Ailienware notebook for editing? at DVinfo.net

Trond Saetre · May 1st, 2008, 02:18 PM

My 1,5 year old Dell XPS M1710 notebook died a week ago, and I'm concidering the options. (repair this one or buying a new notebook instead)
Repair will be almost $2.300 (motherboard, monitor and graphics card)

And now I have been checking which high end notebooks are available.

Have anyone used Alienware notebooks for video editing?
www.alienware.com

I know these might be a bit overkill, since they are marketed towards "gamers", but still I find them good options.

Any other notebooks (17" monitors only!) anyone could recommend?

Shawn McCalip · May 1st, 2008, 05:08 PM

I'd recommend against Alienware on 2 points: First, you will pay a significantly higher amount of money for those fancy paint jobs. As a sidenote, those fancy paintjobs make your smokin' fast new laptop highly visible, which may increase the chance for theft (depending on your environment) Second, I've heard MANY horror stories in regard to the lack of their customer service abilities.

Alienware gets the components and chassis for their systems from another company called Clevo. Clevo has a bunch of distributors here in the USA that sell laptops rebranded as "Sager" Notebooks. I bought a Sager 5760 from a place called pctorque.com about 2 years ago, and I couldn't be happier with it. My system was a little over $500 less than an Alienware system of the exact same specifications.

These Sagers are solid machines, but my favorite part about them is that several of the models available are upgradeable! It's very easy to replace almost anything from the hard drive to the CPU to the graphics board. In fact, I've already upgraded my processor and hard drive, so I'm set for a while. I don't know of any European vendors off the top of my head, but I do know that Clevo notebooks have a decent presence over there.

Good Luck!

Ervin Farkas · May 2nd, 2008, 08:00 AM

You might consider high end Sony Vaio laptops, they are geared toward multimedia enthusiasts. I have a 4 year old one (incredible 17" screen), still perfect for DV editing, marginal (but working) for high def.

Trond Saetre · May 2nd, 2008, 08:13 AM

Shawn,
Very good points you have there. The (lack of) customer service is a major drawback if that is correct. Theft problems will not be an issue now, but of course that might change in the future.
I will check out the Clevo/Sager notebooks you mentioned.

Ervin,
Thanks for the tips.
As of now, I only do SD video editing, but I plan to upgrade to HDV, and the notebook I end up with must be able to keep up with that.

George Ellis · May 5th, 2008, 05:22 AM

Look at the HP 8510w and 8710w workstation laptops. They have nVidia Quadro chipsets for graphics which fit into some of the advanced editors. Check your NLE's support pages for a possible recommendation.

Trond Saetre · May 5th, 2008, 06:37 AM

Hi George,

Thank you for that. I will check out those HP notebooks too.

After doing some research after my initial post, I have pretty much desided that if I end up with buying a new notebook, I will most likely go for a
Sager NP9262.
http://www.sagernotebook.com
That one uses regular desktop CPU, and I was thinking about the Intel Q6700 quad core.

For video editing in general,
Will a Nvidia Quadro FX 1600M be a better choice than a Nvidia Geforce 8800M GTX?

(btw, I use Adobe Premiere Pro 2, AE7, Encore 2...)

May 1st, 2008, 02:18 PM	#1
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Ailienware notebook for editing? My 1,5 year old Dell XPS M1710 notebook died a week ago, and I'm concidering the options. (repair this one or buying a new notebook instead) Repair will be almost $2.300 (motherboard, monitor and graphics card) And now I have been checking which high end notebooks are available. Have anyone used Alienware notebooks for video editing? www.alienware.com I know these might be a bit overkill, since they are marketed towards "gamers", but still I find them good options. Any other notebooks (17" monitors only!) anyone could recommend? Last edited by Trond Saetre; May 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 PM. Reason: spelling

May 2nd, 2008, 08:00 AM	#3
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	You might consider high end Sony Vaio laptops, they are geared toward multimedia enthusiasts. I have a 4 year old one (incredible 17" screen), still perfect for DV editing, marginal (but working) for high def. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 1st, 2008, 05:08 PM	#2
Shawn McCalip Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Anchorage, AK Posts: 315	I'd recommend against Alienware on 2 points: First, you will pay a significantly higher amount of money for those fancy paint jobs. As a sidenote, those fancy paintjobs make your smokin' fast new laptop highly visible, which may increase the chance for theft (depending on your environment) Second, I've heard MANY horror stories in regard to the lack of their customer service abilities. Alienware gets the components and chassis for their systems from another company called Clevo. Clevo has a bunch of distributors here in the USA that sell laptops rebranded as "Sager" Notebooks. I bought a Sager 5760 from a place called pctorque.com about 2 years ago, and I couldn't be happier with it. My system was a little over $500 less than an Alienware system of the exact same specifications. These Sagers are solid machines, but my favorite part about them is that several of the models available are upgradeable! It's very easy to replace almost anything from the hard drive to the CPU to the graphics board. In fact, I've already upgraded my processor and hard drive, so I'm set for a while. I don't know of any European vendors off the top of my head, but I do know that Clevo notebooks have a decent presence over there. Good Luck!

May 2nd, 2008, 08:13 AM	#4
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Shawn, Very good points you have there. The (lack of) customer service is a major drawback if that is correct. Theft problems will not be an issue now, but of course that might change in the future. I will check out the Clevo/Sager notebooks you mentioned. Ervin, Thanks for the tips. As of now, I only do SD video editing, but I plan to upgrade to HDV, and the notebook I end up with must be able to keep up with that.

May 5th, 2008, 05:22 AM	#5
George Ellis Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Suwanee, GA Posts: 1,241	Look at the HP 8510w and 8710w workstation laptops. They have nVidia Quadro chipsets for graphics which fit into some of the advanced editors. Check your NLE's support pages for a possible recommendation.

May 5th, 2008, 06:37 AM	#6
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Hi George, Thank you for that. I will check out those HP notebooks too. After doing some research after my initial post, I have pretty much desided that if I end up with buying a new notebook, I will most likely go for a Sager NP9262. http://www.sagernotebook.com That one uses regular desktop CPU, and I was thinking about the Intel Q6700 quad core. For video editing in general, Will a Nvidia Quadro FX 1600M be a better choice than a Nvidia Geforce 8800M GTX? (btw, I use Adobe Premiere Pro 2, AE7, Encore 2...)