Current CPU's to look for in a laptop (I assume you don't want a desktop replacement so battery life and weight are of more importance) are the Pentium-M and the Athlon64's, you'll most probably find the Pentium-M under the branding Centrino.
Your budget will be a deciding factor as well.
To get ideas,
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=19&l=en&s=dhs Inspiron 300/600m
and maybe here for a wider range
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...omize_start.do
Links purely so you can get a feel for what they are like.
Also get decent accidental damage insurance cover (either from the vendor or elsewhere) they come in very handy.