In the market for a new PC Laptop

Hello, I am in the market for a new laptop, primarily for photo editing (not professional or for a business) as a hobby. I am a Windows person; I've purchased Adobe CS5 and also Lightroom for PC. My budget is somewhere around $600-$800.

What do you recommend for a nice smooth photo editing laptop? A friend recommended an Asus laptop with 8GB of RAM but it was over my budget.

I should better ask, what type of specifications should I target (RAM, Video Card, etc).

Thanks!

If you're not going to get one of the following laptops listed below then anything with the following will be fine performance wise:

• Intel Dual Core CPU at 2.4Ghz or faster in the i3, i5 or i7 flavor.
• 4GB of RAM
• SSD hard drive if you can, if not then make sure its 7200 RPM in the old type.
• Windows 7 x64 Professional (do NOT buy the home editions)


From laptopreviews.com:
• Lenovo ThinkPad X220 (12.5″, 1366×768, IPS, matte)
• HP EliteBook 8560w (15.6″, 1920×1080, IPS, matte)
• HP EliteBook 8760w (17.3″, 1920-1080, IPS, matte)
• Dell Precision M4600 (15.6″, 1920×1080, IPS, matte)
• Dell Precision M6600 (17.3”, 1920×1080,IPS, matte)
• HP Envy 15 (15.6” screen, 1920×1080, IPS, glossy with anti-glare coating)
• LG XNote P330 (13.3”, 1366 x 768, IPS, matte) not available in USA

Thanks. That's exactly the type of information I was looking for. Thanks again.

8GB of RAM would be a big advantage for editing images.

Out of curiosity.... what's wrong with Windows 7 Home Premium that makes it unsuitable for a photo editing machine?

Mahgnillig wrote in post #13731949
Out of curiosity.... what's wrong with Windows 7 Home Premium that makes it unsuitable for a photo editing machine?

Nothing wrong with Home Premium, I run it on a desktop and a laptop.
It only lacks some advanced networking features that can be found in professional.

There is a version called Home Starter that is not a good idea, primarily because it only supports up to 2GB of ram. It's designed for netbooks and very low cost laptops or desktops and I believe is only available from the large manufacturers pre-installed.

Thanks Moppie for clearing that up. I don't see too many laptops aside from business models that come with Pro, which is why I wondered.

Mahgnillig wrote in post #13731949
Out of curiosity.... what's wrong with Windows 7 Home Premium that makes it unsuitable for a photo editing machine?

Home editions do not allow you to configure software restriction policies. One day everyone will understand ...

http://www.mechbgon.co​m/srp/index.html

If your that paranoid, then as your link states, using Parental controls under Windows 7 Home Premium achieves the same thing.

I have the Lenovo x220T its a fantastic Laptop. I love the IPS screen and the i5 with 16GB of ram. It literally flies through everything. I though about getting the i7 version but the only difference was the cache and a tiny bit of speed. I now i wouldn't see a difference so I saved the money and bought 16GB of ram. its great on battery life, is small and light and has some great features such as a 54mm Express port which I dont know why they dont put on all laptops. I currently have a CF card reader in there all times and the transfer speed is phenomenal. I also have a USB 3.0 express port card. And the build quality is phenomenal, it doesnt feel cheap and doesnt flex when you pick it up.