I am a software analyst and i have recently purchased a laptop from

Http://www.evesham.com

They will build to your spec and are not stupid expensive like alien ware

Im on Vista Ultimate, 17' screen, 2Gb Ram, 100Gb Sata Hard Drive @ 7200, 250Gb Icey External Hard Drive with 1.8 Dual K2 Processor

Runs like a dream .net needs a patch to run on Vista but other than that you should be fine. £800 quid. (3Years Support)

The full spec of my machine would be 1700 from comet, currys etc

Give them a look