I have to say I honestly don't know which is better. I've had AMD's and hated them, likewise with Intel chipsets.
However, I do recommend this, and only to my dearest friends like you FStop:
Buy your laptop at Costco!
I guess you might get a special GM deal on one, but at Costco, if your laptop takes a dump within six months (which all I've ever had do!), you can
return it for a full refund or a replacement! That is worth paying $200 extra for. Just make sure you keep everything that came with the unit. They need cords, CD's, booklets, etc. Since they're program is also no questions (other than why you brought it back for manufacturer info)/any reason, you could try out the one you think you want and if you don't like it take it back.
Just my words of advice. Additionally, I have had poor build quality from AVERATEC. I punched the last one in the screen for it's problems and sliced open my hand. So I blame the brand completely. (But really, it was a POS).
And no, I don't work for Costco, but I do buy a most of my stuff there, and I have returned items and found their return policy to be true. I even dropped my laptop once, broke the screen, and they replaced it. That was really a stretch, but I begged and pleaded, and they obliged.