which laptop should I buy

I'm going to use XP Pro for a long time yet.

I would get a HP from an office store with Win7 yes they still sell them. I would stay away from win8 like the plague from my own experience but then again I have been told I am just not smart enough to understand "the many wonderful things you can do with it".. Like throw it as a frizbee against a solid wall.. JMO.

First.. You do not need to rush to dump your XP machine, Microsoft has been persuaded to offer SOME support for a while yes as I recall.

I have a 15.6 " Toshiba Satellite,Windows 8.1, 500 Gigs.4 Gig ram USB 3.0 fairly decent processor. (C55D-A5381 if you want to check it out)

At the time I bought it the cost of a half Terabyte HD was 350.

I paid 250 for the computer. Deal of the week at Staples.

And that is my recommendation Watch for a very good deal

NOTE: Win 8.1... A serious learning experience. And a few things I still do not like.

Cheap and durable, asus.
Durable Apple mac book Pro

I'm very happy with my 11.5 inch ASUS notebook. $399 last year.

I have a Lenova laptop with Windows 7 (can you still get it?) and Intel's Core 15. LOVE this computer.........