I'll second that 7200 RPM HD is definitely good idea. However, this will generate more heat and the extra RPM will use more battery power. So, if you are given the choice between a 8-cell and 12-cell battery...go with the 12-cell. OpenGL support / performance is typically VERY awful on any integrated (shared) video card. It is my opinion that no integrated video support should be considered sufficient regardless of whether it supposedly supports OpenGL or not for any kind of 3D application. AFAIK, all ATI's Mobility Radeon or Nvidia's (Mobile) GeForce still in use "today" by manufacturer's support a minimum of OpenGL v1.5. How complete the support was implemented is a different issue. This is most often indicated by the display driver package used (in it's readme file, etc.) as provided by the graphics hardware manufacturer's website.