I personally don't like hp's and the quality has dropped in recent times.

Although dell usually gives you pretty good quality for the price, I think thinkpads are very good quality and as long as you don't mind the lesser res screen I'd go with that.
And from my knowledge, it might not make the hugest difference in this case, but video cards will affect how things look while you're editing photos and such, but you can always upgrade the video card. same goes for ram... i'm guessing you're getting these online, have you had the chance to check out similar models at any store? sometimes seeing computers in person can give a better feel as to which one you'd really prefer.