Hi all
 
I have to buy a new laptop. It will be used for the following purposes:
 
1) Using Visual studio 2005 and 2008(when it comes up).
2) Running windows vista ultimate
3) Playing DVD movies ( on a seperate 19" monitor Viewsonic VG1930wm 1440x900 and a HD LCD screen 42" ).
4) Programming in JAVA, Microsoft technologies, SAP etc.
5) maybe some light gaming (if allowed).
 
I have selected Dell Inspiron 1525. http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/pr [...] l=en&s=dhs
 
Now,  
is the base processor enough for my needs and can it last for a coupla years or should I upgrade to the second option?  
 
is the X3100 enough to run Vista ultimate and for playing DVD, Mpeg2, Divx movies? Is there a difference in quality between X3100, Geforce 8400GS and 8600 as far as movie playback or SMOOTHNESS in Vista is concerned?
 
Does graphic card play a role if I use Office 2007 and open up visual studio and start encoding a movie at the same time? or is it only the processor and the RAM that come into play? (sorry for this noob question).
 
Is there a huge difference in the capabilities of the processors mentioned? (I'd appreciate if someone could post a link showing performance difference between the two (not accounting for gaming though)).
 
Also, can a Playstation 2 or xbox 360 or playstation 3 be hooked to the laptop monitor?
 
I know its a huge bunch of question but am buying a laptop for the first time and its really difficult to get one in the price range here in India(<=45000 INR).
 
Please feel free to suggest other laptops as well for the needs mentioned above.
 
Meanwhile am searchin for the laptops on teh net and looking forward to your replies...
 
cheers....
 
 

c'mon guys.......
 
You can answer some of the questions if not all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 I never goto any other forum except this. Dont let this forum down..............
 
c'mon wake up ppl.......

well here's a link for you to comapare the gfx of notebooks
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobil [...] 844.0.html
 
 X3100 can handle vista aero well i don't think you will see a differece.And when playing DVD,Dvix or mepg2 movies I don't think there would be a difference either.  
 
When gaming you will certainly see a noticeable differnce between intergrated and dedicated gfx.
 
i am not sure of this one but i do think encoding time is depenedent of processor performance.(SSE instructions i think and cores play a role too) than VGA I can be wrong too.
 
 
If you are in to heavy multasking like in your qustions go with atleast 2 GB prefer more.