HDMI to VGA problem

Scenario:

I just got the Philips 32" PFL6704D/F7 120 hz 2MS 1080P LCD HDTV (slickdeals) with the following connectors:
* 1x Composite
* 2x Component
* 4x HDMI
* 1x S-Video

and these Supported Computer Resolutions:

1024 x 768 (XGA), 640 x 480 (VGA), 800 x 600 (SVGA), 1280 x 768 (WXGA), 1280 x 1024 (SXGA), 1360 x 768, 1920 x 1080

I have a dell inspiron 13" laptop w/ 1280x800 resolution and a 63 hz refresh rate on a Geforce 8600GT gfx card. It has s-video and a vga port. I wanna hook up my laptop to the TV and i wanna avoid s-video because i heard s-video looks like crap. I wanna know whether or not these will work at all and which one is better:

buy a VGA to component cable

or

buy a DVI to VGA (male) convertor to plug into my laptop and then a DVI to HDMI cable to my HDTV

I dont want to buy a VGA to HDMI convertor box because its too pricey for me. I already tried plugging in my friend's 1080p laptop with hdmi to hdmi cable and it looks great on the TV with 1378x768 resolution.

any help is appreciated

The VGA/DVI/HDMI is your best bet (less clutter than component).

What are you going to do for sound? Sounds like you have an older laptop and analog out is your only option. I have a Philips plasma and to coordinate the analog sound with HDMI you have to specify that in the menu options - mine is an older set so your options may be different. I'd check it out first to make sure you can get the sound recognized for the HDMI, otherwise the component would be your option.

The VGA/DVI/HDMI is your best bet (less clutter than component).

What are you going to do for sound? Sounds like you have an older laptop and analog out is your only option. I have a Philips plasma and to coordinate the analog sound with HDMI you have to specify that in the menu options - mine is an older set so your options may be different. I'd check it out first to make sure you can get the sound recognized for the HDMI, otherwise the component would be your option.

i've read that sound isnt recognized in the HDMI when connecting to computers, so i'll probably just plug in speakers to my laptop. I really just wanna make sure i can get a picture with the vga/dvi/hdmi method..