laptop suggestions/rating please

[chriskmee]

hi, i am planning on buying a laptop mainly used for gaming and college. I'm buying this because its my senior year in high school and i have to move in the middle of it, i always wanted a laptop, and now i want a way to keep in contact with friends, so i decided to buy a laptop when i move in a few weeks.

The main things i want are:
Good gaming configuration for high demanding games
a messenger carrying case
built in camera and mic
7200 RPM HDD with at least 200 gigs (single or doulbe)
printer/scanner/coppier and cable
Microsoft office home and student edition
Vista home premium (32) ( i will double boot with ubuntu)
No more than $2500

I have looked around a bunch and this is what i have come up with:

HP Pavilion dv9500t customizable Notebook PC
RL653AV
• – Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
• – Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7700 (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
• – 17.0" WXGA+ High-Definition Ultra HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
• – $50 Off upgrade from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• – 511MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
• – FREE Upgrade to HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Webcam + Microphone
• – Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection
• – 240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
• – FREE Upgrade to LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support!!
• – $30 OFF HP ExpressCard Digital/Analog TV Tuner
• – Extra High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Batteries
• – System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
• – Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2007
• – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
$2,466.99
HP Deskjet F4180 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier
CB584A#A2L $79.99
HP Notebook Messenger Case
EZ140AA $59.99
HP Hi-Speed USB Cable a-b, 6' (1.8 m)
Q6264A $19.99



Notebook instant rebate –$150.00
PC+Printer instant rebate –$50.00

Order subtotal $2,426.96


Free shipping from Hp and no tax because where i am moving to has no state tax!


one main thing im wondring is the hard drive speed, i know i said i wanted a 7200rpm drive, but is it worth it? i can get more memory at cheaper price with a 5400. please give me your opinion, the 5400 cheaper and bigger drive, or the 7200 smaller drive


I have asked on other forums and they seem to think this computer will be great for what i want, any suggestions are greatly appreciated, and if you dont mind giving the laptop a rating out of 10, that would be great. Thank you.

 

[jmedina]

That sounds good! That's sounds perfect for what you are going to be doing.

 

[chriskmee]

But what about the hard drive, I'm thinking of getting the 320g 5400rpm drive, not only does it have more space, i can save like $75. alot of my friends say that the slower hard drive will not affect gaming. the extra space of the 320 gig would be nice. is it worth getting the faster, less space, more expensive drive?

Another quick question: I have seen pentium mobile processors with 3 ghtz and the one im looking at is the core2duo with 2.4 ghtz. Why is a lower ghtz double core alot more expensive than a single core higher ghtz? is the core 2 duo actually two 2.4ghtz processors? someone please clarify this.

 

[compfused]

The 5400rpm isn't optimal for gaming, if I were you I would get a smaller 7200 rpm drive for your games and if/when you fill that up use an external to hold all of your stuff that isn't games music, movies ect. That's what I did...and I'm pretty happy...as to your processor question I believe that a core 2 duo rated at 2.4ghz will be 2x2.4 ghz, but I'm not 100%. Which would give it a considerable advantage over the 3.0 single core processor.