Which MBP to buy for photo editing?

Hi First time posting here.

I've been waiting to purchase my first laptop and now need the experts advice.
I am a working photographer so heavy photo work.
Trying to decide between one of the refurbs now available (2.4 w 160hd) on apple ws or a new mbp?

I will do a lot of my work on my main mac but will do a lot of editing work using photoshop cs3 and light room esp when traveling. I shoot raw so need the extra space for storage.
Suggestions needed. I will max out the ram in whatever model I purchase.

I would like to have a larger hd then 160gb. If I purchase the refurb, what is the largest hd I could put in the intel
mbp's? (are you allowed to do that with your applecare)
Also saw some of the 2.33 being sold for $1499. Would upgrading that model do the trick?

thanks for the help!

Avoid the 2.33ghz models since they use "Old Fashioned" LCD screens as opposed to LED (better battery and color uniformity) and they're limited (i'm told) to 3gb of ram.

The new penryn 2.4ghz model's early benchmarks indicate that it performs just as well as the old 2.4ghz Santa Rosa MBP, despite having 1mb less L2 Cache.

The new CPU, however, has new features that will make it more efficient and powerful then the previous generation.

For your line of work, the multi touch trackpad should also come in handy (check the apple webpage for videos of all the features).

The largest HDD I've heard of installed in any Macbook series (pro and normal) is 320gb (Western Digital). This would have to be installed by an Apple Certified shop if you care at all about your Apple Care Warranty. ($40 charge from Mircocenter in Radnor PA last time I checked, should be similar elsewhere).

So, bottom line, you should go with the new 2.4ghz model, it sounds like it would be the best bang for your buck.

Good Luck

Nearly identical thread here. You may wish to review the posts there too.

Thanks for the tip...I will stick with the 2.4 version and have apple install.