Laptop recommendations for Vegas editing?

[Bob Mark]

Well, my situation is this. I’m looking to replace my office desktop, but I also want a laptop for field use. I thought maybe buying a high spec laptop with a large screen would let me kill two birds with one stone. Thanks for the input.

Bob

[Fred Robinson]

It does. A desktop is always going to be better if raw power is all you’re comparing. But if mobility is even a small part of what you need, the laptop wins hands down overall. As long as it’s top spec, like mine.

[Bruce Quayle]

Hi Fred,
Are you editing HD? If so, what camera is being used to originate your material?

One last query: Do you have any CineForm products?

I am going to be on location for several months and will need smooth preview and playback (well, I would *prefer* it to be smooth!!).

I am shooting on an EX1r and will have an “HP dv8t” with i7 840QM processor and dual (7200rpm) HDDs plus 8GB ram. I’m wondering if I should spring for the $500 “Neo HD” product. It’s just that I’m already over budget and could use that money elsewhare.

Your thoughts please?

Cheers,

Bruce

[Fred Robinson]

I’m shooting full HD with a EOS 5D Mkii. And yes, I use cineform to convert the files as step 1. Preview is 30fps no glitches once converted to avi files with cineform.

🙂

[Dave Haynie]

While I agree it’s possible to edit on a laptop (and have done so), it’s certainly not the ideal platform. Sure, you can get a 1920×1080 screen on some of the better laptops (or even a 1920×1200, for the right price), but at what, 17″ or so. I’m pretty sold on my dual 24″ monitors for video or CAD work.

As for SSDs.. yeah, transportable, small, fast, and low power. But I think you’re either mortgaging your house, or using one drive per Cineform file 🙂 Real HDs are also portable, but you need a separate supply for anything of decent size, and that’s a complication. For a single project, though, a dual-drive laptop probably has enough internal storage, particularly with upgrades (my four-year-old Core2 laptop has 640GBx2 drives and the maximum 4GB DRAM with 64-bit Windows 7… it’s usable, just way less PC for way more money than my desktop).

-Dave

[Fred Robinson]

Yes, not disagreeing with that at all. But… …IF and only IF portability is a requirement, then a laptop wins this little battle. Of course, your ‘home base’ can have more monitors and HDs etc etc, as does mine. 🙂