Another Puzzle for the Experts

wynden · Post by **wynden** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:27 am

It seems I'm not the first to seek notebook advice here. Like wakeRhythm, I'm in the market for a laptop in the $1000 range, give or take, and I'd like it to be capable of handling graphics and video editing. I'm trying to figure out what would provide the right necessities, i.e. ports and peripherals, for amv'ing. I'm anxious about choosing one that doesn't overheat or fall apart within a year or two of use, since I'm a student and this is an expenditure I've been saving for, for a long time. I'd like to know what's been the most dependable and comfortable (helpful features, not too hot, etc), in your experience.

I haven't decided where to purchase yet; in store or online, so all brands are currently on the table.

wynden · Post by **wynden** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:29 am

I'm trying to figure out what would provide the right necessities, i.e. ports and peripherals, for amv'ing.

That should be hardware, ports, and peripherals.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:36 am

If you're dead set on a laptop, the only piece of Hardware that's a must is a DVD drive... There are RAM and processor recommended values, but that's really a factor of how much you're willing to spend vs how long you're willing to wait to do things. I can still edit things more complex than what 90% of the people here put out with my Dell Inspiron 1100. Sure, clipping may take 2 days, but it's doable if you're not going insane with your effect usage.

wynden · Post by **wynden** » Fri May 25, 2007 2:36 am

The laptop isn't my sole computer; I'm on my desktop at present and hoping to upgrade this one in the not-too-distant future to be amv capable also. But with school coming up I'm planning to get a laptop and I'd like it to be able to handle most of the same projects so I can work on them while traveling and such. I might not go crazy with special effects, but I would prefer it didn't take an inordinate period to perform complex tasks.

So you've had good experience with Dell?

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Fri May 25, 2007 12:40 pm

Yes, yes I have. Except the fact that i got the model of Dell that had a busted S-video jack, it's perfectly fine. And as to inordinate amounts of time, it's a bit like monitor size and screen resolution - you get used to what you work with. Extremely fast systems with lots of RAM are useful, but on a laptop you're going to be paying out the nose for it.

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Fri May 25, 2007 7:10 pm

you really don't want to get a laptop just for editing, but there are some things that you should keep in mind when you are browsing for laptops.

cpu: dual core = good. it might be a little hotter and kill battery life, but you will want that power for editing. if you are going to choose a single core machine I'd go with a AMD Turion processor (2Ghz if you can, but kinda get whatever you can)

ram: one area you really don't want to skimp on. for video editing, 1GB is good. Anything lower than that and you're pushing it. I made a few amvs with my laptop and 512MB of ram, but started getting memory access violations and decided to upgrade to 1GB.
2GB is great, about the most memory you can see in a laptop
you shouldn't worry about ddr and ddr2. whichever you get.

Hard drive: you want big, but you can get by with a small(er) drive. I'm working on my 80GB drive (made a few amvs with only my notebook's internal), but I do have 2 120GB external drives. comes in handy for storing lossless clips. The minimum you probably would want is 60GB

other: usb ports are useful, look for about 3 or 4 on a laptop (you can buy a usb hub if you need more)
dvd drive is a must. you only need a drive, not a burner (though it can be useful)
super multi is the way to go if you want a burner (it can read/write all dvd disks)
I'd suggest winXP. Besdies compatibility, XP uses less system resources (which would probably otherwise be used by your editing program(s) )

given that, some suggestions:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 1041006877

for the record, I have had good experience with my compaq presario laptop. No problems so far. I got lucky and have seperate v-ram (so it doesn't take any of the 1GB I have installed)

wynden · Post by **wynden** » Fri May 25, 2007 7:30 pm

It won't be just for editing, I'll also be doing general stuff like internet, email, etc. But I figured if it was amv-capable then it wouldn't have any trouble with the rest.

Thanks a lot for your extensive feedback. It helps a lot. I'm also interested in the fact that yours is a compaq presario, since that's one I've been interested in. I was concerned that the hardware of a compaq would be inferior to a typical HP, though.