Suitable Laptop advice

Brianh · #1 (**permalink**) 11-29-2004, 08:08 PM

I need some easy to follow advice please.
I have a good home P.C. with DVD & Rewritter. I also own a Sony Digital Cam Corder. About a year ago I purchased a Pinnacle DV Studio editing kit. It is very good & I have managed to (Eventually) succesfully edit one tape. I would like to spend more time editing tapes. I have two tapes of a holiday in Canada last year which I have transfered to VIdeo but would like to spend time Editing & transfering to DVD.
My problem is that the P.C. is a family shared one & is used by the whole family. My son spends hours on Footbal Manager. My Wife & Daughter frequently use the P.C. as well. If you appreciate my problem it is only fair that we all have the Family use.
So this gives me a few options:
Get another P.C. (Short on space)
Get the Family a Laptop ( Suitable Laptop for Sons Gaming is Expensive)
Get myself a suitable Laptop. ( I like that idea) But before you all rush to tell me don't, I have researched the issue & I am well aware of the problems with Video Editing on Laptops. i.e. require at least 7200 rpm. Pentium 4M, 2.5 - 3.5 ghz Processor. 512 mb, 80 GB Memory & at least 125 Graphic memory.I would however still like to use this option if possible. DVD Rewrite etc for burn onto DVD.
I would appreciate an expert opinion of whether this really is a sensible option & if so what are the most suitable Laptops on the market for Video Editing.
Please do not get too technical, just suitable advice please.

Marc Peters · #2 (**permalink**) 11-29-2004, 10:20 PM

What's the selling point of using a laptop for editing? Why not go for a LCD screen and Small Form Factor (SSF) PC? This wouldn't take up too much space, but would be cheaper for any given specification.

Alternatively, you can get some pretty decent (7200RPM) external discs these days. You might want to combine that with a laptop (with a gig of RAM and the biggest screen for your price range), then once you've finished the project, plug the drive into the family PC and encode on that. That way you don't have to worry about an uber fast processor.

Brianh · #3 (**permalink**) 11-30-2004, 07:01 PM

Marc, thank you for the reply, I appreciate your advice. Where can I find out more about SFF P.C.s? i.e. makes, sites, magazines.

Marc Peters · #4 (**permalink**) 11-30-2004, 11:05 PM

Evesham do a range under the e-style name: http://www.computershopper.co.uk/sho...yle-ii-32.html

Mesh have the cubex64 range:
http://www.comp-buyer.co.uk/buyer/re...4lan-xtra.html

Ian in Northampton · #5 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 10:51 AM

From the review of the Mesh system Marc gave above:

One thing you do lose with a small case like the CubeX's is any real scope to expand the PC by adding new components.

That's the only real downside to these SFF machines - limited expansion capability. On the other hand, the Mesh seems to have pretty much everything you'd want anyway, but it's worth thinking about future upgrades. (Not sure, for example, if the SFF machines will support more than one optical drive for copying, or more than one hard drive for optimum video capture. That said, from that point of view, they're probably no worse than an equivalent laptop).

Brianh · #6 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 07:13 PM

Marc & Ian, thank you both for the replies & advice. I will check these sites out.