Finding an affordable laptop is hard if you want it to run as smooth as your desktop.  In my search for a powerful and affordable laptop I finally decided on the Compaq R3000z.  I have never been happier with a new computer than this one.  For a little over $1000 I got a laptop with an A64 3000+, 256MB RAM, a GeForce Go 440 64MB, 80GB 5400 RPM HDD, and a 12 cell lion battery with 4 hour battery life, at full spew.  The system runs smoothly, I have yet to find an app that wouldn’t run on it.

The particular configuration I had is not the base configuration, a R3000z can be had for as little as $649 with an AXP 2800, 256 MB RAM, a GeForce Go 440 32MB, 40GB 4200 RPM HDD, and an 8 cell LION that gets 2.5 hours at full spew.

If you are looking for something powerful, and mobile, and you don’t have a lot of dough, get the R3000z.