See thats the thing.
OWC RAM for macs is $30 for 2gb.
There you go 4gb... Don't get why you would need it though.
You need to not focus on the specs and focus on the quality of the laptop. Apple notebooks are always going to be very high quality laptops that will be extremely durable, and will hold their value for a long time. PC laptops, on the other hand lose, what? 30%, of their value in the first week. If its a mac, you could sell it for pretty much the purchase price, minus a couple dollars. Then after 2 years, its still gonna be worth something. In 2 years, you HP might get you 30-40% of its original price.