I have been making an effort to try to get more into PC gaming. I have been playing TF2 with limited success. it chugs quite a bit and not sure if it is connection issues or just my PC is shit. that's why I am having some conflict over which version of Portal 2 I should get. I checked SystemRequirementsLab and they said I don't meet minimum system requirements (even though the stuff they say I need from my graphics card are matched and exceeded by my card) and Game Debate says that I can run it on lowest settings. Here are my PC's tech specs: 
 
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit with SP1) 
CPU: Intel Pentium P6200 2.13GHz 
RAM: 4GB 
Video Card: Intel HD Graphics (According to SRL: 1.7 GB video ram, Hardware T&L, pixel shader version 4.0, vertex shader 4.0 and according to the Intel site DirectX 10 supported)
 
So I bring this to you, the Giant Bomb community. Do you think my system can run Portal 2 (even if it's on the lowest settings) or should I shell out the extra $30 and just get the console version?

I might be wrong but I think you would be able to run most modern games (perhaps not on the highest settings) and Valve's games usually run well on older computers so I don't see a problem.

Copied this from the Steam page of Portal 2:

• OS: Windows 7 / Vista / XP
• Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher)
• Memory: 1GB XP / 2GB Vista
• Hard Disk Space: At least 7.6 GB of Space
• Video: Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 2.0b (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher).
• Audio: DirectX 9.0c compatible

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/

Use this site, it is usually pretty accurate.

I cant say for sure because graphics cards like that are sometimes spotty with games, but I think you will be fine.

From the specs you posted it looks like you have a Laptop, not a PC. If thats the case then you need to remember that Laptops under perform for gaming and it will be hit or miss regarding what games will work well and what ones wont unless you buy a Laptop made specifically for gaming. Also integrated GFX tend not to be supported officially. 

I ran it on a 1.6 dual core processor with integrated graphics and 3 gigs of RAM with detail settings on high and full anti-aliasing at 30 frames per second. You'll be fine.