Alienware Aurora 7700 Or Custom Gaming Dell?

I’m looking for a new laptop for college and I was wondering what people thought about my options,
Alienware Aurora 7700 (Refurbished from Alienware.com)
Screen: 17″ WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD
Processor Type: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual Core
Memory (RAM): 1GB PC 3200 DDR SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA 6800FXGO ULTRA 256MB Memory
Hard Drive Capacity: 100GB 7200RPM SATA NCQ
Optical Drive: 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Loading
Operating System: Windows XP Pro Edition
Connectivity: W-NWEB 802.11ABG Wireless
Built-In Camera: Included
PRICE- $1350
or
Dell Inspiron 1720 (New from Dell.com)
Jet Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
Anti-glare, widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440 x 900)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8600M GT
FREE! 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
FREE! 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD writer / DVD player (Combo Drive)
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
No Webcam Option
PRICE- $1600
Which has better video card too?

Which Is Better Laptop – Toshiba, Sony Vaio Or Custom Built Dell?

I need a bigger laptop than my current Inspriron 600m Dell . I want a larger screen – 17”, more memory – 240 to 320 GB split hardrive. With the best picture – I do a lot of photo editing, printing and soon video editing. Anyone have a suggestion for best value and best quality? Most reviewers raved about the Toshiba and I’ve always been happy with my Dell – the Toshiba and Sony are both cheaper though.