HDMI Out - Picture Quality really 1080P?

[CoolioFoolio]

I am thinking of buying a Sony Vaio VGN-FW290 with a Blu-Ray drive. One reason for buying this would to use the HDMI output and hook it up to my 1080P Panasonic plasma.

My three questions are:

1. Should I expect a high-quality 1080P picture or something less?
2. Does anybody have a similar configuration that can speak w/experience?
3. Am I better off buying a stand-alone Blu-ray player if picture quality is my primary concern?

Thank you!