the states for a relative, and i'm stuck with two choices. The budget is limited so it has been narrowed down to two options: a Toshiba Satellite and a Compaq Presario, with the former having an Pentium Dual Core processor and the latter having a AMD Athlon X2 processor. This will be used in college. If you were to place yourself in my shoes, which one would you pick and why?

And another question. How are Compaq and Toshiba laptops in general? And how is their service here in the country?

Thank you very much!