Recomendations for an Editing Laptop

Etronik wrote on 4/5/2010, 5:29 PM

Any suggestions or recommendations on picking a fast laptop for editing long format (up to an hour). We need to use laptops due to the environment of our projects. We are not doing intensive graphics, but we are doing many simple graphics for documentation purposes. We will be doing very little in the area of fancy transitions, effects, or using third party software VSTs or plugins. The only suggestions I have so far is to get 64 bit, i7 intel and Windows7 home.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 4/5/2010, 5:41 PM

Fast CPU, great screen, big hard drive. Those are the things to look for (in that order).

Laurence wrote on 4/5/2010, 5:50 PM

I'll add a couple more:

a firewire port that works for capturing HD video (many firewire ports won't capture HD video).

an eSata port.

a great graphics card (Vegas 9 doesn't use it but hopefully version 10 will).

a BD-R drive.

good sounding speaker system.

8 GB of RAM

asdrew wrote on 4/5/2010, 7:26 PM

I'm looking for one too, to do my weekly (1 hr) church service videos on. I have a scout leader who can get me HP business class machines at cost, so I'm considering customizing an HP Elitebook 8740w with an i7 processor:
http://h71016.www7.hp.com/MiddleFrame.asp?page=config&ProductLineId=539&FamilyId=3192&BaseId=32725&oi=E9CED&BEID=19701&SBLID=

It seems to fit the bill if configured right. It's a bit challenging to get simple straight information on how processors might compare. The info I find is often way to complex or way too simplified, and the price differentials between them are huge in mobile versions.

For cost reasons I may end up getting a desktop for editing, but then I still need a new high-powered laptop for worship presentation (MediaShout), etc

Oh, and the eSata port will be very important so you can use an external drive at higher than USB speeds.

musicvid10 wrote on 4/5/2010, 7:59 PM

I'll add a couple more:
A "couple" ?

a firewire port that works for capturing HD video (many firewire ports won't capture HD video).
Meaning for HDV? Most AVCHD is import from card or hard drive.

an eSata port.
Yep.

a great graphics card (Vegas 9 doesn't use it but hopefully version 10 will).
Yep, (but dream on).

a BD-R drive.
Preferably Writable.

good sounding speaker system.
With a 5.1 interface? Using WD TV Live on wireless network instead with great results!

8 GB of RAM
Yep.

NickHope wrote on 4/5/2010, 11:41 PM

My Dell Precision M6300 has served me really well and if I was replacing now I would almost certainly get one of the recent Dell Precisions. I read they can have up to 3 hard drives in them, and that's great for video, especially now that 1TB 2.5" hard drives are appearing. I would definitely spend the money for the 3-year warranty also.

farss wrote on 4/6/2010, 1:22 AM

Seeing as how no one else has mentioned this.
A better LCD display should not be overlooked as a desirable feature and HP do a number of laptops that use their Dreamcolor tech. I've never even seen one of these laptops but those that have use words like "jawdropping" and that was from a Mac diehard.

Bob.

asdrew wrote on 4/6/2010, 5:29 AM

It appears to be a little early to get the dreamcolor monitor at a reasonable price. On the one I put above, it is a $570 option. I think I'll have to settle for "plain" 1920x1200 :(
But I also always use a large external monitor when editing.

logiquem wrote on 4/6/2010, 9:33 AM

What about the NEW Dell Precision M4500 or 6500?

amendegw wrote on 4/6/2010, 9:55 AM

I've been happy with the following laptop I purchased from Costco for a grand:

Dell Studio 15 Laptop
Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz
4GB DDR3
512MB ATI Graphics
500GB 7200rpm Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Not a lot of screen space, but I opted for portability over screen size.

Rendertest-HDV gave me a 2:57 using V9.0c 32bit

...Jerry

robwood wrote on 4/6/2010, 10:30 AM

A word of caution: most laptop use TN panels. This means the monitor is 6-bit, not 8-bit.

The HP Dreamcolor and the more expensive Mac laptops are 8-bit. I think the Dell Studio XPS 16 is but not sure.

I guess my caution is, don't get hung up on image quality when it comes to laptops. You'll be in a number of different room (lighting) environments anyway, so accurate visual info isn't gonna happen.

I'd look for reliability in the build (hardware and OS), more than 1 internal hard drive, and a good CPU (i7 3G for instance).. this might cost $3K, maybe less as it's not quite on the cutting edge anymore ...still dunno what the best amount of RAM is, but read 6-12G is common.

good luck