You sound like you know what you are talking about. I definitely need a new laptop. I have an old Lenovo, upgraded the ram last summer, and performance hasn't improved. I'm looking at 8 GB Ram, 1 TB hard drive and not sure what processor I need for a good performance. Right now mine is a 2.1 and think that is my problem. There are a few reasonably priced models on best buy with these qualities, but the processor doesn't seem much better. Could you tell me what I should be looking for and then I can check on sales? Thanks