[Qgis-user] Poor performance on Toshiba Laptop

[acarvajales at fcien.edu.uy]

Dear all,

I've just started using QGis (Wroclaw). I'm working on a 120 mb .shp  
file, in my Toshiba L645 laptop. I agree it's not the greatest  
machine, but it is what i can afford (as of now, just a grad-student).  
This model includes core i3 cpu, with intel HD graphics, and 3 GB of  
RAM.

My questions to you all are...

a) shouldn't i be able to work comfortably with files this size? if  
yes, in my laptop is certainly not the case, and i would very much  
like to have a clue as to why.

b) the program keeps crashing (in Windows and in Ubuntu, keep in mind  
it's the first time i've had to kill a process in Linux to be able to  
continue working normally), is this normal?

c) do i need more RAM, do i need a state of the art video card?

I'm a total newbie to the world of GIS, being trained to become a  
biologist.. is it a matter of patience, solely? Trying, trying and  
trying?

Whatever help you can provide, it'll be most appreciated.

With regards,

Andrés.