I've seen people ask about laptops and Vegas every so often so I thought I would post my 2 cents worth. I've been shopping for a new laptop to run Vegas/DVDA for a few months now and after seriously evaluating all the current offerings from HP, Compaq, Sony, Toshiba, Dell, Gateway, and IBM, I settled on a HP zd7000 series CTO (customize to order). Here are some of the reasons why:
1) Three words: 17" Brightview 1680x1050. I can't say enough great things about this display. It's wonderful! The productivity improvement alone having that much usable screen space was worth the extra $150. UXGA (1920x1200) is not available for the zd7000 currently, but that wasn't a big deal for me. I figured that resolution might make things too small.
2) The large screen allows for a full size keyboard with numeric keypad. :)
3) Built to order on HP's website. The ability to customize my laptop was great way to keep the cost and features exactly where I wanted them. They have a similar model over at Best Buy but it costs more and doesn't have the features I want. The downside of this is that it takes about 3 weeks to get your machine including shipping time.
4) I opted for the 3.2Ghz processor and it runs Vegas very well and very fast. I use Wiebetech Fire800 external HDs. Heat hasn't been anywhere near the issue I thought it might be, but I have a 3.2Ghz Northwood. The 3.0E option is a Prescott though, which would probably make your laptop a nice blow dryer as well.
5) Lastly, HP just started shipping 8x DVD-R+/- burners as an option for the zd7000s which makes them even more attractive for on the go or in the field video production. Unfortunately these came out a week after I bought mine :(
I've been very happy with my folding computer (it's too large to call a laptop) so far and I plan to use it as my primary editing machine for the next few years.
John
1) Three words: 17" Brightview 1680x1050. I can't say enough great things about this display. It's wonderful! The productivity improvement alone having that much usable screen space was worth the extra $150. UXGA (1920x1200) is not available for the zd7000 currently, but that wasn't a big deal for me. I figured that resolution might make things too small.
2) The large screen allows for a full size keyboard with numeric keypad. :)
3) Built to order on HP's website. The ability to customize my laptop was great way to keep the cost and features exactly where I wanted them. They have a similar model over at Best Buy but it costs more and doesn't have the features I want. The downside of this is that it takes about 3 weeks to get your machine including shipping time.
4) I opted for the 3.2Ghz processor and it runs Vegas very well and very fast. I use Wiebetech Fire800 external HDs. Heat hasn't been anywhere near the issue I thought it might be, but I have a 3.2Ghz Northwood. The 3.0E option is a Prescott though, which would probably make your laptop a nice blow dryer as well.
5) Lastly, HP just started shipping 8x DVD-R+/- burners as an option for the zd7000s which makes them even more attractive for on the go or in the field video production. Unfortunately these came out a week after I bought mine :(
I've been very happy with my folding computer (it's too large to call a laptop) so far and I plan to use it as my primary editing machine for the next few years.
John