i agree, the best setup (both on mac and pc) is to have 2 partitions. so on a PC if you are (stuck!) on vista, a second partition with XP is the best way to go (my opinion anyway!). a clean XP without any additionnal drivers (ex: no print drivers), no extra FONTS, nothing else running and installed ...
i think most of today (recent) laptop will run resolume just fine, even with DV clip but the only concern i think it's the internal HD like you said... 5400 might not me enough.
anyone running resolume with top quality resolution clip on a laptop with an internal 5400 drive ? would realy like to ...