have to agree with Binoculars.
If laptop or system running with XP
u should have at least 512 MB RAM ,best 512 DDR RAM.If u r watching dvd s make sure u get a standalone graphic card ,NOT a "shared memory" one cuz it bites away
RAM memory!
would recomend Pentium M cuz of better battery performance.watch out for good battery (Lithium Ion battery).
recently got an Acer travelmate series and have to say I am very happy with performance.
Pentium M 1.5 GHz,15tft,64MB 3D graphic ATI Radeon 9700 card,80 GB harddrive ,512 DDR SDRAM .
hope it helpes a little,will watch what the others have to say.
take care