Urg!!! Need help deciding on XPS m1330 configuration

Ok, I decided to get the Dell m1330 for school. I'm going to be a grad student so I need something light and something that doesn't over heat. I'll like to have a long battery life but it still be light. I was thinking of keeping the 4 cell battery or maybe upgrade to the 6 cell at a later date. I am on a budget of < $1500
So, I cant decide is I should get the C2D T5250 (2MB cache/1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB) and add the 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS or just get the C2D T7100 (2MB cache/1.8GHz/800Mhz FSB) and get rid of the GeForce and just staying with the Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. I can't decide which one would be better for me. Please note that if I get the Geforce, I would have to upgrade the battery which will bump the price up to around $1600 : ( . I won't be using any hard core 3d programs or anything like that, just maybe light gaming (RTS games like C&C3 or starcraft 2 when it comes out and maybe alittle WoW). I'm going to be keeping this system for the rest of grad school. (2-3 years)

I will be also getting the LED LCD, 1 GB Ram (update later to 2 GB myself so it'll be cheaper) Bluetooth, Biometric reader.

My question are which configuration should I get? Will there be any better system performance between the 2 processors? What does the extra 166mhz in the FSB actually do? Will the GeForce card add extra heat/weight/battery usage to the system? Are there any deals I can get for being a UNI student? I missed out on the 25% coupon on Aug 1. : ( How often does Dell post these deals? I guess I can wait till the next deal unless someone has a good coupon I could use now : )

Thanks in advance for any help of suggestions.

 

lol, first time i've seen a triple posts. good job.

 

lol, just thought I would cover all the forums which it would lie under. Can't believe that many people noticed. Anyways.... anyhelp on my delema anyone?

 

Here is what I suggest for heat reduction, and good battery life...also with performance in mind...

Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 1.8GHz
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
6 Cell Battery

That comes to $1,579

 

university discount? I would get t he T5250 and a GeForce, the GeForce will bottleneck the systems capabilities anyways so your processor will rarely get maxed out whilst gaming.

 

My university discount was like 6% off. I was looking around and Dell had a mystery coupon earlier for 20% but I missed out on it. Does anyone have any idea how often they give those out? Doesn anyone know if adding the GeForce will add much heat to the system compared to the intergratded GPU? Thanks

 

You can do LCD and 8400 for less then $1500

 

the 8400 will give you more heat but i would go with the 1.5 GHz and the 8400 rather than the 1.8Ghz since (likewise to what someone said above) it will bottle neck your system more than the 1.8GHz

battery wise i would go for the 6 cell since it balances out weight/mobility and battery life

 

I have the 8400m GPU. I haven't tested any games yet, but on normal usage, i would say that my laptop does not "heat up". It gets a little warm on the underside, but i think it's a 'normal' amount of warmness which you'd find in other similar sized or even larger laptops (it's definitely not like my friend's macbook).

there ya' go, 2 cents

 

can you leave some gaming reviews?