Thanks for responding to my question! I don't know much about computers in detail so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting money.
My current laptop is a two year old Toshiba.
Processor*
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6500
Operating System*
Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit)
Graphics Engine*
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
Memory*
3GB DDR3 memory
Hard Drive*
250GB HDD (5400rpm)
Optical Drive*
DVD-SuperMulti drive (+/-R double layer)
Display Size
16.0" widescreen
Display Type*
HD TruBrite LCD Display
Display Resolution
Supports 720p content, 1366x768 (HD)
The new machine is another Toshiba I spotted at Best Buy for about $400.
* Intel Core™ i3-2310M processor
Features a 3MB cache and 2.1GHz processor speed.
* 3GB DDR3 memory
* Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
* 15.6" LED-backlit TFT-LCD high-definition widescreen display
With 1366 x 768 resolution and TruBrite technology
* 320GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
* Mobile Intel HD graphics
Feature 64-1317MB shared graphics memory
I use my current machine for general use but also for video encoding like using DVDShrink and TMPGENC. I may want to watch and rip blurays at some point. I know I should be looking at a quad but $400 for an i3 sandy bridge is pretty cheap. I'm also worried that if I get an i7 sandy bridge that it will over heat. If I were to get one, would I need a discrete video card? Wouldn't that make it even hotter?