Motherboard.and.GFX.Fried

I finally got the long awaited quotation from HP and the diagnostics results showed that my motherboard is fried. And if that's not serious enough, it took the ATI Radeon graphics card with it. Blast!!! It will cost me approximately RM 2,300 for repairs!!! *I feel like jumping off the building now*

So, should I scrap my hubby or should I save it? Scrapping it will cost me the RAM upgrade investment that I put in plus diagnostic fees plus possibly the cost of a new notebook that more or less have slightly better specifications than my hubby. Saving it on the other hand, will cost me the repair fees.

Initially, I was thinking that they maybe able to upgrade the Radeon card to atleast 9800 so that it will be Vista ready. But darnit, the motherboard couldn't support it! I also checked-out some available notebooks in the market but none could melt my heart or meet my minimum specifications.

The Core Duo deals were tempting but most of them don't come with a super-duper-ultra graphics card that I hope for. The Ultra-portables were sleek but I need more processing power (Hey! I'm a geekette!). Also, a wide-screen is a must!

I guessed I will probably save my hubby for this round and postpone my next notebook refresh to 2008. Maybe by then, more futuristic stuff will be available.