Hi Brian,
I think I've read all of your laptop spec recommendations here, but I'm having trouble pulling the trigger and hoping you can help. And I apologize in advance, I have not been in the market for a computer in the past 6 years and haven't bought a laptop in over a decade so my market knowledge is looong out-dated.
I see Asus recommended a lot here, but to be honest the online reviews I've read (and 1 personal friend review) have not been positive about the brand overall. Is Asus generally the cost-effective way to get all the specs you recommend within some of the budgets posted here ($1k-1500)?
I've had HPs for the last decade and have always been happy, but I've never seen that come up as a recommendation here or on other photography sites. I'd love to stick with HP due to positive experience and familiarity/learning curve, but if that's not a smart move these days I will happily try something news.
Any thoughts on the HP ZBooks? http://store.hp.com/us/en/SearchDisplay?client=&searchTerm=zbook&search=&charset=utf-8&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&beginIndex=0&pageSize=50
My budget is ideally under $2k, but I could go up to $2500 if it's something that will last me for years and has minimal risk of needing repairs.
Also worth noting, I'm not ready to switch to Mac.
Thanks for your help!
Liz