Miscellaneous laptop discussions forum: Which laptop to buy for powerpoint, video editing

Hello and thank you to the people who take the time to monitor this site. I want to buy a laptop that travels well. I will use it mostly for powerpoint presentations (hooked up to an LCD projector for projection onto a large screen). My powerpoint files are large with video and animations in them. On my current Dell Inspiron 9600 the video is choppy when it runs and the overall performance is slow.

I also want to do some video editing using Pinnacle Studio program and photo editing using Adobe. I probably will not do much gaming on it. I have done a bit of studying and I think I realize that I need a dedicated (rather than integrated)GPU with a decent processor.

I would really appreciate any suggestions as to which machines may fit the bill. I would like to keep it somewhere between $1500-2100. Battery life is not a huge issue as most of the time I will have the machine plugged in. Weight is a bit of an issue as I travel frequently. If it is worth it, I would rather spend a bit more for technology that may last for a few years (rather than have my laptop become outdated in 18 months as has happened with previous lower-end purchases).

Thanks, again for any help.