discussed a million times over.

build a desktop. get a netbook.

I agree. Buy a refurb Dell quad core with hyperthreading desktop, max it out with 24 gb of RAM from Crucial, add a Quadro or FireGL graphics card, and a Dell Ultrasharp 24" Monitor.

And a MacBook Air for the road.

you will most likely need something that can crank out serious renders for studio, some laptops can do it, but they are pricy, follow i r giv up's advice, build a machine, it will cost you $300-$400 to build a rendering tank (will save you time too)! then get a cheap light thing to write papers on and check your email.

Capable laptops are necessary for some schools.  I custom built a 17.3" laptop through Malibal ( http://www.malibal.com/ ) for about $1600 then installed some extra RAM myself, though their low-end 15.6" laptop is more comparable to the Samsung you posted.

It is sort of a pain to transport and not for the tech-impaired (for example, it doesn't come with an operating system installed, which is good for those who don't want their computer cluttered with bloatware or want to customize their RAID setup, partitions, etc), but it is a fantastic modeling and rendering machine.  A 15.6" laptop would work fine too if you have a long commute and don't want to haul around something that big.

I'd recommend holding onto the old laptop if it is still working though.  If you aren't too afraid of linux, wiping the hard drive and installing Ubuntu is an easy way to turn an old clunker laptop into a relatively quick netbook, it just won't support any modeling software.

Thanks for the help. I like the idea of a cheaper, more powerful desktop for rendering with a lighter, more portable laptop. @Building: I'll keep the old Lenovo and try to revamp it by wiping the HD, but I don't know if I'm ready to install Ubuntu quite yet... But thanks again!

For those who use the desktop/portable laptop option...what is your workflow? (Just Curious)....

Do you keep your desktop in studio and if so how do you go about with safety

Or do you keep it at home and set up some synchronized system utilizing the web (dropbox, some virtual pc client, etc.)?

@kobe: i locked the desktop to my studio desk and no one messed with it (password protected it too), also, i used dropbox and my seagate portable harddrive to transfer files (seagates are nice because you can get these lovely docks for them!) 

As above...built a powerful desktop and picked up a 2.6ghz macbook retina for the road.  

About synchronization, I'd recommend Microsoft Skydrive (to Sync) and Live Mesh (to Remote).  I used to use dropbox and google drive, but Skydrive gives 25gb free and does the same thing.  

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-se-7520/pd?~ck=mn&~ck=mn

best value for money . this might cater your need

best  wishes