Will this Laptop Do the Trick? at DVinfo.net

Scott Thibodeau · October 23rd, 2006, 11:28 AM

Hey there everyone. I've been searching for a laptop for the past week or so, trying to find something in my budget that can be used for editing video. I've narrowed it down to the following unit and was wondering if I'm overlooking something. I am new to this so there might be some features missing that will cause me grief down the road. Also, I will be using external drives with this unit and I have not decided yet on an editing package. Thanks in advance for your help.

Processor Type Intel Centrino Duo T2500
Screen Size 17.0"
RAM (Preloaded / Maximum) 1024MB (Exp. To 4GB)
Hard Drive 120GB SATA (5400RPM)
Optical Drives DVD Super-Multi Drive
Graphics 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300
Average Battery Life 2 Hours 17 Minutes
Product Weight 3.2 kg
Audio Type Software Sound 16-Bit Stereo
Battery Type 6-Cell Lithium-Ion
Cache L1 Cache 32KB/32KB, L2 Cache 2MB
Fax/Modem V.92 56K Data/Fax
PC Card Slots 1 x Type II, CardBus, 1 x ExpressCard (has firewire as well)
Pointing Device Dual Mode Pad
Preloaded Operating System Media Center Edition
Processor Speed 2.0GHz
Product Dimensions 39.4(W) x 4.19(H) x 27.5(D) cm
Removable Storage No
Screen Type Widescreen TruBrite Display
Speakers Harman/Kardon Stereo Speakers
System Bus 667MHz FSB

Peter Jefferson · October 26th, 2006, 08:20 PM

ive got a Toshiba very similar to this.. and judging by the spec, more than likely its the same unit..

i run everythign on it without a problem, and PremPro2 and AE using the Nvidia HW works a treat (which was one fo the reasons i got it..

funny.. cz since i got the laptop and saw the performance of teh GFX card, i upgraded all my machines to Nvidia cards..

dont regret it one bit..

the 7300 on thie lappy isnt the best of the numch, but for vide, its perfectly sufficient

to give you an idea of the gfx grunt, mine is a 256mb (128mb native+128mb shared memory) card and i run Doom3 @120fps and it doesnt skip a beat at full resolution
I also run 4 HDV tracks in PrmPro2 and it to doesnt drop frames, i just hate prempro2 though.. Vegas also runs HDV without a problem, but still is a lil niggly though but i did notice that its procesing of uncompresed AVI's to be much better on the lappy than on the desktop

I all im happ ywith teh perofrmaance, u just gotta remember to keep defragging your HDD, coz these run like a bag of crap if the drive is fragmented

Scott Thibodeau · October 26th, 2006, 11:28 PM

Hey Peter. Thanks for the response. I shopped around a bit more with the specs I was looking for and ended up with the following quote for around the same price:

"The best bet would be the HP nx9420 RB549UT#ABA @ $1828.00. It gives you the Core2-Duo T7200 2.0GHz, 1024MB memory, 100GB HDD, 17.0" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) screen, ATI Radeon Mobility x1600 256MB dedicated graphics, a dual-layer DVD+/-RW SuperMulti drive, 802.11abg Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, running Windows XP Professional. It has an 8-cell Lithium-Ion battery which gives ~4 hours usage.
The 8-cell secondary battery (PB993A) @ $189.00 gives you ~7.5 hours usage, and the 12-cell secondary battery (EJ092AA#ABA) @ $242.00 gives you ~10 hours usage. "

It should arrive next week and I'll drop a quick review on it. I'm going to upgrade the RAM to 2 GB and possibly pick up the extra battery. I can't wait to give the beast a run and also run a few levels of Doom through it. :)

Peter Jefferson · October 27th, 2006, 06:22 AM

not bad if its core2... im nto sure about teh gfx card, but this really depends on what u want to do with GFX... and ur nle of course.. for prem and AE, and almsot every other nle save from Liquid, the nvidia gfx card will come in handy, but apart from that, the system looks to be kick ass.. one thing i hate about "brand" name pc's is teh bloatware.. also i belie HP allocate a partition of teh HDD for all ur apps and recovery, etc etc, whereas toshiba provide everything on disc for you

either way, i can always rebuild ur partitions etc etc

that CPU WILL kick ass though

Scott Thibodeau · October 27th, 2006, 07:37 AM

I hear you abou the bloatware my friend and that'll be the first thing to go. There's an option to create your recovery disks and then there'll be a full reinstall minus crapware like norton.

October 23rd, 2006, 11:28 AM	#1
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	Will this Laptop Do the Trick? Hey there everyone. I've been searching for a laptop for the past week or so, trying to find something in my budget that can be used for editing video. I've narrowed it down to the following unit and was wondering if I'm overlooking something. I am new to this so there might be some features missing that will cause me grief down the road. Also, I will be using external drives with this unit and I have not decided yet on an editing package. Thanks in advance for your help. Processor Type Intel Centrino Duo T2500 Screen Size 17.0" RAM (Preloaded / Maximum) 1024MB (Exp. To 4GB) Hard Drive 120GB SATA (5400RPM) Optical Drives DVD Super-Multi Drive Graphics 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 Average Battery Life 2 Hours 17 Minutes Product Weight 3.2 kg Audio Type Software Sound 16-Bit Stereo Battery Type 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Cache L1 Cache 32KB/32KB, L2 Cache 2MB Fax/Modem V.92 56K Data/Fax PC Card Slots 1 x Type II, CardBus, 1 x ExpressCard (has firewire as well) Pointing Device Dual Mode Pad Preloaded Operating System Media Center Edition Processor Speed 2.0GHz Product Dimensions 39.4(W) x 4.19(H) x 27.5(D) cm Removable Storage No Screen Type Widescreen TruBrite Display Speakers Harman/Kardon Stereo Speakers System Bus 667MHz FSB

October 26th, 2006, 08:20 PM	#2
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	ive got a Toshiba very similar to this.. and judging by the spec, more than likely its the same unit.. i run everythign on it without a problem, and PremPro2 and AE using the Nvidia HW works a treat (which was one fo the reasons i got it.. funny.. cz since i got the laptop and saw the performance of teh GFX card, i upgraded all my machines to Nvidia cards.. dont regret it one bit.. the 7300 on thie lappy isnt the best of the numch, but for vide, its perfectly sufficient to give you an idea of the gfx grunt, mine is a 256mb (128mb native+128mb shared memory) card and i run Doom3 @120fps and it doesnt skip a beat at full resolution I also run 4 HDV tracks in PrmPro2 and it to doesnt drop frames, i just hate prempro2 though.. Vegas also runs HDV without a problem, but still is a lil niggly though but i did notice that its procesing of uncompresed AVI's to be much better on the lappy than on the desktop I all im happ ywith teh perofrmaance, u just gotta remember to keep defragging your HDD, coz these run like a bag of crap if the drive is fragmented

October 26th, 2006, 11:28 PM	#3
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	Hey Peter. Thanks for the response. I shopped around a bit more with the specs I was looking for and ended up with the following quote for around the same price: "The best bet would be the HP nx9420 RB549UT#ABA @ $1828.00. It gives you the Core2-Duo T7200 2.0GHz, 1024MB memory, 100GB HDD, 17.0" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) screen, ATI Radeon Mobility x1600 256MB dedicated graphics, a dual-layer DVD+/-RW SuperMulti drive, 802.11abg Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, running Windows XP Professional. It has an 8-cell Lithium-Ion battery which gives ~4 hours usage. The 8-cell secondary battery (PB993A) @ $189.00 gives you ~7.5 hours usage, and the 12-cell secondary battery (EJ092AA#ABA) @ $242.00 gives you ~10 hours usage. " It should arrive next week and I'll drop a quick review on it. I'm going to upgrade the RAM to 2 GB and possibly pick up the extra battery. I can't wait to give the beast a run and also run a few levels of Doom through it. :)

October 27th, 2006, 06:22 AM	#4
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	not bad if its core2... im nto sure about teh gfx card, but this really depends on what u want to do with GFX... and ur nle of course.. for prem and AE, and almsot every other nle save from Liquid, the nvidia gfx card will come in handy, but apart from that, the system looks to be kick ass.. one thing i hate about "brand" name pc's is teh bloatware.. also i belie HP allocate a partition of teh HDD for all ur apps and recovery, etc etc, whereas toshiba provide everything on disc for you either way, i can always rebuild ur partitions etc etc that CPU WILL kick ass though

October 27th, 2006, 07:37 AM	#5
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	I hear you abou the bloatware my friend and that'll be the first thing to go. There's an option to create your recovery disks and then there'll be a full reinstall minus crapware like norton.