Laptop Decision

I recently sold my HP laptop and now I'm trying to decide on which laptop I should get. I have a couple of options and my original plan was to buy a "budget" laptop that was a little bit faster than the one I just sold. I was looking at the Dell Vostro 1400 and 1500 which will cost around the $700 range. I sold my old laptop for $500 so I'm looking at $200 out of pocket. HP has some good deals on their new laptops and I can spend around $1,000, $500 more and I can get a 17in wide screen or a 12in tablet laptop which will have all the bells and whistles. My dilemma is choosing between budget and top of the line.

I know I am trying to save money and just buy what I "need" however I know that when you go cheap on computer parts, it will haunt you in the end and I'll just end up unhappy and with a slower laptop. I've been researching laptops for the past couple of days now and I got all the way to the checkout area but I couldn't pull the trigger and order it all the way. I guess I'll just sleep on it and not make any impulse decisions. $700 - $500(HP I sold) = $200 VS. $1000 - $500 = $500

Is the $300 worth it to have top of the line and will last me a good year or two?