Best laptop for very fast data read/write, no gaming and with a long lasting battery?

[mlambert890]

Good evening friends.

What would you recommend for someone who needs a laptop purely for software development purposes? I will do zero gaming on it but it needs to be extremely fast in file processing/copying/archiving, loading time of applications(photoshop, etc.) and things like that.

Cheers.

Need more info... Most important are:

1) how important is portability? This is the BIGGEST factor... Whether or not size/weight matter to you and, if so, what is your tolerance. Some feel 7lbs isnt heavy. To me, 4lbs is a ton.

2) what is your budget? Enormous difference between "under $1000" and "up to $3000"