I have worked with Macs since their inception, and PCs since DOS 2 and Windows 1.0.
A computer is not just a collection of hardware, and I have found that Macs (except during the Spindler era and thge original Mac Plus and Quantum hard drives) have fewer hardware problems over their lifetime than bargain PC notebooks. On average, Mac users have less turnover on the hardware, and it doesn’t slow down as much from bloat over time.
Personally, I would avoid Lenovo, as it is not just made in Red China, but is actually owned by the Chinese government.
The Intel based Macs are among the best ever. I would consider Toshiba or Acer on the PC side, not Lenovo. Even when IBM made the Lenovo line, they were quirky.
With the Mac, you are also buying the OS, not just the hardware. If your daughter is a good candidate for using OS X, and doesn’t need to run Windows/Linux centric software, then avoiding the malware headaches that come with Windows may be worth the difference.
Oh, one last thing. Replacing the Dell optical drive is only minor surgery. Get an eyeglass style screwdriver, take the unit apart, take off the Dell face plate off of the drive if necessary, and get a OEM match for the drive on ebay or through preicewatch.com.
I've been using Lenovo for work for years now, not a darn thing wrong with them. BTW Macs are made in China too, the brand just happens to be owned by an American.
Toshiba is making generally good stuff these days... BUT, getting replacement parts/service is often quite slow (I know of two people with less than 1 year old machines that had them off for warranty repairs - one took just shy of 4 weeks, the other almost 2 months). But with my understanding of their recent record, you might not need the service in the first place... but if you do...
I don't know anyone with a recent model Acer. I know for some time, they made some of the worst junk out there, but I have heard and read that their quality has come up quite a bit.