Hi,
I agree with Zombi - beware laptops with slow hard drives... The cheapest ones will have 4200rpm drives and these are absolutely DOG SLOW...
Mid-range and some high end laptops will contain 5400rpm drives - still slow compared to a desktop, but at least tolerable.
Finally, 7200rpm drives are the fastest you'll find in the 2.5" IDE form factor (as far as I know!) and these make a marked difference to the feel of the speed of the machine.
Generally, laptop drives these days are very easy to replace (one or two screws and a slide-out compartment), so you could always get a laptop with a slower drive and upgrade it later.
Or you could go for a "desktop replacement" laptop - these can be bulkier than traditional slimline laptops but use desktop parts, meaning they use faster 3.5" drives.
- Ali
