I am in the market for a laptop & I know that I would like to use it for DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING... The problem is, I don't know where to begin. Can you please make a recommendation? I am thinking of a model w/ 2 G of RAM and a screen size minimum of 15 (preferably 17").

I am pretty flexible on the manufacturer, although I have been eyeing Toshiba & HP lately. I have had sooo many problems w/ my desktop crashing, I really would like a RELIABLE computer. I can't download my pictures from my Christmas present (a Nikon D80) until I get my laptop. Please help

Well.. I would recommend the following minimum specs..
Dual core processor
2 GB of memory
15" screen with a decent display
80GB 7200 sata HD

After that.. its all up to you. I personally would go with a 17 widescreen display, 120GB 7200 HD and an extra battery. Acer and Asus both make awesome laptops but are lesser know companies to those not in the know..

I personally do not like HP for anything so I cannot recommend them.. Toshiba used to be the laptop king.. I can't say I like them much either. Sony has the best looking and feature packed laptops.. but they cost too much money. Dell has some great deals (coupons, discounts and closeouts) but their equipment and support has gone from A+ to C- in recent years.

Check out http://www.notebookreview.com/reviews/ for links to reviews - and good luck!

I have a Dell - widescreen - its nearly 18 months old now - (& Im in Australia tho so service is different - not that Ive needed it yet) - I love it - one of teh main reasons I got apart form being able to choose teh components I wanted ( 2GB RAM - 80GBHD and dedicated 256 Grahics card - not shared) is that the battery life is much better than most other laptops - I can run 5 - 7 hours on a full charged battery and since I use it to teach with too its fabulous - my kids also use it to watch movies for long car trips

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I just got a new laptop. Go for the largest amount of RAM which I believe is 2 G. Also get one with the largest HD space. Currently that is 160 G but I did see one that had 220 G but it had two hard drives. Monitor size? That depends I went from 14 inch to 15.4 - mostly because the smaller monitors didn't have the Ram or HD space I was wanting. I never compute at a desk- always sit in a recliner so the 17 inch monitor would be cumbersome. Just depends on where you plan to do most of your digiscrapping/computer work. ALso make sure the card reader will work with your camera card. My sales person responded incorrectly to this question and my new laptop won't accept my particular camera card. Also to consider that a new computer is going to be Vista operating system- not all older software has patch updates so you will want to research that also unless you are wanting to get new software also.

Good point about Vista.. I would find out if you can get XP installed.. if not, well.. good luck. You can get a laptop with 4GB of ram if you have the money - 2GB is not the wall. With EHD's being so cheap and useful, I would just see where that price point vs storage comes into play.. typically it is around 80GB (included in price) vs 120GB which costs more.. if it is $20, go for it.. anything more, just plan to get an EHD (I just bought a 250GB HD for $50 and another $15 for an enclosure..) when you need the space.. 80GB will last a long time if your photos/elements are on an EHD.

I really would inquire about XP and stay away from Vista.. just eye candy for now and really problematic for many programs. With everyone writing VIsta style apps for XP, I see no reason to go with Vista if you can avoid it.

Good luck!

Just bought my Dell:
Refurbished Inspiron 9400/E1705 Notebook:
Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5600
2MB Cache/1.83GHz/667MHz FSB
80 GB EIDE SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
17 inch UltraSharp Wide Screen UXGA Notebook Screen
256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400 HyperMemory
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Genuine Windows XP Media Center 2005
I added the 80 WHr 9-Cell Lithium-Ion Primary Battery

I jumped on it the minute I saw it had XP. All of the others had Vista. Might not be the fastest or latest and greatest, but it has everthing I need and will work great for me. Now let's just pray I don't need their customer service.

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I agree with Pesto, stay away from Vista. Looks pretty but has many problems. I tend to always be an operating system behind as it takes MS that long to work the bugs out. Well, not all of them. They never work them all out.

Get the best you can afford, the most memory, the best video card, etc. I have a Dell laptop and have never had a problem. Never used their tech support either. But then, computers are my son's job so I have my own personal tech support. My desk top at one time was a Dell but there is nothing Dell left on it. It is now one entirely built by my son.

Again, I'm with Pesto, don't like anything HP and I'm also not a fan of Sony. Also, as Ernie said, check out the refurbished at Dell. My son bought one a few years ago and never had a problem. Price was very good and he still uses it as a backup laptop.

Keep in mind, unless things have changed, laptop monitors are not true to color the way a desk top monitor is. You can't/couldn't calibrate them properly. I always use my desk top computer for processing photos. But then, my laptop is many years old. Perhaps they have improved.

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Hi Rae - you are still correct. laptop monitors are notorious for not showing true colors and most photographers who need to fix photos for a living stay clear of them. In fact, most photographers I know still use CRT monitors as they are still the most reliable to calibrate. The latest $1500 Samsung 20" LCD's are as good as the CRT's.. but - that's almost 2 laptops!

Referb is a great way to go... so long as you get a decent warranty with it. Dell tells you the reason for the refurb.. open box/returns are wonderful.. I'd steer clear of rebuilds - refurbs that were sent back to Dell because they were broken.

Good Luck!