Need help-CPU recommendation-Visual Studio

[dpeters11]

I'm looking at getting a new laptop for my girlfriend. Nothing high end really, just an Inspiron. I already made a few upgrades, comes with 4gb RAM, 320gb drive etc.

One area I'm not sure on is processor. I configured it with a Core 2 Duo T6400, but I also have the option of a P8600. Not sure if it's worth the extra $125. I know it's slightly faster (wow, a day where 400mhz or so is sightly faster...), larger cache, supports Intel VT etc as well as being a bit better on battery and heat.

Here's the question, is it enough different to be worth the extra cash? She'll be doing basic web browsing but she also does web work and she wants to start getting into Visual Studio. I know that can be intensive.

Any thoughts?

[CoriBright]

For $125, I'd go with the faster one. And make sure she gets an extended 3 year guarantee from the manufacturer (not the retailer because those are not worth the paper they are printed on). Anything going wrong with a notebook and generally it's cheaper to junk it and buy new.

And ensure she has (or will get) an external hard drive to backup to. It's all well and good to use online backup, but as next month's PC World says, when the online backup companies go bust and give you 24 hours to retrieve your files and every single customer tries to get their data at once, it all goes very quiet at their server level!

Make sure the hard drive is 7200rpm. Manufacturers tend to try and put 5400rpm drives in their notebooks and claim they are the fastest.

Oh and a notebook cooler is also essential. My Zalman keeps my Toshiba beautifully cool. Zalman (http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/CategorySecond_Pic.asp?categoryname=Coolers&categorySecond=CAS5)

[smiddy]

I think you could spend $125 on something else since the increase in performance is minimal.

[dpeters11]

So, split decision so far :)

What I don't get is why on the Dell EPP site I can't get a 64 bit OS on a system with 4gb ram but it is offered on the normal side. Looks like I'll need to go through some other channels to see if I can get my EPP discount applied on that configuration. Would be nice if I could get a 64 bit OS out of the box.