Performance opinions on this laptop

I was looking for a netbook with the ability to playback HD material (MPEG2 and x264 variants) and light gaming (mainly 2D types such as emulators), but current models don't have enough graphics power to playback anything more then 720p, and even that for many models is a struggle. So I've come across this laptop:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115569

and I'm wondering just what kinda performance can I expect with the hardware it has? Its a AMD Athlon 64 TF-20(1.6GHz) with a ATI Radeon X1200 IGP. I know that the video card isn't capable of playing any recent 3D games (not my objective with a laptop either), but what about HD video?

You could always wait for ion to really hit the netbooks.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...dexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/Mini/mini311_series

HP Mini 311 has ION graphics, might be able to configure one you'll like.

My only problem with that Ion netbook, is the price. I want to keep things @ $300 or less. I don't need a laptop/netbook for work, or serious play. Just to browse the web and kill time with movies/simple games while trying to fall asleep or out doing stuff (such as laundry). So anything more then $300 for me is not what I'm looking for. I'd like a Ion based netbook because of the size, battery life, and video capabilities, but since its new tech, it'll be too expensive till probably the end of next year when models sould be going available for under $300.

I'm in no rush though. If this laptop really wont fit my needs, I'll just keep looking. It just seemed to fit the bill, especially with the screen resolution (alot of netbook I've seen have smaller odd resolutions).

But if the graphics chip and cpu combo can do HD video just fine, then I'd rather grab this one now while its on sale and still in stock.

No opinions on this hardware combo regarding playback of HD video? The few reviews I've found on the video chip itself says that the gpu is capable of HD video playback, but theres no specifics as to what type (MPEG2, 264, AVC?) or size (720p? 1080i? 1080p), or even what cpu was paired with the gpu for the playback. I really don't want to get something that would require me to resize/re-encode a rip just to have it playable on the portable unit. That would mean I'd have to keep a copy of the re-encoded rip somewhere so that I can simply "grab and go" when I'm in the mood to watch a particular movie. I'd rather just "rip and go", since the ripping doesnt take that long and doesnt require extra space somewhere for a re-encoded copy.