m4600 vs 8560w vs w520 vs others / Laptop for development and photoshop

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gjt86

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Oct 10, 2007
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Looking for recommendations on an affordable laptop w/ a decent display (1920 would be nice, but not totally essential - can always hook it up to an external monitor/tv). I mainly need this while I am away from my desktop and needs to be something that can handle decent multitasking and development work w/ photoshop for web. The ability to run linux in a VM would be nice, but it is not a concern - only a bonus.

I'd like to stay with a quad core, but in comparison to what I have now (a basement bargain toshiba c655d), anything works. I had the chance to play with an older MBP (2011/Lion'ish; i5 w/ 4gb) and it was eons better than what I have and seemed to work decently for what I need. I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on a somewhat outdated MBP though (2011/2012) for 500, w/ little DIY or upgrade possibilities (upgrading the RAM is nice though).


Any suggestions? Is a dell precision or thinkpad my best bet? W520 fits a nice bill, but seems to be dated now and I've been reading people have issues with them (still a good box all around I'm sure, just can't chance it). Thinkpad displays also worry me?

Some of the choices I have somewhat narrowed it down to, but am worried about aging hardware? Would like it to last a few years if possible...

w520
m4600
hp 8560w

Gaming not a requirement (would be a delicacy) as I have a desktop for that.

Something under 400 would be ideal, 500 is most. May be able to do 600, but thats pushing it and would only be if it was best bang for buck. Advice/Suggestions?
 
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