Intel vs AMD in a Photo Laptop

I posted in the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" forums and got some replies, but I have not yet arrived at a definitive answer.

Which laptop processor is the best value for digital photo editing

and second

Which manufacturers have the best build qualities?

I am thinking about getting a Dell, but their build quality seems questionable - the price is good, but I'm a little nervous that the E1501 might be too much, and it might break easily.

I am willing to buy online or in store, whatever, I just need the best combination of photo editing and build quality.
Any suggestions?

 

What software will you be using to edit photos, Adobe Photoshop? Photoshop is optimized for dual-core processors, so any modern dual-core processor will do what you want it to just fine. Preferably, go for an Intel Core 2 Duo, as they are the fastest processors currently on the market. The Turion X2s simply don't match up, although they are not, and will not feel "slow."

Could you provide us with a link to your FAQ? "Best" is a tough term to use when talking about computer manufacturers and such. Any laptop you can buy today will do photo editing. There are no special laptops dedicated to photo editing like there are laptops dedicated to gaming, so it all comes down to what else you need the machine to do (portability, battery life, and so on), and that will ultimately make up your buying decision.

 

Instead of using the general word "best," how about..

It will move around with me more than a little bit, will last 3+ years, and I live in Minnesota - not a warm climate.

EDIT: Redoing my FAQ.

 

Your work is Photo Editing, =make $ = Good product, requires good software & machine. (Buy a dell, & you are in .ell). Intel mobile CPU > AMD mobile currently. Watch news for new Quad Core (Or overkill to edit?) current LT prices will drop some more (but probably not Mb or MbP)

What photo editing programs are you learning in class?? Do you like them better than M$ Adobe??

If you want to save some money & learn something, build own LT/NB up from a Bb kit and load Linux. Just choose screen size & GPU, then put in the CPU, SODIMM, HD, WiFi and O\S of YOUR choice. Some users of the same LT I have in sig run 3 different O\S to do want you want.
Otherwise listen to Wail http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=89056
& bump his rep.
IMHO-If you plan on carrying it, do not get 15.4, many are sold by tired out weakling students shortly after semesters start. Shoulders=light, smaller 13

btw, Your Gaming statements R contradictary
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Heh. I've tried playing first person shooters on a laptop with little success. RTS games. Maybe

I think I posted this earlier, [U DIDN'T] but I will reiterate:
The laptop will probably not be used for gaming - I have an Xbox 360 for that!

 

Thanks for the advice Doug. Like I said, the greatest extent I will be "gaming" on this laptop might be C & C Generals, which requires very little.

You have a good point regarding weight - making new FAQ now.

 

Don't touch quad-core in a laptop until 45nm and hopefully have independent power planes (or at least frequency scaling) unless you don't care about battery life. Core 2 Quad is pretty power inefficient unless you're actually using the 4 cores (or idling all 4).