Below listed the full specifications for the laptop, if you want to use windows XP its not recomended because it is a build for Vista and we you still can install windows Xp and get all the drivers for windows XP, i will add the driver shortly or if you urgently want the driver you can request it on the request driver section.
Gaming:
if you ask about gaming, im not expert with Intel Graphic but from my experience graphic card for most laptop nowadays support most of the games (not the games that really need high graphics). If you are gamers a laptop with Nvdia or ATI graphic is better.
For Student and Workplace:
Normally my costumer ask which laptop is good for students, just to type assignment and some slideshow,(power point), its simple, laptop nowadays have no problems with the task, it just need 1GB ram and 1.8 processor and above. Just sharing, i,m not really good with harware ratings and performance but just share what i think from my little 7 years knowledge.
Operating system
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1
Processor
Intel Pentium Processor T4200
Display
15.6" Diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Display (1366x768)
Dimensions
14.88" (L) x 9.9" (D) x 1.38" (min H)/1.72" (max H)
Weight
6.57 lbs
Memory
3072MB DDR2
Total memory slots
2
Maximum memory expansion
4096MB
Graphics card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M (shared) with up to 1309MB total available graphics memory
Networking
Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Broadband wireless
802.11b/g WLAN
Primary CD/DVD drive
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Hard drive
250GB (5400RPM) [gigabyte is defined as 1,000,000,000 bytes, accessible capacity may vary]
Primary battery
6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
Personalization
HP Imprint finish & integrated microphone
Front-side bus (processor dependent)
N/A
AC adapter
65W
PCI expansion
N/A
I/O ports
3 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 1 Headphone out 1 microphone-in 1 VGA (15-pin) 1 RJ-11 (modem) 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
Speakers
Altec Lansing
Software, full versions
Microsoft Works HP DVD Play Muvee Reveal Cyberlink DVD Suite Adobe Acrobat Reader HP Games Powered by Wild Tangent
Software, introductory versions
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition: 60 Day Trial Version Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 (including 60 days)
Trial Internet service
N/A
Basic warranty
1-Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Toll Free Support 1-Year Free Hardware Technical Support 30-Days Free Limited Software Support with 1-Year (from date of purchase) Free Limited Software Support with Product Registration.
