Going to buy a Dell XPS M1330 - need some help.

Christmas is coming up, and in January, I will be getting an XPS M1330!!!

Now, I have some quick questions before I finalize this purchase, please bear with me, as this is a huge purchase for me!

1. Does Vista run ok on it? I hear the premium it comes with needs some extra specs in the notebook to run ok, so can it handle it? (check my specs below)
2. If not, how easy is it to install XP Professional? Will it gain or lose any performance?
3. Is a 2.0 Ghz Processor enough? Or should I go with the 2.2?
4. I will start with 1 gig of memory, where is the cheapest to buy another gig, and how easy is it to install?
5. Does the Alpine White lid stain? Or get dirty easily?
6. If I buy it as-is on the Dell Site (starting at 1099), does it still have a one year warranty? If there is CPU whine, can I get it replaced?
7. How comfortable is the keyboard? I might not get to try it out. Are there any flex issues, or is it nice to type on? I currently have a Thinkpad and love the keyboard.
8. Is the camera it comes with good? Or should I upgrade? I am not getting the LED screen, so this is why I ask, because 300 $ extra is a lot of money!
9. Will they be refreshing the 1330 anytime soon? Or will it be staying the same?
10. Is the DVD drive noisy? I watch a LOT of movies on my laptop, and usually when everyone else is already sleeping (not dirty ones), so I don't want it to be so loud that I have to turn the volume up to hear the movie!!!
11. How long is the battery life with the 6-cell? Is the 9 cell necessary? I don't like the way it sticks out...loses it's thin-ness appeal.
12. Do you recommend the 8400 or the X3100? I play games like Starcraft, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and The Sims.

Thank you so much, and sorry for all of these questions, but I am very nervous when it comes to spending well over a thousand dollars!

Also, here is what I plan on getting:

Alpine White
2.0 Ghz Processor
Windows Vista Premium
1 GB Ram
8400 GS Card
6 Cell Battery/9 Cell
120 GB Harddrive (maybe a 7200 RPM one)

 

This is from my experience with the m1330 at the dell kiosk, mine is still in production but here goes:

1). Vista runs fine on the m1330
2). Many guides to installing XP are in the forums and generally you will gain performance.
3). 2.0Ghz is enough but the 2.2Ghz has 4mb l2 cache and some people live for higher cache and some say it barely helps. Once again up to you. Its a moderate price upgrade though $75 I think?
4). There are hot ram deals in the forums here otherwise check newegg, tigerdirect, etc...
5). The alpine white lid is glossy and can scratch like the white macbooks. The other 2 colors are a matte finish so they will get fingerprints and such but should resist scratching more.
6). 1 Year warranty is standard and CPU whine replacement is an option but now I think they replace your motherboard if you read the several posts on the A04 revision motherboard swap or the several CPU whine threads.
7). All the reviews out for the m1330 talk about keyboard. It is almost as comfortable as a thinkpad keyboard though but the keys feel a little different.
8). The 2.0mp camera is fine even for video conferencing.
9). Maybe a refresh in Q1 or Q2 2008 when Penryn comes out.
10). It is loud when you insert or eject.
11). There are several threads on battery life and depending on what you do and what tweaks you make. Just half what dell says it lasts and theres your estimate.
12). x3100 is more than fine for those games. If you play any newer games the 8400 will be a better bet but battery life will go down slightly.

BTW a 200GB with perpendicular tech will probably be as fast as 120GB HD if that makes any difference to you. And good luck on purchasing its a lovely laptop.