My dm4t potential build... Should I buy?

First off, just let me say I think this forum is fantastic. I've been browsing for days looking at reviews and guides and the community seems awesome. You guys helped me narrow down my choice to a dm4t over the envy or the dvt6. Now I just need to polish the build. Here's what I've got:

HP Pavilion dm4t customizable Notebook PC*

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-460M Dual Core Processor (2.53 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5470 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
50% OFF! One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery
160GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)
Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
Standard Keyboard
* I cut out all the irrelevant stuff.

With the $250 coupon code logicbuy has, that comes out to $1,139.

I want this laptop to be able to take whatever I throw at it and then some. I want it to be very fast and to be able to compete for the next three years or so. I move around a lot, so I love how portable this laptop is (which is partly why I took it over the envy).

I work as a political consultant. Right now I have a MacBook Pro which I love, but I'm tired of being a Mac user in a Windows world.

I do a lot of multitasking, a typical load will have a messaging client, tweetdeck, office, a browser with multiple tabs, and at times a video running. I normally have an external monitor hooked up when I'm at the office, and I'd like to have two now that I can have a HDMI and VGA output.

I've been playing with the settings on the above laptop all afternoon. My budget is $1200.

Originally, I had the processor maxed out with the I7-640M 2.8GHz and 8gb of RAM. After doing more research, that seemed like overkill. By dropping down to an I5 2.53GHZ and 6GB RAM I was able to add the 160GB SSD drive as opposed to the 500GB 7200 RPM. I figure I can use a pocketdrive for my media when I start to hit the cap.

Anyway, all this to get to my question:

Will I see enough of a performance boost out of the SSD that it's worth dropping to a slower processor in the I5 2.53 and losing all that storage space? I know that 8GB RAM was overkill regardless, so it's just down to the processor vs the SSD for the best performance at this point.

I'd like to start pc gaming soon, which was why I grabbed the 1GB graphics card to future proof it, but I'm open to dropping down to the 512mb if that would free up cash for a better processor (saves $75). I won't be doing serious gaming regardless (just something like WoW or Age of Empires) I do like to watch HD video though, so I think I'd probably be safest with at least the 512MB.

 

The SSD will show the largest general work performance boost over any of your upgrades. The i5 provides adequate power for just about anything below super intensive encoding or program work. If you plan on keeping your laptop for a while, the 1 GB GPU should be a good choice if it doesn't put you over budget, and the 6gb of ram over 4gb works again towards the future if you have anything intensive you might run across. Overall I think your build looks good and there isn't anything I would change.