What type of performance from this system?

I'll preface this thread by saying I'm an idiot when it comes to hardware issues. I'm good with software, but not hardware. The difference between DDR2 and DDR3? I have no idea.

I'm replacing my current gaming laptop. Thats right, its main use is to game. Its an Inspiron 8600 that is about 3 years and 8 months old. Its a pentium M 1.7, 1.256 GB ram, 1200x800 display, and it was the first model to use the new 128MB ati card (Previous models used 64megs of ram. I don't know the series, but I bet you do ;-).

I've gotten an Inspiron 1520. Core 2 Duo 2.2, 2.5 gb ram (after I get my new stick from new egg), 256mb 8600M nvidia, Vista Basic, WXGA+

My question is, what type of performance increase should I see? I currently run (on the old system), A Company of Heroes at low settings. It runs great at these settings and looks fine to me. Of course, I have never seen this game at high settings so I have no idea what I am missing. I mainly decided to get a new one to play games like Bioshock in all its glory. But will I see small or major differences in a game like A Company of Heroes. I would imagine playing a game like Bioshock on my old laptop would look plain ugly. Will the new system make these games look that much sweeter?

Anthony

ps. Is 2.5 GB Ram for a vista basic system enough to run current games? Will I see that much of a difference if I move into the 3-3.5 gb ram (knowing that the 32 bit os only recognizes up to those amounts)?

 

You will see quite a big performance increase. The new cpus are much more powerful than your old PM, and now you have 2 of them. Also, the nvidia gpu is a lot more powerful, so you'll be able to run those games at much higher settings smoothly.

The saying is true, once you use a dual core machine, you can never go back to single. The difference in daily tasks is incredible, a lot smoother.

 

Is printing less annoying?