looking for a laptop that's affordable that has:  
A.) - good RAM timings  
- pretty fast CPU  
- 3hrs + battery life  
- 60+GB hard drive (7200RPM?)  
- able to run the latest games/ music software/ macromedia, adobe, microsoft products, etc....  
 
need somethin i can use for school/research + have some fun with....  
 
B.) since something new's always coming out is it worth spending only $600-800 or should i wait and spend that, if not more on something later? if so, how long to wait?/what should i wait for?
- i'm really anxious to get a laptop so i can take it with me to research/study/record music,listen to, download,etc/and play some games too.... opinions?
 
just looking for the best bang for the buck... so if you could give me some brands/model numbers, stores, price ranges i should look into, etc possibly that would be greatly appreciated!
 
[P.S.can you install more than just memory/videocard on a laptop?) thanks in advance

Most Laptops in your price range will have intergrated vid card. Like my Compaq V2000. Has the ATI X200M. It plays BF2. But if your a big time gamer. That is not what you want.

I think you should look at the investment you have into your desktop and consider what you want a notebook for. Is it just a mobile typewriter to get by for school? If so, you can do that for the price range you are talking about.  
 
You also stated you wanted to play some games. As long as you are not expecting too much, and manage your expectations that you have a low tier machine or if your gaming is yahoo chess online stratego or Bejeweled or something like that you are set.  
 
I would look at DELL's deals, but your question about waiting is pertinent in that DELL's deals are best at their quarter end. Unfortunately this just happened about 3 weeks ago and you would have to wait about 2 more months to get a really good deal. The deals are pretty good for what you need though.  
 
Your other option is to go through Ebay.
 
This is a pretty good deal:
Staples.com has the Acer TM4222WLMi Notebook PC for $900 - $100 code 31716 [Exp 7/22] = $800 with free shipping. It runs on a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo Processor, with 1GB DDR2 Memory and a spacious 120GB Hard Drive. Burn all of your backups with the DVD+-RW Drive, and view your documents on the screen of 15.4 inches. Windows XP Professional installed.

basically, i need something to do:  
- web design/ photoshop/ macromedia stuff  
- basic internet/ typing (MS WORD) usage  
- some gaming (to play up-to-date games)
- recording/editing/listening for music at friends and other places....  
 
--want to get money's worth for a laptop, just don't know HOW MUCH is worth investing into a laptop... i'm anxious because i really want one eventhough i just built a new PC. i just want something to take with me for when ideas come to my head (for web design/ recording) and for homowork...  
 
thanks for the replys/ requests so far!  
 
P.S. i heard Dell's are cheap quality + horrible returns,exchanges, and support... that true? heard some stuff about Acer too, eventhough i really like their products

DELL is absolute garbage, you are right.
 
You listed photshop in there which is probably the power comsumer of the bunch. Photoshop does have threads in it to take advantage of dual core technology.

ok cool, so what's the minimum i could spend on :  
pretty good Graphics  
dual-core
for my preferences?
thanks again!

Like I said, that ACER is tough to beat.  
Core Duo 1.66
Gig of RAM
120 GB hard drive
I mean, yea it has integrated graphics, but this is an $800 machine we are talking about here.  
 

srry buddy no such thing exist... save up a couple more bills then go to killernotebooks IMHO, i was the looking for the same thing in the same way but had no luck he was the only 1 that even offered what i asked for at a reasonable price...

 
ok, dang
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hmm....
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well, overall i guess it comes down to how much i want to spend... i just really wanted a laptop for internet/word/ and some web design and mostly recording and being able to take it with me... seems like there's no appealing price tag as of now.
 
this was my original specs:  
512MB cache  
14-15in  
USB 2.0  
4.0+ hours battery life  
mouse  
AMD / Celeron M-> 1.7+ processor/ Sempron  
7200RPM HD  
bluetooth/wifi (?)  
excellent wirless
 
 
seems like $600 for basic/ $800 for more RPM/ $1000 for graphics/ $1200 for pretty good/ $1500 for mid range/ $1800+ for gaming/enthusiast or what are the specifications that contribute to the price?

What contributes to the price ogf a notebook?
1. Screen quality
2. The CPU capabilities
3. The GPU
4. 7,200 rpm hard drives  
5. Memory - high bandwidth, low latency, size of the chip etc.
6. Additional featues such as sound, card slots, internal wireless etc.

1. screen quality is a must... theres nothing better than hearing some1 saying WOW look at that crisp screen and shows the quality of the maker  
 
2. CPU is a large factor because if anything is considered old its gonna be this part so u gotta look for 1 w/ a furture... AMD is pretty much stuck on the climb while Intel is on the 2nd hill called Core 2 Duo so get a Core Duo at least
 
3. GPU its stuck on there for good and its a scary thought so get a good 1 if u want to even think about gaming
 
4. Just  a perference doesnt really affect it much, just ur patience, so are u will to sacifice price for lag?
 
5. Memory, ahhh the ram, u want fast and constant flow of a decent amount memory (553 4-4-4-12) or u want a slower flow w/ a large amount of memory (667 5-5-5-15)
 
6. Just get wifi and ur set and a dual layer burner =) everything else is just  appetitzers to the meal =)
 
srry if i say anything rong or offended anyones opinions but its what i gathered so far =)

The nice thing about higher end gaming machines is they have sweet GPU's like the 7900 GTX and those are Mxm3 cards, so they can be upgraded. The mid-range gamers... well, they haven't gotten around to not screwing you guys over yet.