I’m Going Into Graphic/web Design. Computer Is Shot, Do I Go Desktop Or Laptop?

My 9 year old Dell recently became the newest paperweight on my desk, as it will not turn on anymore. It’s outdated anyway, an upgrade is necessary.
I’m starting into the field of graphic and web design and I’m used to being weighed down by having a desktop, well now this can change. I love the portability of a laptop but I’m fearing that a 17-18 inch screen will not be big enough. I’m going to be running a lot of Adobe Web Suite stuff (CS4) and if I’m not mistaken this is going to takea lott from a computer. I’m concerned that colors will also not be very true on a laptop screen as they would be on a good LCD or top-CRT monitor.
My goal is to spend under $2,000. I know for that much I can build a very nice, powerful desktop with twice the performance of a laptop the same price. As a student emerging out of classes would it be more logical to purchase a desktop for power, or laptop for portability? The ability to take my work to future clients would be extremely nice.
If a laptop, what would be a good route to go. I really want to stay away from Mac as they are expensive for the same amount of power I can get from a PC. If i were to get a mac would it be necessary to dual boot XP or VISTA in order to see noticeable differences inweb pagess or presentations?

My Hp Dv9548us Laptop Screen Is Not Displaying Anything. I Have To Plug Into A External Display To See Things.

Lately my laptop screen has been acting up, when I power up the laptop the screen doesn’t turn on or display anything, i can hear the computer starting up and it makes the login sound once it loads up the operating system but the screen does not display anything. When I plug it into my 17″ Dell monitor I can pick up everything in that monitor but still nothing on the laptop screen, when I go to display options it detects 2 screens and I tried extending to the 2nd screen and it still does not resolve the problem.
I had this same problem 2 weeks ago and I gave up and left my laptop sitting on my desk turned off for a whole week, my brother came in my room and started it up and somehow the screen just worked…with no problems, the screen was working for 3 whole days and displaying everything fine, and now the screen is acting up again, its as if the laptop does not recognize it.
Any suggestions please?

Can I Put My 2005 Dell Inspiron Hard Drive Into My 2008 Dell Inspiron 1720 ? (for Extra Memory?)?

I already have 160 gig hard drive in my current laptop…but the old laptop has a hard drive of 80 gig. Since I have an extra slot, and these are both 17 inch inspirons from dell… would this be a compatible fit?
If not, where are cheap laptop hard drives compatible with Dell Inspiron 1720?

Is It Awkward To Bring A 17 Inch Dell Xps M1710 Into College Class To Take Notes Or Is A Huge Laptop Normal?

I have a Dell XPS M1710 and am a little worried to bring such a big 17 inch laptop into class. But, it might be just me, is that normal?