laptop specs for photoediting

A Vaio is probably the best bet, yes. I guess the question is 15" or 12"?

You're looking for a Core2 based machine, ideally with 1Gb of RAM, 2Gb would be best if you're planning to edit panoramas or slide scans. If possible a 7200rpm drive, or a 5400rpm with a large cache (8Mb); 5400 is slower, but the cache might balance things a bit; 7200rpm tends to be noisier and more power hungry.

As to where? Check Tiger Direct and Newegg

Ditto with regard to Tiger Direct, they've been around for years. Never had a problem with them.

I'm a big fan of Buy.com. I wait for their "hot deals" and have been using them for years with zero problems. Also use PC Mall, or their Macmall partner. They have good deals as well, but I notice that some people complain about their rebate process more than anything else. Myself, I can't remember ever having had a problem with them.

thanks Lan and smokemon for replying.
I'll have a browse on tiger direct and the other sites you've suggested.

My budget is around $1500-1800 USD.
a lot of the Vaio's seem to have pretty slow hard drives - 4200 and then some with 5400.

As an aside how important is a dedicated video card? any thoughts about BruRay dvd player?

The thing is HDD rotational speed is a tradeoff; fast spinning drives are hotter, noisier and more power hungry. If you're trying to maximise battery life a 7200rpm drive isn't a good idea.

Since they have 5400rpm drives, check to see whether or not they have a reasonable size cache on board; 8-16Mb will provide a fair performance boost over a smaller cached drive.

Dedicated video card really depends on what you're going to use the lappie for; if you want to run 3D games then yes, you'll want one. If you want to run Vista with Aero enabled then it's probably a good idea too.

Blu-ray is nice, but it really adds a significant chunk to the pricetag.

Isn't this discussed in the FAQ? Have a look under Buying/Computers:

Of course I meant Buying/Laptops d'oh!

I'd worry about screen size less than the ability of the screen to display a properly calibrated image. The new MacBook Pro 15" looks to be the best thing coming. I have the current model which has plenty of power for photo editing.

Check this Rob Galbraith review

#6 - thanks for the link. Mac vs PC is a long running saga. I'm my family however we have PC copies of Office 2007, Photoshop CS2 amongst others so switching to Mac probably not a good idea now. As for the screens - I will probably invest in a 19 or 21 inch monitor for home to allow me to work on photos. I'll look into that closer the time.

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<hr>I'm my family however we have PC copies of Office 2007, Photoshop CS2 amongst others so switching to Mac probably not a good idea now<hr></blockquote>

bit torrent

I'll also mention that LED based backlights have been fitted to high end laptops for a while now; they're not exactly a new feature...