Comments

PerroneFord wrote on 8/17/2009, 1:52 PM
7200 for sure.
RalphM wrote on 8/17/2009, 5:05 PM
I think the HP I bought several years back has a less than 5400rpm drive - agonizingly slow to respond.

There is a tradeoff: The faster the spindle speed, the more power consumed. If you use it mostly as a desktop replacement that's no big deal - if you like to run mostly on battery it cuts your run time.
Cheno wrote on 8/17/2009, 9:40 PM
7200 is nice if you're editing on your system drive which isn't really recommended anyway. Too much going on. You may want to look into an external drive for your editing needs.

Like Ralph said, faster drives = more power however most people I know don't edit sans hard power on laptops any longer - maybe some initial rough cuts but the benefit of the laptop is portability overall.
Laurence wrote on 8/18/2009, 5:19 AM
I wouldn't worry about the laptop's internal drive. I would however get a laptop with an eSata port for external drives that are every bit as fast as internals.
RalphM wrote on 8/18/2009, 8:18 AM
To amplify what I said above, I believe my HP has a 4000 rpm system drive. The general responsiveness is frustrating. Get at least a 5400 rpm drive, or get a prescription for Valium...
warriorking wrote on 8/18/2009, 1:55 PM
I replaced my 5400 HD in my Dell Inspiron for a 7200 and believe me the difference was quite noticable...go 7200...you will kick yourself if you don't...another important feature is RAM.... max your system if you can....nothing less than 3 to 4 Gig....
[r]Evolution wrote on 8/21/2009, 9:43 AM
My Laptop is a Dell 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 5400rpm and it runs just fine with no Lag and No Heat.
Up to a point it's comparable to my Desktop 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad, 4GB RAM, w/ multiple 7200rpm SATA drives.

I tend to use eXternal project drives w/ my Laptop so I rarely call for media from the internal drive. Rendering is faster on the Desktop but when it's Rendering... I'm not sitting there so I don't care how long that takes -within reason.

The 2 biggest factors I think you'll notice are HEAT & POWER CONSUMPTION.