What laptop should I get?

[ice_blockie]

I know you tech rev heads are out there i.e. apple and excal hehehe what laptop is out there and what should I look for?

I think I know my way around buying computers i.e. prices, performance etc but I'm not so sure about buying laptops (benchmarks, processors, graphic cards - all slightly more expensive in a laptop so I'm not really sure about prices and what is considered 'good')...

What I'm looking for in a laptop is:
* able to handle accounting software without a hitch (not too much lag if im trying to draw XXXX transactions)
* able to handle some gaphic/photo editing i.e. photoshop/xara
* wireless (but this is a given in a laptop right?)
* needs to be able to handle a gazillion programs at once (I severely over multitask i put my computer through rendering/accounting/word lol)
* a big screen around 16 /17 inch
* less than $2000 (give or take $50 or so)

Brands I'm considering are Asus, HP, Dell as a last resort (ugly things argh) but open to suggestion.

I'd really appreciate any help or any hints in general about buying laptops. Thanks!

[excal]

ASUS are good bang for buck. Their build quality isn't as polished as your Dells and HPs, but it'll do.

Look at this:
http://www.msy.com.au/notebook/notebook.pdf

A good model for you would be the ASUS N50VC-FP163C - plenty of power for your photo editing and RAM for your multitasking and photo editing. You can probably use it as a pretty decent gaming laptop too, looking at the specs.

Screen's only marginally too small; but seriously, in my experience, they become bastards to have to carry around.

And well under budget too at $1600.

[saRAWR]

I'm looking for a laptop under the same criteria, so would a Dell laptop be a good choice? If so, is there a specific type you recommend?
Much appreciated.

[excal]

If you have exactly the same criteria, then my post will give you the recommendations you need.