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So what do you need from a laptop for typical photo work? Most laptops will likely do a decent job for basic tasks, but for the best digital photography experience on the road, here are the key specs to consider for an all-around balance of portability and performance.
Size
The size of your laptop is key. Larger laptops—those with a 17-inch screen—are meant to be replacement desktop computers. They’re technically portable, but you’ll notice the extra size and weight after lugging it around awhile. The best choice for a travel laptop is a 14- or 15-inch widescreen, which gives you greater portability without sacrificing too much display real estate. The widescreen format provides that little bit of extra space essential for Photoshop tool palettes.
Processor
Dollar for dollar, laptops generally lag behind desktops in processor speeds. That’s okay, though, because unless you’re planning to use your laptop as your primary computer, you can do your more intensive photo editing at home. Intel Core 2 Duo processors are the most common CPUs offered in laptops today, and one running at 2.0 or 2.4 GHz is plenty fast for your travel laptop. If you intend to use your laptop as your primary computer, consider spending the extra cash on the best processor available for the system you choose.
RAM
RAM is arguably the most important spec to consider for computer performance. Most imaging and video applications rely heavily on RAM to keep data readily available and speed behind-the-scenes calculations. Many applications will specify a minimum RAM of about 512 MB, but remember that this is a minimum. For optimum performance with large image files from multi-megapixel cameras, upgrade to 1 GB or more and you’ll be a lot happier. Remember that RAM isn’t used just for imaging work, but also for system processes and other applications you have running concurrently, so if you’re a multitasker, lots of RAM is a necessity.
To keep size and weight down, laptops usually have just two RAM slots (as opposed to desktops that may have four or more). How you fill those slots today affects your cost for RAM if you later decide to upgrade. For example, if your original configuration is 1 GB of RAM, consisting of two 512 MB chips, and you want to upgrade, you’re going to be discarding at least one, if not both, of those chips to make room for the new RAM. Consider this as you configure your machine. You may pay more for the RAM upfront, but you’ll save money in the long run.
Hard Drive
When portability is key, you probably won’t want to lug around an external hard drive to supplement your built-in storage, so make sure you select a hard-drive capacity that will give you room to grow. Get at least 80 GB—more is better. That’s because you’ll not only be using this space for applications and hi-res images, but you’ll probably have music files, videos and all the other documents and e-mails that you’ll want access to when traveling.
Also, applications like Photoshop use hard-drive space as virtual memory to take some of the load off of your system RAM (Photoshop calls this your “scratch disk”). System processes running in the background also rely on this, which is why your system can become unstable when you get too close to capacity on your hard drive. Since replacing a hard drive in a laptop generally requires professional assistance, it’s better to get extra space when you configure your machine.
Apple MacBook Pro. Apple’s sleek aluminum MacBook Pro laptops are available with either 15- or 17-inch widescreen monitors, and the choice of either 2.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz or 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors. They start with 2 GB of RAM, which you can upgrade to 4 GB. The base 15-inch model starts with a 120 GB hard drive, while the faster 15- and 17-inch models ship with a 160 GB drive; all models can be upgraded to 250 GB max storage. The weight of the 15-inch MacBook Pro is 5.4 pounds, and the price starts at $1,999. The 17-inch model starts at $2,799. 
HP Pavilion dv2500t. The new HP Pavilion dv2500t comes with a 14.1-inch widescreen monitor and a variety of Intel Core 2 Duo processors that range from 1.5 GHz to a maximum of 2.2GHz. You can configure your dv2500t with 1 GB to 4 GB of RAM and hard-drive capacity from 120 GB to 250 GB. A cool feature is an integrated fingerprint reader that lets you use your fingerprint instead of remembering passwords. The compact design weighs just 5.3 pounds, and pricing starts at $799 for the base configuration.
Dell XPS M1330. Dell’s iteration of the compact multimedia laptop is its XPS M1330, which has a 13.3-inch widescreen display. Customizable with Intel Core 2 Duos from 1.5 GHz to 2.2 GHz, this travel-ready portable starts with 1 GB of RAM, which can be upgraded to 4 GB. Hard-drive capacity starts at 120 GB and ranges all the way up to 320 GB. The great thing about the XPS M1330 is its small size and light weight at just 3.97 pounds. Pricing starts at $1,199.
Sony VAIO FZ290 Notebook. Sony’s VAIO FZ290 Notebook is equipped with a Blu-ray Disc reader drive, or an optional Blu-ray writer drive, and features a compact design with a 15.4-inch widescreen monitor. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor starts at 1.5 GHz and can be upgraded to 2.6 GHz; standard RAM is 1 GB, upgradeable to 4 GB. Hard-drive capacity starts at 120 GB and goes all the way up to 300 GB. The FZ290 also features HDMI output for high-definition viewing and connectivity. It weighs 5.9 pounds, and pricing starts at $1,148.
Alienware Area-51 m5550. Alienware’s top-of-the-line laptop for mobility and performance is the Area-51 m5550, a fast, 15.4-inch widescreen model with all the bells and whistles any photographer would want. Like all the laptops previously mentioned, the Area-51 m5550 has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 1.66 GHz, upgradeable to 2.33 GHz. 1 GB of RAM is the base and can go up to 4 GB of RAM. The Area-51 m5550 has some other interesting features like 7.1-channel audio and a monitor resolution up to 1920 x 1200 for high-def viewing. Hard-drive capacity can be as generous as 320 GB. Weight is six pounds, and pricing starts at $999.
Toshiba Qosmio F45. The Toshiba Qosmio F45 series laptop is a good all-around multimedia PC. It features a 1.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with options up to 2 GHz. The F45 has a storage capacity of up to 300 GB, up to 2 GB of RAM and a 15.4-inch widescreen monitor. This new laptop can be customized with an HD DVD reader drive so you can watch HD DVD movies while you’re traveling and an optional HDMI port for high-def output. The F45 weighs 6.6 pounds, and pricing starts at $1,249.
Gateway M-150. Gateway’s portable and affordable M-150 series laptop has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 1.46 GHz up to 1.8 GHz, a 15.4-inch monitor, 2 GB of RAM and a 120 GB hard drive. The laptop comes in two colors, and has HDMI output and a fingerprint reader for security to bypass logins and passwords. The M-150 starts at $799, making it a good value.
ESSENTIAL GEARTravel Display Shade
Laptops are great to have in the field for storage and review of images. But even if you’re sitting in the shade, it’s still difficult to see the display properly because there’s so much ambient light bouncing around. The Hoodman Laptop Hood slips over your display, and it’s like having a private studio on location. When you’re done, it folds flat and tucks away in the included travel bag, which can easily fit into a side pouch of your laptop case. Available sizes for Apple PowerBooks and PC laptops are 12, 15 and 17 inches. They also make a PC-only hood that fits 14- to 16-inch laptops. Estimated Street Price: $35. Contact: Hoodman USA, (800) 818-3946, www.hoodmanusa.com.
| Resources | |
| Alienware | (800) ALIENWARE www.alienware.com | |
| Apple | (800) MY-APPLE www.apple.com | |
| Dell | (800) 433-9014 www.dell.com | |
| Gateway | (888) 888-2075 www.gateway.com | |
| HP | (800) BUY-MYHP www.hp.com | |
| Sony | (877) 865-SONY www.sonystyle.com | |
| Toshiba | (800) 316-0920 www.toshibadirect.com |
