Looking to get a new laptop, any suggestions?

Since you have special requirements, I would suggest asking other graphic artists what their solutions are.

Macs are very popular among graphic desingers. I know someone who has two iMacs and a drawing tablet for each one. The tablets, i believe, are about $150 a piece.

I’m a graphic designer, and I’ve had my Macbook Pro for two years and still works like I bought it yesterday. I also love how I can run big programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver seamlessly without the freezes I had on my last laptop, which happened to be a PC.

I know a lot of graphic designers will try to convince you to invest in a Mac, but honestly, I know plenty of competent designers who have PCs. Remember, the computer is only a tool. Granted, from my personal experience, I’ve had fewer hiccups with my Mac than I’ve had with other PC based computers. But I’m not here to convince you one way or another, there are plenty of threads related to that.

If your current laptop works perfectly, research how much fixing the hinges would cost. If you can fix your hinges for a reasonable price, you can save the money you would have used to purchase a new laptop, and spend that on a spiffy new wacom tablet.

Are the wacom tablets worth the money? Is the pen sensitivity capable of handling detail? It doesn’t look like from the pictures, so I don’t really know.

I just got an HP mini notebook a couple days ago, I love it.

I am a graphic/web design student. The laptop I have is a Gateway T-series, 4 GB memory, 320 GB hard drive, I run Photoshop, Bridge, and Dreamweaver no problem, and I also have a Wacom tablet that worked out of the box with my system.

Paid $600 for it from TigerDirect

Don’t buy a tablet laptop, wacoms are a much better use of your money. They usually don’t have nearly as many sensitivity and pressure levels as external tablets. I got a Dell Inspiron 1720 and I think it’s great for graphic design if you don’t want a Mac. 17” widescreen, 1920×1200 resolution, a lot of computing power, etc.

And @Iclamae yes, wacoms are worth the money, its the best tablet you can buy.

@Iclamae The wacom I have is the smallest you can get and it is still amazing, I even use it as my mouse sometimes because it is so sensitive and easy to use.

Sweet. Thanks so much everyone. I’ll just have to get the money together then. :)