E6400 purchase, help with final setup

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Business Downgrade,XP Professional SP3 Install,E
Brushed Metal Black
14.1" UltraSharp™ WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Display - Brush Metal Black
3 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 3 Year NBD Onsite Service
1.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M With Express Card
80GB Hard Drive, 5400 RPM
8X DVD with Cyberlink PowerDVD™
6 Cell Battery
Internal English Backlit Keyboard
Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card

After looking at a couple laptops with paritcular interest (studio xps 13, t400, u330) I think I may have a come to a conclusion

I will be using my laptop for school, some graphics (PS), and light gaming..

I will be planning on upgrading my HD and Ram on my own..

I have a couple of questions that werent answered with the search button.

- Would it be better if I got the 24x cdrw/dvd instead of the 8x dvd? is there any sound issues regarding each? (ie. one louder than the other)

- Would I be better off upgrading the processor?

- What type of price (CAD) am I looking at?? right now its at 1814 before anything.. I know I have to call dell and speak to a rep.

- On average, how long does the 6 cell last with < 50% brightness with mild net surfing.

Thanks in advance

 

1. No, the 24x drive DOES NOT burn DVDs. It's a CD-Burner/DVD reader
2. No, well, what do you plan to do with your computers?

 

Your system set-up looks quite like mine. With mild web-surfing and low brightness, I can reach 4 hours with a 6 cell. I've heard better than my 4 hours though.

Yikes, 1814 is quite a bit. You have ways to lower the prices, right? Mine was ~1400 but that was back in September.