Laptop for editing at DVinfo.net

Radomir Charapich · February 19th, 2010, 08:12 PM

I am in process to decide about my mobile unit for editing and presentation, I have plan to use Premiere CS4 for editing, Photoshop and Lightroom for photography. Below is a link for to laptops, Sony and Toshiba, please write you opinion, especially if you are editing on one of these,

SONY:
Shopping Cart

TOSHIBA

Shopping Cart

Perrone Ford · February 19th, 2010, 08:26 PM

Both links show nothing. But I couldn't think of a Sony or a Toshiba that I'd want to edit video on. Not HD video anyway.

Michael Wisniewski · February 19th, 2010, 08:36 PM

Check out the Lenovo Thinkpads, they're a little pricey but pack a lot of punch. They were produced previously by IBM. Also Alienware.

Might want to check CS5 system requirements to make sure the laptop can keep up memory wise and also graphic chip compatibility when the Adobe Mercury Engine when it comes out.

Radomir Charapich · February 20th, 2010, 08:39 AM

Thanks Michael and Ford, sorry for the link, I made some pictures of configuration for both. Ford could you please suggest some configuration?
Thanks, Radomir

Radomir Charapich · February 20th, 2010, 08:42 AM

I found on forums that so many people using Mac Book pro with dual Intel to edit HD, those two are quads i7 820 QM, and I choose solid state drive for Sony, I thought it will do a job...

Mark Watson · February 21st, 2010, 06:23 AM

Hi Radomir,

I have a Toshiba Satellite P200 model I got in 2006. I used it for 2 years for editing SD with Sony Vegas. I didn't like it, not just because it came with Vista, but Toshiba didn't offer any drivers for Windows XP, so I was stuck with Vista. The volume control was screwy. Keyboard had those flat keys which I find awkward to use. The model you are interested in looks like a nice machine, but from the reviews, it seems to have it's short-comings also. I have never owned a Lenovo Thinkpad, but I have researched them quite a bit in the past and I'd agree that they are a quality product. Don't know anything about the Sony gear. Didn't see any mention of ports in the specs, so be sure it has what you want (firewire, HDMI/DVI ??).

When I started shooting HDV, the Toshiba I had was really struggling. Someone suggested getting a Sager laptop. I'd never heard of them. I ordered a $4,200 customized laptop in 2008 and have been very happy with it. Great build quality. No bloatware. It runs Sony Vegas Pro 8, with NO ISSUES at all, even when chomping on 3 video tracks. Burning Blu-rays is child's play. Has never dropped a frame during capture and I can connect a firewire to my camera and can shoot and record directly into the laptop. I have all my programs and OS on a single 320GB 7200 HDD and two more identical drives in a RAID 0 configuration for my video files. Sager shipped my laptop with full set of recovery DVDs and also included drivers for 3 different versions of Windows. They are constantly updating their site with new versions.

Just to give you an idea of their prices, I went to their web-site and customized a model NP8760 for $3,149 with the following features: Intel i7 - 920XM 2.0GHz, nVIDIA GeForce GTX 285m, 17.3" 1080p HD LED display, 6GB dual channel DDR3 1333MHz, 2x 500GB 7200 SATA HDD in RAID 0, Blu-ray burner, fingerprint reader. Ports: Firewire 400, RJ-11 phone jack, RJ-45 LAN jack, HDMI output, DVI-I ouput, headphone, microphone, line in, S/PDIF output, eSATA port, 7-in-1 card reader, Express Card 54 slot, and 4x USB 2.0 ports.

Mark

Chris Davis · February 21st, 2010, 09:48 AM

I'm also in the market for an editing laptop. I've assembled a list of requirements:

1. Intel i7 processor
2. 8GB ram (or at least upgradeable to 8GB.)
3. 500GB 7200 RPM drive
4. At least a 17" monitor with the highest resolution possible
5. IEEE1394 (firewire) port
6. DVD/BR burner

- several laptops meet those requirements, but then I start getting more picky:

6. A 2nd internal hard drive (500GB/7200RPM)
7. eSATA port
8. HDMI port

So far I'm leaning toward a Dell Studio 17 that meets those requirements.

Gary Janello · February 21st, 2010, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Davis

I'm also in the market for an editing laptop. I've assembled a list of requirements:

1. Intel i7 processor
2. 8GB ram (or at least upgradeable to 8GB.)
3. 500GB 7200 RPM drive
4. At least a 17" monitor with the highest resolution possible
5. IEEE1394 (firewire) port
6. DVD/BR burner

- several laptops meet those requirements, but then I start getting more picky:

6. A 2nd internal hard drive (500GB/7200RPM)
7. eSATA port
8. HDMI port

So far I'm leaning toward a Dell Studio 17 that meets those requirements.

The HP Pavilion DV7 I7 is great! I have been using it with Vegas 9 for about 2 weeks and have not seen a problem with it. My last notebood was HP and I was very happy with it. HP was late shipping by a few days and gave me $150 credit.

My spec sheet:

I7 core
6 GB ram
500GB 7200 RPM drive
eSATA port
HDMI port
17.3" Screen
IEEE1394 (firewire) port
DVD burner

Radomir Charapich · February 21st, 2010, 03:58 PM

Thanks Mark for your suggestions, I will go to their web site, it sounds good, regards, Radomir

Radomir Charapich · February 21st, 2010, 04:08 PM

Also thanks Chris and Garry for your inputs, it is really helpful and I appreciate

Chris Davis · February 21st, 2010, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Janello

The HP Pavilion DV7 I7 is great! I have been using it with Vegas 9 for about 2 weeks and have not seen a problem with it. My last notebood was HP and I was very happy with it. HP was late shipping by a few days and gave me $150 credit.

Thanks for the heads-up, I see the dv8t meets all my requirements (except the BD-R burner) and has an 18.4" screen.

Pete Cofrancesco · February 21st, 2010, 11:06 PM

You can edit with most any laptop on the market. How fast you need/want will determine the price but ultimately your budget will dictate what you can get.

Pointing out the obvious draw backs compared to a desktop:
-more expensive (as you approach the high end the prices really jump exponentially)
-won't last as long (especially under video editing hard use)
-hardware limitations such as hard drive, ram, video card, etc
-external connections usb/fw/express card are slower in my experience

Get an Intel i processor if you can afford it. The duo is becoming yesterday's cpu.

John Wiley · March 4th, 2010, 05:43 PM

I'm looking to upgrade my laptop as well, though everything mentioned in this thread is waaay out of my price range. My main reason for upgrading is to have two laptops so one can be editing/working/capturing while the other is rendering/transcoding etc. As such I am only looking for a minor upgrage for minimal cost.

Currently I'm on a 2.0ghz core 2 duo with 4gb ram and using Vegas 8.0 and occasionally Premiere CS3. Most of my editing is HDV and I've been happy with the performance so far. I am looking at getting an i5 420m 2.26ghz laptop with 4gb ram. Will this system give me a noticable performance boost while editing? What about render times? I'm not expecting to be able to edit AVCHD natively or change my workflow dramatically, just hoping for a slight performance boost and the convenience of a second PC.

I know I could pay double or triple the price and get a really solid i7 setup, and further down the track I will, but for now I'm just wondering what sort out performance you get out of the super affordable i5's compared to older core 2 duo's.

February 19th, 2010, 08:12 PM	#1
Radomir Charapich New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pittsburgh - Toronto Posts: 22	Laptop for editing I am in process to decide about my mobile unit for editing and presentation, I have plan to use Premiere CS4 for editing, Photoshop and Lightroom for photography. Below is a link for to laptops, Sony and Toshiba, please write you opinion, especially if you are editing on one of these, SONY: Shopping Cart TOSHIBA Shopping Cart

February 19th, 2010, 08:26 PM	#2
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	Both links show nothing. But I couldn't think of a Sony or a Toshiba that I'd want to edit video on. Not HD video anyway. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

February 19th, 2010, 08:36 PM	#3
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Check out the Lenovo Thinkpads, they're a little pricey but pack a lot of punch. They were produced previously by IBM. Also Alienware. Might want to check CS5 system requirements to make sure the laptop can keep up memory wise and also graphic chip compatibility when the Adobe Mercury Engine when it comes out. __________________ "Ultimately, the most extraordinary thing, in a frame, is a human being." - Martin Scorsese

February 20th, 2010, 08:39 AM	#4
Radomir Charapich New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pittsburgh - Toronto Posts: 22	sorry for link... Thanks Michael and Ford, sorry for the link, I made some pictures of configuration for both. Ford could you please suggest some configuration? Thanks, Radomir Attached Thumbnails

February 20th, 2010, 08:42 AM	#5
Radomir Charapich New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pittsburgh - Toronto Posts: 22	and.. I found on forums that so many people using Mac Book pro with dual Intel to edit HD, those two are quads i7 820 QM, and I choose solid state drive for Sony, I thought it will do a job...

February 21st, 2010, 06:23 AM	#6
Mark Watson Major Player Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Whidbey Island Posts: 873	Hi Radomir, I have a Toshiba Satellite P200 model I got in 2006. I used it for 2 years for editing SD with Sony Vegas. I didn't like it, not just because it came with Vista, but Toshiba didn't offer any drivers for Windows XP, so I was stuck with Vista. The volume control was screwy. Keyboard had those flat keys which I find awkward to use. The model you are interested in looks like a nice machine, but from the reviews, it seems to have it's short-comings also. I have never owned a Lenovo Thinkpad, but I have researched them quite a bit in the past and I'd agree that they are a quality product. Don't know anything about the Sony gear. Didn't see any mention of ports in the specs, so be sure it has what you want (firewire, HDMI/DVI ??). When I started shooting HDV, the Toshiba I had was really struggling. Someone suggested getting a Sager laptop. I'd never heard of them. I ordered a $4,200 customized laptop in 2008 and have been very happy with it. Great build quality. No bloatware. It runs Sony Vegas Pro 8, with NO ISSUES at all, even when chomping on 3 video tracks. Burning Blu-rays is child's play. Has never dropped a frame during capture and I can connect a firewire to my camera and can shoot and record directly into the laptop. I have all my programs and OS on a single 320GB 7200 HDD and two more identical drives in a RAID 0 configuration for my video files. Sager shipped my laptop with full set of recovery DVDs and also included drivers for 3 different versions of Windows. They are constantly updating their site with new versions. Just to give you an idea of their prices, I went to their web-site and customized a model NP8760 for $3,149 with the following features: Intel i7 - 920XM 2.0GHz, nVIDIA GeForce GTX 285m, 17.3" 1080p HD LED display, 6GB dual channel DDR3 1333MHz, 2x 500GB 7200 SATA HDD in RAID 0, Blu-ray burner, fingerprint reader. Ports: Firewire 400, RJ-11 phone jack, RJ-45 LAN jack, HDMI output, DVI-I ouput, headphone, microphone, line in, S/PDIF output, eSATA port, 7-in-1 card reader, Express Card 54 slot, and 4x USB 2.0 ports. Mark

February 21st, 2010, 09:48 AM	#7
Chris Davis Trustee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willmar, MN Posts: 1,400	I'm also in the market for an editing laptop. I've assembled a list of requirements: 1. Intel i7 processor 2. 8GB ram (or at least upgradeable to 8GB.) 3. 500GB 7200 RPM drive 4. At least a 17" monitor with the highest resolution possible 5. IEEE1394 (firewire) port 6. DVD/BR burner - several laptops meet those requirements, but then I start getting more picky: 6. A 2nd internal hard drive (500GB/7200RPM) 7. eSATA port 8. HDMI port So far I'm leaning toward a Dell Studio 17 that meets those requirements.

February 21st, 2010, 03:58 PM	#9
Radomir Charapich New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pittsburgh - Toronto Posts: 22	Shopping for Laptop Thanks Mark for your suggestions, I will go to their web site, it sounds good, regards, Radomir

February 21st, 2010, 04:08 PM	#10
Radomir Charapich New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pittsburgh - Toronto Posts: 22	Laptop shopping Also thanks Chris and Garry for your inputs, it is really helpful and I appreciate

February 21st, 2010, 11:06 PM	#12
Pete Cofrancesco Inner Circle Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA Posts: 3,005	You can edit with most any laptop on the market. How fast you need/want will determine the price but ultimately your budget will dictate what you can get. Pointing out the obvious draw backs compared to a desktop: -more expensive (as you approach the high end the prices really jump exponentially) -won't last as long (especially under video editing hard use) -hardware limitations such as hard drive, ram, video card, etc -external connections usb/fw/express card are slower in my experience Get an Intel i processor if you can afford it. The duo is becoming yesterday's cpu.

March 4th, 2010, 05:43 PM	#13
John Wiley Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Byron Bay, Australia Posts: 1,155	I'm looking to upgrade my laptop as well, though everything mentioned in this thread is waaay out of my price range. My main reason for upgrading is to have two laptops so one can be editing/working/capturing while the other is rendering/transcoding etc. As such I am only looking for a minor upgrage for minimal cost. Currently I'm on a 2.0ghz core 2 duo with 4gb ram and using Vegas 8.0 and occasionally Premiere CS3. Most of my editing is HDV and I've been happy with the performance so far. I am looking at getting an i5 420m 2.26ghz laptop with 4gb ram. Will this system give me a noticable performance boost while editing? What about render times? I'm not expecting to be able to edit AVCHD natively or change my workflow dramatically, just hoping for a slight performance boost and the convenience of a second PC. I know I could pay double or triple the price and get a really solid i7 setup, and further down the track I will, but for now I'm just wondering what sort out performance you get out of the super affordable i5's compared to older core 2 duo's.