Buying and configuring an MSI-X460DX

Hello all!

I'm looking into buying a MSI-X460DX for a soon to be college student. Photoshop and gaming (primarily RPGs) will be its "heavy duty" use cases. It'll be hooked up to an external LCD when in the dorm.

Are there any recommended venders? I'm strongly considering XoticPC because it offers a skinning option (a must-have for the student I'm buying for) and free shipping for NBR members (although I'm not sure if my post count would qualify me). A good warranty/protection plan might also be also be a great perk, as this notebook will be braving the rigors of college.

Additionally, are there any recommended upgrades? My primary concern is a good balance of price and performance.

I'm considering the following:
1. $20: 6GB DDR3 1066MHz -> 8GB DDR3 1333MHz.
2. $40: Bigfoot wireless upgrade. I was particularly swayed by this review: AnandTech - Bigfoot?s Killer-N 1102 Wireless Networking vs. the World
3. $83: i5-2430M->i7-2630QM.

Blu-ray would also be a nice perk, but sadly, the MSI-X460DX doesn't seem to be available with an internal BR drive, although I could pick up an external combo drive for about $79.

I'm also strongly considering an SSD or at the very least a hybrid drive, as I've heard very good things about the speed boost this offers. Any recommendations? I'm considering the following:
Options:
A. +$179: HD bay: 500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid 32MB Cache: $179. Default optical drive.
B. +$206: 90GB SSD (OCZ Vertex 2): $139. Optical bay: 500GB 7200RPM SATA HDD: $67.
C.+ $222: HD bay: 80GB SSD intel 320: $155. optical bay: 500GB 7200RPM SATA HDD: $67.


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

I'd upgrade in this order: 2630QM>8GB>Bigfoot.

I say test out the laptop before you buy an SSD, the stock drive is pretty fast.

 

Thanks for the tip