Thanks for any help. I searched the posts and couldn't find any recent threads on laptops configured for video editing. Below are my uses and budget.

Budget $2k

Sony Vegas 7
Promotional video clips usually not more than 5-10 minutes in length. Capturing video with Canon XH-A1, ***.m2t files. HDV.
Usually doing color correction, adding music, some titles, very few special effects. Need a system that can stand alone in a mobile situation if needed for short durations of one week before sync with desktop.

I just wanted some advice before spending this much money. I'm planning on using the machine while in the field, but completing most projects while in the office with my desktop. Probably lots of previewing, splicing clips, minor corrections, and small amounts of render.

Just to add a little something else. I'm considering a HP laptop with 1.8ghz, 2 g ram, dual hard drives (5400rpm) total 250 gb, and windows vista. Any further ideas on this system which runs about $1500?

Thanks for your inputs.

Blake

Im pretty new to this myself, but am in the same boat as you. From what Ive read so far, the best bet would be to get as much CPU power as possible, and at least 2G of RAM. I wouldnt worry as much on how large the internal drive is, but I would look for something 7200 rpm. I would probably consider spending the full 2K on the laptop with cpu and ram, and trying to afford a G-raid mini, to help with more storage and data transfer speeds. Dont forget to get a laptop with firewire 800 to fully utilize the Raid setup! Should do well, but it is HD and it will still be pretty slow compared to a 4/8 core desktop. But its Portable! Hope this helps.

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Blake, IMO for HDV you a need 7200rpm hard drive on the laptop and something like a Western Digital My Book 500G external drive (or 2) as well; all running a minimum of Firewire 800.

This'll cope with backup and additional programs like titles etc. you're bound to add to your system over time.