QUOTE (spphoto @ Jan 8 2006, 09:31 PM)
Can someone tell me if a toshiba m45 1.73 GHz would be adequate to handle 45 MB raw files well?
While I'm not familiar with the model, the CPU is more than adequate.
QUOTE
How much of an improvment would a 2.0 GHz chip make. (about $200 more)
Going from 1.73 GHz to 2.0 GHz is a 15.6% increase in clock speed. Expect raw CPU performance improvements between 5% and 10%.
You're asking the wrong question, though.
What you need depends on what you intend to do with the raw file; if you're going to do a lot of work with simultaneous layers in Photoshop, you'll need a lot of RAM.
The answer to the correct question is: buy as much RAM for your laptop as you can afford.
1 GB is a nice starting point, though.