I'd recommend the vertex, though other people are going to suggest intel or crucial in the near future. The former is better and costs more, the latter is worse and costs less. There's quite a range out.
However for the wifes laptop, a second hand ocz solid series would be ideal and far cheaper. People do complain about stuttering. If I never noticed I don't think the lady will do.
I vote for ocz for a few reasons. Firstly they were one of the first on the scene, and I think deserve credit for the gamble. Second their aftersales support is exceptional, even down to regular firmware updates for their drives. Third, I've owned a core v2 and a vertex and loved both. However in a strictly cost per performance rating they lose out to a couple of other drives, most notably the crucials. The good ones are really excessive for a normal laptop, a 2ghz c2d just doesn't need a vertex. Solid series draw marginally less power than the top performers too. Core v1 = core v2 = solid series, near enough
