Editing Laptop

Brian Handler · June 9th, 2008, 09:18 PM

Hey folks,

I was visiting my parents and my father took the liberty of spilling a nice tall glass of beer all over my (fairly out of date) Dell laptop. He offered to split the cost on a new machine and I'm looking to pick up something that has the fortitude to handle Premiere (w/Cineform) and After Effects CS3.

I'm cutting HDV footage from a Sony Z1U and Canon HV30...not a big detail but whatever.

Here is what I'm looking at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220303

There are quite a few laptop with similar specs at lower costs but the 1gb of video ram is compelling (but necessary?) plus it's a brand I have a bit of loyalty to.

So, your thoughts and suggestions?

On a note: I've been told that I may as well go intel over AMD as the 64 bit processor is basically irrelevant without a 64 bit os and the only product that it'd really rock would be 3D studio max (which I'd use rarely).

Thank you for taking a moment to lend a hand. I appreciate it.

Brian Handler · June 9th, 2008, 09:24 PM

A slight amendment:

Is there an HDMI capture system to use with a laptop yet? Do we know of anything in development?

I'd really like to pull 4.2.2 out of my Vixia if possible.

Brian Handler · June 12th, 2008, 09:05 AM

140 views and notta :(

Here it is, can someone speak about video ram. I will do some after effects work and from what I've heard from unreliable sources...the program passes some rending off to a GPU. If so, I should prob have MORE vram.

Lisa Shofner · June 12th, 2008, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Handler

140 views and notta :(

Here it is, can someone speak about video ram. I will do some after effects work and from what I've heard from unreliable sources...the program passes some rending off to a GPU. If so, I should prob have MORE vram.

I found that having more vram helps my After Effects previews run a lot faster with less skipped frames. Also, if you want to play any games you are going to need that vram.

Hope this helps some.

Also, just checked the link you put up and I want to say that the ASUS machines are nice - just be aware that they usually run VERY hot. Meaning you won't be editing this thing on your lap and you'll be needing a cooling pad so that you don't burn it up. My guess is that hot is because of the high vram, but I don't know. A buddy of mine has had 3 ASUS machines and they all ran very hot - I saw the most recent one and the area where you'd rest your palms was so hot it actually burned the paint off the casing! But he did love the machine and is not as happy with his new HP.

Brian Handler · June 12th, 2008, 09:38 AM

Lisa...thank you very much.

A slight follow up0: I could go 4 gb of ram with only 512mb of vram...or as the system above is setup. For day to day just editing...which is it?

Also, good info on the temperature. I have (wait, had) an old dell inspiron with a real desktop Pentium 4 in it and it got hotter than I could ever believe. I used a blown out ibook as a shield on my lap so if this thing is worse it makes me nervous.

Hmm, tricky decisions these laptops.

Eric Lagerlof · June 12th, 2008, 10:46 PM

I believe that the video card's main advantage is in previewing faster, not in rendering faster. I know that in my Cinema 4D forums, that is the standard line. A lot of the power in the graphics cards is for handling 3d games.

Ram is always nice, most folks are suggesting loading up on Win XP Pro however, which only sees 3 gigs of Ram, the 64 bit version of Vista is apparently buggy and drivers are still scarce.

One thing I would have loved on my laptop is PCMIA options, for faster HDD hookups or HDMI or firewire 800 options, etc. As to the heat issue, the Intel Core 2 Duos run generally cooler than the Pentium CPUs, so that's kind of nice. You should find a good laptop without too much effort.

Brian Handler · July 10th, 2008, 05:51 PM

I picked up the Asus F8SP and it's pretty nice. I have cs3 rockin on it and it seems to move ok. But i'm a power hungry editor who needs mobility (so leave your 'buy a desktop' comments at home :P)

It came preloaded with Vista...I have a free license to XP.

How much difference do you guys think it'll make considering it's only a 2ghz dual core 2 w/ 3 gb of ram?

Thanks again!

Perrone Ford · July 10th, 2008, 06:18 PM

My thoughts...

Small screen, smallish and slow hard drive, and a bit thin on RAM. Also I don't care for the video card.

Why not check out the Dells? I just bought an M6300. That might be a bit pricey for you, but there are other machines out there that give you more options.

If you edit video, you know that screen real-estate is a KEY factor, as is HD speed.

Brian Handler · July 10th, 2008, 07:39 PM

uhm...perhaps we should read the last post

already bought there buddy and I'm quite happy with the screen size...looks nice next to my dell 30" lcd.

;)

Perrone Ford · July 10th, 2008, 07:42 PM

DOH!

How the heck did I miss that post...

Glad you like your new laptop. Dell 30" eh? Sounds pretty nice!

BTW, does the Asus run hot like the previous poster was saying?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Handler

uhm...perhaps we should read the last post

already bought there buddy and I'm quite happy with the screen size...looks nice next to my dell 30" lcd.

;)

Brian Handler · July 10th, 2008, 07:59 PM

came with a free cooling pad haha

anyways, with that sort of screen...the laptop lives pretty far away from my mouse or my lap

June 9th, 2008, 09:18 PM	#1
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	Editing Laptop - Yeah, I feel bad asking. Hey folks, I was visiting my parents and my father took the liberty of spilling a nice tall glass of beer all over my (fairly out of date) Dell laptop. He offered to split the cost on a new machine and I'm looking to pick up something that has the fortitude to handle Premiere (w/Cineform) and After Effects CS3. I'm cutting HDV footage from a Sony Z1U and Canon HV30...not a big detail but whatever. Here is what I'm looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220303 There are quite a few laptop with similar specs at lower costs but the 1gb of video ram is compelling (but necessary?) plus it's a brand I have a bit of loyalty to. So, your thoughts and suggestions? On a note: I've been told that I may as well go intel over AMD as the 64 bit processor is basically irrelevant without a 64 bit os and the only product that it'd really rock would be 3D studio max (which I'd use rarely). Thank you for taking a moment to lend a hand. I appreciate it. __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything.

June 9th, 2008, 09:24 PM	#2
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	A slight amendment: Is there an HDMI capture system to use with a laptop yet? Do we know of anything in development? I'd really like to pull 4.2.2 out of my Vixia if possible. __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything.

June 12th, 2008, 09:05 AM	#3
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	140 views and notta :( Here it is, can someone speak about video ram. I will do some after effects work and from what I've heard from unreliable sources...the program passes some rending off to a GPU. If so, I should prob have MORE vram. __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything.

June 12th, 2008, 09:38 AM	#5
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	Lisa...thank you very much. A slight follow up0: I could go 4 gb of ram with only 512mb of vram...or as the system above is setup. For day to day just editing...which is it? Also, good info on the temperature. I have (wait, had) an old dell inspiron with a real desktop Pentium 4 in it and it got hotter than I could ever believe. I used a blown out ibook as a shield on my lap so if this thing is worse it makes me nervous. Hmm, tricky decisions these laptops. __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything.

July 10th, 2008, 05:51 PM	#7
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	I got the laptop...now let's talk os I picked up the Asus F8SP and it's pretty nice. I have cs3 rockin on it and it seems to move ok. But i'm a power hungry editor who needs mobility (so leave your 'buy a desktop' comments at home :P) It came preloaded with Vista...I have a free license to XP. How much difference do you guys think it'll make considering it's only a 2ghz dual core 2 w/ 3 gb of ram? Thanks again! __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything. Last edited by Brian Handler; July 10th, 2008 at 07:48 PM.

June 12th, 2008, 10:46 PM	#6
Eric Lagerlof Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Pacifica, CA Posts: 348	I believe that the video card's main advantage is in previewing faster, not in rendering faster. I know that in my Cinema 4D forums, that is the standard line. A lot of the power in the graphics cards is for handling 3d games. Ram is always nice, most folks are suggesting loading up on Win XP Pro however, which only sees 3 gigs of Ram, the 64 bit version of Vista is apparently buggy and drivers are still scarce. One thing I would have loved on my laptop is PCMIA options, for faster HDD hookups or HDMI or firewire 800 options, etc. As to the heat issue, the Intel Core 2 Duos run generally cooler than the Pentium CPUs, so that's kind of nice. You should find a good laptop without too much effort.

July 10th, 2008, 06:18 PM	#8
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	My thoughts... Small screen, smallish and slow hard drive, and a bit thin on RAM. Also I don't care for the video card. Why not check out the Dells? I just bought an M6300. That might be a bit pricey for you, but there are other machines out there that give you more options. If you edit video, you know that screen real-estate is a KEY factor, as is HD speed.

July 10th, 2008, 07:39 PM	#9
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	uhm...perhaps we should read the last post already bought there buddy and I'm quite happy with the screen size...looks nice next to my dell 30" lcd. ;) __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything.

July 10th, 2008, 07:59 PM	#11
Brian Handler Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Muncie Indiana Posts: 118	came with a free cooling pad haha anyways, with that sort of screen...the laptop lives pretty far away from my mouse or my lap __________________ Email me for projects in Ohio or Indiana. Lighting > Everything.