@dough:
i think it will take quite some time before games require directx 10 (why didn' they call it directx x? ;)). when the gf3 came out it took some times before games actually made use of it's capabilities and years before shader support was mandatory in a few games. many games run on dx7-based cards even today. many of the games that required shader support even were much to demanding for a gf3. i would guess, that it's best to wait for the second generation unified shader cards.
i think…
my notebook (Amilo 1425M) is good for playing games and create stuff with jme… under windowsXP … but i'm start using linux (fedora core 5) and the ATI Dirvers dont work perfectly for me (9700Mobile). the OpenGL-part falls back to Mesa3D-lib.
shit stuff from ATI… :x
i go to buy a desktop-system in the near future and trash my notebook 
1500
the free software drivers from x.org/mesa now have r300 3d support with beta status. i'm not sure if that includes the mobility, but chances are good, that you might use them in a few months.
but i'm start using linux (fedora core 5) and the ATI Dirvers dont work perfectly for me (9700Mobile). the OpenGL-part falls back to Mesa3D-lib.
I use Ubuntu Linux on my notebook and the ATI drivers work well. the drivers are now in the repository and can be installed with just a couple commands. :)
output from fglrxinfo:
OpenGL vendor string: Mesa project: www.mesa3d.org
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
OpenGL version string: 1.2 (1.5 Mesa 6.5.1)
:?
shit
Sorry for digging up an old post, but since I feel my own computer is getting slow for jME, I looked into threads that dealt with performance and graphics cards.
Has anyone done any work on this ever since? I believe an '3D jMe Mark' would be pretty nice to have. Does not have to give you a honest to god comparison between different computers and set-ups, but the comparison from jME's viewpoint. Also - any advice as to what I should keep in mind when shopping for a new computer? Well… in 6 months or so 
this is one of the best jme project suggestion i saw in a long time 
take a look for dell laptops, i have a Vostro 1500 (business side) and it works so good for not so big investment
spec: Core 2 duo 2.2Ghtz, 2 GB RAM, 150 GB HD SATA II, NVIDIA 8600 GT (mobile), etc, etc, etc, for about ~ 1128 Euros with tax (so ~ 950 Euros without tax) price dated of november 2007
i guess dell will propose new laptop with spec updated soon , so take a look, but i think dell laptops have a good ratio price / performance …