laptop for PP

[Bob Cole]

Thanks for telling me about Sager. Looking at their website brings up another question: processor type/speed/HEAT. Sager, for example, offers AMD, P4, & Centrino.

Video editing on location may differ from most laptop use, in that the computer will be plugged into an outlet and left on for 8-12 hours at a stretch. I’ve seen a lot of comments about heat, and noisy fans to deal with heat. I assume the source of the heat is the processor, and I’ve heard some stories about melted components.

Adobe specifies “Intel Pentium III 800 MHz processor (Pentium 4 3GHz recommended)” which doesn’t necessarily address the laptop field.

Any recommendations/experience/unhappiness with the various choices would be welcome – especially from those who, like me, will be working on the machine all day or night long.

Thanks for all the tips.

— BC

[Videoe]

Adobe’s min requirement of PIII 800mghz will easily be surpassed by the any of the newer processrs, mobile or not. Stay away from Celerons, otherwise prety much anything will work… Bob, only you know your needs. My Sager is warm and heavy but I do a lot of 3D rendering, so for me, it’s worth it. For most editing, a lighter, cooler laptop will do great. If processors have you worried, check out “Tom’s Hardware Guide” or “Anandtech”. They’ll have good info on the graphics cards too. But first, think of what your needs for now and a few years into the future will be. If, for example, you are into making documentaries, battery life and portability may be much more important than processor speed. Choices, choices, choices…

[Dex Craig]

I’ve just bought a Dell Inspiron PM 2GHz with Centrino set. I’ve edited on it for a week and not run into a problem. I did get the 7200 RPM 60 GB hard drive, but use an external firewire / USB 2.0 exactly as described above and it works just fine.

The Dell doesn’t seem to get terribly hot, and we have three of the Dell XPS Pentium M machines at work; they don’t get hot, either. They do have fans going and they do make some noise, but it’s not nearly as bad as my old desktop that sounds like a helicopter lifting off when I boot it up.

As for the dual monitors — I specifically bought the Inspiron because it has the WUXGA screen — 1920 x 1200 — plenty of space to spread all my toolbars and timelines and windows around. I don’t need an extra monitor (except for the NTSC monitor, of course, which attaches through the DV deck via firewire). I’m happy with my setup.

HTH

– Dex