choosing the right laptop (new member)

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, and I hope many of you can help me as much as possible in terms of finding the right notebook for me

First, my situation is as follows. I currently live in the Netherlands but will move to Canada on August 31st by flying through Toronto to attend Queen's university.

So please keep in mind that besides choosing the right model, I also need to choose the method of buying. (ex: 1)buy it here in holland, get the VAT sales tax back. 2)buy it in canada. 3) order from a u.s online store and have it shipped to canada)

Anyway, here we go, the main points!

(General Usage)
First things first?
-I should probably set a starting point here by saying that I'm looking into a centrino model with 1.6ghz (dothan) and 512 ram.

What will you be using the notebook mainly for? Will you be using it to play games? Will you be using it for word processing / general productivity? etc.

-I will be using it for college. E-mail, internet (wired/wireless), word, games, watching dvds, listening to music, photoshop, home recording(ex: MIDI, cakewalk etc),

Are you looking more at a very small notebook, a standard notebook, or a large desktop replacement?

-Somewhere in between a standard notebook and a large desktop replacement.

Will you be carrying the notebook around a lot or be keeping it stationary most of the time?

-I won't be carrying it around everyday, but I am neither looking into a model that is quite heavy. To put in a ratio....3:7 or 4:6 ? (carry around:stationary)

How important is battery life to you?

-not the decisive factor, but would like at least a minimum of 3 hours. (say, to watch a 3 hour dvd outside)

How long do you intend on using this laptop?
-as long as possible. 4 years for college maybe?

(Features)

Do you need lots of hard drive space?
-I'm looking into a 60 gb one. (would be nice if it's 5400 rpm to start off with)

Will you be burning DVD's or just CD's?
-I will be burning CD's. A DVD writer would be nice, but not necessary. DVD/cd-rw combo drive will do, but I will be watching dvd's from many regions, so it needs to be code-free. (i am not sure how code-free works in terms of combo drives)

Do you tend to work with a lot of applications at once?
-once in a while, yes

(Graphics & Display)

How big would you like your screen to be? Do you care if it's widescreen or not?
- 15 inches/15.4 inches. as for the widescreen, i'm not sure how it would work when it comes to using my older softwares and games. would they be stretched out, or leave blank spaces on both ends of the screen?

Are you willing to pay more for premium screens enhanced by XBRITE, Crystal View, or Bright View? (Go to the bottom of this post for an explanation)
-if it's $ 50~100 difference, why not

(If applicable) Will you be playing casual games or the latest games?
-right now, they are pretty much casual games, but i would like to see some future games running on my laptop.(ex:doom3) ofcourse, i won't be playing doom3 and farcry everyday, but I would like a "future-proof" enough GPU to feel "safe". I would also prefer the ATI Mobility Radeons with at least 64mb dedicated memory. (9600 or 9700 would be nice)

(If applicable) Will you be doing work in a 3D modeling program like 3D Studio Max or Maya?
-nope.

(Miscellaneous)

Wireless?
-802.11 b/g will do. bluetooth not necessary.

SD card slot?
-would be nice to have one.

Do you care if your notebook looks good or not?
-a little, but don't really care unless it's absolutely horrible to even look at it.

Are there particular brands you prefer or won't buy from? / Are there particular models you have already looked at?
-so far, with my own little research, I have come to a conclusion that
1)hp zt3000/compaq x1000/hp-compaq nx7000/ nc 8000 series
2)acer aspire 2012 wlmi
3)sager 3970
4)toshiba m30 satellite series

are quite within the range of what I'm looking for. here goes my analysis just to give you an idea of what i think about them.

1)having checked the specs and hearing some advices and all, it seems like zt3000=x1000=nx7000. They seem to be basically the same thing, except the nx7010 being a business model with a 3 year international warranty. Speaking of warranty, I will be using it with maximum care but it would ne nice to have some warranty, considering that I will be using this laptop not only in school, but also back home in Korea during the breaks, or other places that i might travel to. So, this option has it's brand value, and it also allows you to customize them, but I checked hp.com, and it seems like customized models can only be shipped within the U.S. So customized models are out, and I would have to look for a pre-config model, which might be a hassle. Besides that, I don't feel quite "safe" with the ATI 9200 that comes with these models. Predicting as best as I can, the most high-end games that I will be playing within the next couple of months will be Doom 3 and NBA-Live 2005 (not sure if you can call nba a high-end, would have to wait and see). as for the nc8000, it's nice, heard good things about it, has an ati 9600 pro, but the downside is that it is usually more expensive than the others i have mentioned above.

2) i never looked into acers, in fact just ignored them, but someone kindly suggested the 2012-WLMI aspire model, and after looking at it and the reviews and etc, i am having second thoughts about it. It has a good gpu (ati 9700) and etc, very cheap compared to others, but the biggest downside to this model is that it is a 1.5ghz banias. I have heard that some people who bought it from newegg.com got a 1.5 dothan shipped, but it seems like it is randomly done. Another downside would be it's name value. I am not familiar with Acer, nor it's services and warranty etc.

3) Very good specs for a reasonable price, and customizable too, but the downside is again the name value. I have only known Sager for two days, and much like the Acer, don't know how good their models work. I heard that some people call Sager a "white something company". Plus, warranty and service might be an issue.

4)Toshiba m30. I have seen this model in person, perhaps too many times, it seems like every shop here in the netherlands at least has one of them on display. looks nice, specs aren't that bad, but then again the downside is that it has an nvidia fx 5200 go, which i believe is not as good as the ati 9200 and obviously nowhere near the 9600/9700.

How much are you willing to pay for this notebook?
- would like the best value for my bucks. US $1200~1700 is fine, but considering that it's Canada,(in regards to shipping costs etc.) ~1600 is preferred.

Wow, this is one long piece of writing. I hope many of you have cleary understood my points and concerns, and hope you can give me as much input as possible, even if it's just one sentence. Again, thanks for reading, and I'll check in frequently, hope I can choose the right model and move on to the issue of "how to buy it" !

something to add to the acer section:

i heard that initially, the hard drive is configured to FAT32 and is also partitioned into three drives. I didn't like that point about the 2012-wlmi.

phase11 Notebook Enthusiast

Venombite Notebook Virtuoso