Video cards rarely come with 512mb when it's below 17" size, but a few Asus models and some Zepto/Compal (to name a few) have been fielding 512mb versions of x600 and x700 series (1600, 1700, 7600, 7700, ATI and nVidia respectively). For those cards, it probably makes little difference whether there's 256 or 512, as it can't run anything on a high enough resolution to actually require the memory anyways. You're probably good off waiting for a week or two or so - currently for nVidia the Go 8600, 8400 are pretty much on the market (with at least Zepto fitting a 8600GT on a 14.1", and probably Asus too). 8700 is thereabouts, and they say it's roughly equal by performance to a Go7950 series. The Asus C90S is being talked a lot about, but then again it fields a desktop processor so I'd be careful with it.
Generally, 14.1" is the optimal compact performance-portability, but you'll want to watch carefully not to buy one of those hotheads Phang seems to have experience of. I'd recommend you pop by at
Notebookreview, browse through the forums, and leave a post there for the "experts" to judge around. 15.4" and 14.1" will (probably) never be fielding x800 or x900 series, though, so that's a compromise you will have to take if you plan on desizing on a laptop.
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Originally Posted by Phang
are you sure you wouldn't be better off getting a 12-14" cheap laptop and a desktop? Gaming laptops are expensive and burn you. (This is the voice of rueful experience here.)
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Expensive, relatively. It'll probably still be cheaper than a 12-14" and a desktop. What comes to gaming laptops burning you, if you buy a laptop with a poor heatsink, insufficient ventilation, a prescott chip (Dell using already overly hot desktop processors on laptops), and a poorly designed case it's really down to your stupidity. The vast majority of gaming laptops won't burn you, but if you pick a bad one, obviously you'll be up for a rueful experience. But I guess it applies to everything. Buy a bad product, and you'll probably be unhappy with it.