Newbie to notebooks: Opinions on Dell 1720 config

I've posted before, but I'm much closer to making a purchase, after some extensive research. I'm considering the Dell 1720. Note: I'm not a gamer (so I don't need the BEST gpu) but I do want a "budget" notebook that will have fairly recent technology. I'll be performing basic work processing, internet browsing, and various multimedia applications. Here is my FAQ: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=132703
Here are the specs for the config:

Dell 1720:
SYSTEM COLOR: Jet Black
PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM: Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium Edition
DISPLAY: Glossy, high contrast, widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440 x 900)
VIDEO CARD: 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8400M GS
MEMORY: 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE: Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE: CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORKING: Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
BATTERY OPTIONS: 85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
OTHER: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam

Final Price: $1,346.88 (w/ free shipping)

This comes as fully discounted as I could possibly come up with. What are your thoughts on the config, as well as its pricing? Any thoughts/opinions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks much in advance!

 

Downgrade the RAM to lower the price and buy it from Newegg or somewhere else. Look in the RAM deals on the forums here to buy another gig of RAM instead of paying Dell extra to install it for you. Make sure that you get 1 GB RAM in one slot and not 2 512 MB sticks of RAM.

Everything looks great. Hope you enjoy it.

 

For a brand new notebook owner, how in-depth is this task? I realize there are threads and tutorials out there and while I'm fairly mechanically minded, I'm also fairly technologically inept

 

Here's the link to the service manual. You can decide yourself if you're ept enough. Supposedly, there is a slot under the keyboard, and another under the laptop. The one under the laptop is the easiest, just unscrew and plug in the new one.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/index.htm

 

How about the NVidia video card- is that upgradeable down the road? I went with the 8400GS but am now wondering about going with the 8600GT instead???

 

You'll have to look at the service manual (when they release it) but it is highly likely you will be able to upgrad the video card, at least to what they have currently.