i am about to purchase a pc laptop. my first. i need some advice. after days of research i'm pretty sure i want to get an HP notebook and am still undecided between two models. i'll be using the laptop for some regular daily use + video editing, not sure which platform. i have vegas on my desktop, so i'll probably stick to it. will be using after effects too. 5-15 min. short video pieces. sometimes i will be using a number of fx and will need a powerful machine, but these two models are the best i found for my budget.

[i took a look at customizing a Dell inspiron 6000. it turned out over my budget and besides, i tried calling their sales dept. a couple of times and the reps there were horrible. it was like talking to robots. every time i asked them a technical question they would repeat irrelevant information that they had already given me before. each time, got different rep. both were downers.] gut feeling = dell, maybe some other time.

here is a rundown of the specs on the two finalists. please give me your experienced opinion.

1. HP PAVILION zd8205us Notebook (REFURBISHED, 90 day warranty):

- Intel Pentium® 4 processor 520 with HT Technology (2.80GHz)
- 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (2 x 256MB) at 400MHz
- ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 with 128MB DDR (dedicated)
- 80GB 4200rpm
- DVD±RW and CD-RW combo drive with Double Layer Support
- 17.0" WXGA+ High-Definition Brightview Widescreen WVA (1400 x 900) display
- 54g? Integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN with 125HSM/SpeedBooster and BroadRange support
- 4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 1 expansion port connector, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1 Consumer IR (Remote Receiver)
- Dimensions: 11.43" (L) x 15.70" (W) x 1.96" (H)
- Weight: 9.38 lb.
- 12 cell battery (good for playing 1 hr. dvd movie)
...........$1200.00

2. HP PAVILION DV4000 (NEW, 1 year warranty)

- Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz) centrino technology
- 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (1x512MB)
- 128MB ATI MOBILITY(TM) RADEON(R) X700
- 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
- 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800)
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG WLAN
- 4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 1 expansion port connector, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire) and 1 S-Video TV out
- dimensions: 14.11"(W) x 10.16"(L) x1.32"(min) / 1.67"(max)(H)
- weight: 6.45 lbs
- 6 cell battery (good for playing 2.5 hrs. dvd movie)
......... $1370.00

and one other question: what would be better for video editing? 1GB RAM system memory + shared memory video card OR 512MB RAM system memory + 128MB dedicated video card?

that's it. thank you very much for any advice you can give me.

In regard to the video card, it's irrelevant to render speed. More ram is what's important for rendering. Either of those video options will play the video smoothly.

RAM is important for rendering? What do you mean with that DJ? CPU power is No1 factor I thought.

Adi, I think dedicated video card is better for any situation. Having shared memory for your graphics/display means the bandwith of the memory bus is always reduced by this permanent usage.

Also the second PC with the Centrino Pentium M CPU and the 5400rpm hard drive is a better choice in my opinion.

Thanks. Basically, the only things that the zd8205us has that makes it hard for me to choose is the extra 1.6" of work space. and since my budget originally was $1100, that extra $170 for the dv4000 is kinda painful....

so.... is it the PAVILION DV4000 ??

by the way the rep at HP i talked to was very knowledgable and helped me out a lot.

personally i'd get the zd8205us. i'd take a pentium 4 over centrino for editing/rendering jobs, plus you get 1.6" more screen size with a higher native resolution. i'd use that $1,000 you saved to buy a pcmcia firewire card, one stick of 1GB ram, a 60gb 5400rpm internal hard drive, and like two 300gb 7200rpm external hard drives.

and from what i read, you won't see any benefits unless you have a nvidia quadro video card and using avid. vegas i don't believe uses any video card dependent extensions.