Laptop advice?

[RobA]

I use a HP/compaq nx6325 running XP.
-AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core
-2GB Ram
-80GB 5400RPM drive
-1400x1050 screen.

Love the screen resolution. Wish I had a 7200rpm drive, and wish I had splurged for the extra 2GB of ram.

I borrowed a friends fire-wire drive for a few days and set it up as my swap drive - performance went up quite a bit with any large images that got into swap space. I would suggest trying that on a permanent basis if you will be editing large images. (I believe Adobe actually recommends that the swap space be on a separate drive from the OS/application for photoshop.)

-Rob A>

[Aristotle]

I build my own desktops, but for laptops: Dell is pretty much the default. Get the better warranty if you can, and (though I've never actually used it myself) I'm told the extra accident care is worth having, especially on a laptop.

I'm not even a novice mapper, so my best guess would be to go for something with a good resolution and better than basic on-board video. A faster hard drive is usually worth it. Memory is expandable later, and usually at a good price if you wait a year, but make sure you get enough to not be a handicap from the start. When it doubt, look at the recommended specs for the software you use to map and aim to exceed them whenever it isn't cost prohibitive.

[torstan]

Does Gimp have any minimum specs posted anywhere ?

That accident care does seem to be a good idea. However I'm in the States next year so there's no point in buying a warranty that can only be used in the UK. I'll have to read the small print. It looks like I'll be picking up a new laptop after I move to the States, so I'll just have to bridge it for the next couple of months. Thanks to everyone for their advice. I now have a much better idea what I'm looking for.