brad (nice name btw)- i'm in the same boat ... non-pro wondering what the heck. i've had a 9V Makita drill that's wired 2 houses, built a house, and eaten thru 4 batteries in the process and still works fine. so i haven't been pressed hard into getting a new one.

had a chance a couple years ago when working on a school stage to use 3 different cordless units - a ridgid, a makita, and a dewalt (think they were 14V units ... memory escapes).

the ridgid belonged to a pro - said it was hands down the best drill he'd ever had.

the makita was astoundingly light; the dewalt was heavy; the ridgid was in between. all were very powerful. the makita fit my hand the best. guess which one i used most of the time? as such, my advice would be to not get axle-wrapped on specs, but go see which one fits your hand.