3 hours? That's iffy. I have an XPS2 and it will make 2.5 hours using wifi. If battery life is more important than performance, get the Inspiron 9400/e1704 and the Intel Integrated Graphics. The discrete graphics cards draw subtantial power. To be sure, invest in another battery or get something like the Valence N-Charge to supplement the internal battery just in case. Datacards are power-hungry.