QUOTE(nexus2238 @ Jul 24 2013, 10:07 PM)
Vostro - lighter, the i3 M is slightly more powerful than the i3 ULV in Inspiron 14 (also drain the 48Whr battery faster

)
Insprion 14 - more frugal power usage, can opt for 6 cell 65Whr battery for long battery running time (standard spec is 40Whr, but since it is using i3 ULV, still run longer than the Vostro 5460 with i3 M), has 2 RAM slot easier to increase RAM (Vostro 5460 only 1 RAM slot).
But one of your main criteria is good / long warranty support (3 years to cover for your sis study?). If you go for Vostro 5460, may not have budget left to extend warranty (defeat the purpose of going with Dell

)
One more thing, for budget laptop like these, the profit margin for brands are not that high, expect on ~ 10% discount from list price if you negotiate good

(Those RM4-5k laptop may get some extremely good deal if negotiate hard enough

)
That's what I thought too..discount won't be much for low budget. May not opt for 3 years warranty also(extra cost), maybe go for accidental dmg.
Now looking in terms of performance (multi task, not slowed down/lagging if too much task), battery usage, portability.
Inspiron 14 - i3U@1.8GHz, 2gb RAM, 4-cell, slight heavier
Vostro - i3M@2.5GHz, 4gb RAM, 3-cell, thin/lighter
Like you say, vostro processor slightly more powerful but drain batt faster...
How many hours can the battery last with normal usage for both laptop?