I don't know if this does you any good, but I saw this:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread ... st27511331

According to the test, the G550 can get up to 36.6dB at idle and 41.3dB under load. NotebookCheck still gave it a high rating for noise, but that doesn't seem that quiet to me. The P50IJ was a little better at 32.7dB and 36.8dB. NotebookCheck also reviewed the Lenovo T400 ( http://www.notebookcheck....

I'm pretty much at the same point as you, and I think I'm leaning towards a Samsung E251 ( http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-E251-T4200-Esilo-Notebook.23893.0.html ) . The model NotebookCheck reviewed is still available, but there are also newer versions (Edoris) with slightly faster proc ...

test

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-E251-T4200-Esilo-Notebook.23893.0.html There is also a newer version (Win7 and slightly faster processor) E251 Aura Edoris, and one with discrete graphics E251 Aura Elinah. The disk drive in these is not particularly quiet but you can replace it with a SSD.