[Kybdi]

For the last 4 years I have been using my Toshiba Portege M750. Now my original reason for purchasing the computer was to do some light drawing in combination with some video editing done in Sony Vegas pro. As time went on I decided to move away from drawing and begin more into Photo Editing and more Effect based video projects in not just Sony Vegas, but also Adobe After Effects CS4.
My old computer has the following specs:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4 GHz)
Graphics: Media Accelerator 4500MHD
RAM Memory: 2GB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz SDRAM
Hard Disc Drive: 160GB HDD (5400rpm)
Operating System: Windows Vista Business (32-bit)

I am looking for a new laptop around 500$. I have seen some nice deals that meet all of the specifications that I want, but I was just hoping to maybe get some more advice on what I should buy and suggestions for any more laptops I should consider. My computer is mainly used to edit using Vegas Pro 11, but I would like to own a 64-bit operating system that I can run After Effects CS5.5 on. Now I'm not looking for an amazing laptop. Just something to work on when I'm doing small projects. I am also a casual gamer and I would like the laptop to have a decent graphics card.
A few things I am looking for in my new laptop:
Processor: Intel Core i3, or the AMD equivalent, and up
Graphics: 512mb-1gb of Vram (preferably a card that supports OpenGL in After effects CS5.5) http://www.adobe.com...cts/extend.html
RAM Memory: Not really a factor seeing as I can buy 8gb for no more than 50$ (hoping that the processor can utilize at least 8gb)
HDD: 320gb or more
Operating System: Any version of Windows Vista 64-bit

Here are a few laptops that I have looked into and meet the specifications:

• http://www.newegg.co...N82E16834215191
  
• http://www.newegg.co...%20AS7741G-5877

This post has been edited by Kybdi: 14 November 2011 - 06:16 PM

[LiveBrianD]

Those aren't too bad, gpu wise, considering the price. But for video editing, you might want a better CPU, like an i5. btw all machines I've seen lately shipped with Windows 7 64-bit. 32-bit is a dying breed. Most can accept at 8GB RAM (2x4GB), sometimes more (2x8GB), though 8GB modules aren't yet common.

[Dellinsp531]

The price is low. If you increase your budget, you can look into the sager np5160.

The sager has the OS as separate choice so you get get the laptop and install the OS you want. OR pay the site and they will install the OS for you if you can not get free from your school or other locations.

[waldojim]

Just so you understand, a $500 laptop will not do well running Adobe premier, or Sony Vegas. You are going to find yourself wishing for either a new machine with real power, or a desktop. Cheap Acer notebooks are just that. CHEAP.

[Kybdi]

waldojim, on 15 November 2011 - 12:41 PM, said:

Just so you understand, a $500 laptop will not do well running Adobe premier, or Sony Vegas. You are going to find yourself wishing for either a new machine with real power, or a desktop. Cheap Acer notebooks are just that. CHEAP.

I plan on using mainly Sony Vegas and a bit of After effects. So far the laptop that I have been using for the past 4 years runs them both fine. I could continue to edit using Pro 11 and AE CS4 if I chose to. 500$ is enough to buy me a laptop with a better OS, Processor, RAM, Screen, HDD, and a 1gb graphics card. Like I said. I'll only be using it for small tasks. I have a desktop to run the bigger things, but all I am really looking for is a cheap laptop to run programs that already work on my current laptop (except for AE CS5.5) I don't want something amazing. I just want something a bit faster and more efficient than what I have now.

PS: Vegas Pro 11 works just fine on my old laptop from 2007

[waldojim]

Kybdi, on 15 November 2011 - 07:26 PM, said:

waldojim, on 15 November 2011 - 12:41 PM, said:

Just so you understand, a $500 laptop will not do well running Adobe premier, or Sony Vegas. You are going to find yourself wishing for either a new machine with real power, or a desktop. Cheap Acer notebooks are just that. CHEAP.

I plan on using mainly Sony Vegas and a bit of After effects. So far the laptop that I have been using for the past 4 years runs them both fine. I could continue to edit using Pro 11 and AE CS4 if I chose to. 500$ is enough to buy me a laptop with a better OS, Processor, RAM, Screen, HDD, and a 1gb graphics card. Like I said. I'll only be using it for small tasks. I have a desktop to run the bigger things, but all I am really looking for is a cheap laptop to run programs that already work on my current laptop (except for AE CS5.5) I don't want something amazing. I just want something a bit faster and more efficient than what I have now.

PS: Vegas Pro 11 works just fine on my old laptop from 2007

Best suggestion for you is to hunt for a quality machine using the AMD A4 or A6 processor. Both have discrete class video performance destroying the 520m from the machines you looked at. For example, the Lenovo Z575.

The z575 won't be light, or powerful, or have any decent battery life. But they are built well, and the A4/A6 have an excellent balance.

Now, for $500, you only get a dual core, with the slightly limited graphics...

The other option I can think of off the top of my head, is the Lenovo E425. The E series belongs to part of the ThinkPad line, and is built even better than the Z series, though not to the same quality as the W or T series machines that Lenovo is famous for. That said, the E does come with an Anti-glare display, and doesn't cost any more to purchase with the A4. The battery life should be about 8 hours though. Considerably better than the Z575.

Anyhow, that is the route I would suggest... others will likely have very different opinions. I prefer to recommend quality first. Many times, even if the machine is a tad slower, quality machines often have happy owners.

[Kybdi]

The more I look the more it seems that I will either have to forgo a graphics card for a better CPU, or get a graphics card at the cost of a less powerful CPU. If I am to use this laptop mainly for video editing which one is more emportant? Would and i3 with 1gb of Vram outperform an i5 with Intel HD 3000?

[waldojim]

Kybdi, on 16 November 2011 - 06:21 AM, said:

The more I look the more it seems that I will either have to forgo a graphics card for a better CPU, or get a graphics card at the cost of a less powerful CPU. If I am to use this laptop mainly for video editing which one is more emportant? Would and i3 with 1gb of Vram outperform an i5 with Intel HD 3000?

It really is hard to say. Video cards are stupid fast for recoding video, but they often have a considerable drop in quality. That said, Intel Quick Sync is flat out amazingly fast for video work, on applications that support it. Any Intel Sandy Bridge based machine will have this option, and you would actually find that it will perform MUCH faster using Quick Sync than Cuda or ATI Stream. Also, worry less about the amount of video memory than the type of memory or chip that it is attached to.

Lastly, in many cases, the Intel IGP performs on par with entry level (520, 6400) dedicated video cards. They share the same memory types and bus width, so realistically, there is very little difference. Noting of course, that if your application takes advantage of CUDA and not Quick Sync, then any advantage is lost.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 16 November 2011 - 09:40 AM

[Dellinsp531]

waldojim, on 15 November 2011 - 12:41 PM, said:

Just so you understand, a $500 laptop will not do well running Adobe premier, or Sony Vegas. You are going to find yourself wishing for either a new machine with real power, or a desktop. Cheap Acer notebooks are just that. CHEAP.

Yes, that what I said. The budget is low. The Sager is only $729 (difference of $229) and it will be a great laptop.

[Kybdi]

Dellinsp531, on 16 November 2011 - 10:43 AM, said:

waldojim, on 15 November 2011 - 12:41 PM, said:

Just so you understand, a $500 laptop will not do well running Adobe premier, or Sony Vegas. You are going to find yourself wishing for either a new machine with real power, or a desktop. Cheap Acer notebooks are just that. CHEAP.

Yes, that what I said. The budget is low. The Sager is only $729 (difference of $229) and it will be a great laptop.

I know that it is a small budget. I am very firm on 500$ price tag and adding on another 200$+ would be very hard to do for me. I just don't have the money to get something so far out of my price range. Like I have said, I have a desktop for major video editing. The laptop I am looking for will mainly be used to do slight edits when I am far away from my desktop. The most intensive thing I foresee it doing is video editing in 100+ layers in Vegas (which my old laptop can do as well).

anyways...

from what I am reading it is better to go with an i5 with integrated graphics. Than an i3 with 1gb of Vram.

[Dellinsp531]

Kybdi, on 16 November 2011 - 01:43 PM, said:

I know that it is a small budget. I am very firm on 500$ price tag and adding on another 200$+ would be very hard to do for me. I just don't have the money to get something so far out of my price range. Like I have said, I have a desktop for major video editing. The laptop I am looking for will mainly be used to do slight edits when I am far away from my desktop. The most intensive thing I foresee it doing is video editing in 100+ layers in Vegas (which my old laptop can do as well).

anyways...

from what I am reading it is better to go with an i5 with integrated graphics. Than an i3 with 1gb of Vram.

Well, you could contact Sager or cyberpowerpc directly and see if they would help you build a custom laptop for $500 by using a smaller hard drive or different graphic card.

For video editing, you want a better CPU over GPU if you have to chose to drop one.

[LiveBrianD]

As far as I know, video editing software doesn't really use the gpu. Get a good cpu, don't worry about the gpu.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 17 November 2011 - 04:27 PM, said:

As far as I know, video editing software doesn't really use the gpu. Get a good cpu, don't worry about the gpu.

Yes they do. Though the exact software will determine the exact GPU acceleration in use.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 17 November 2011 - 06:22 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 17 November 2011 - 04:27 PM, said:

As far as I know, video editing software doesn't really use the gpu. Get a good cpu, don't worry about the gpu.

Yes they do. Though the exact software will determine the exact GPU acceleration in use.

What, with things like Nvidia CUDA or Nvidia quicksync? I don't know about other programs, but the video converting software I use uses 100% of my CPU and 0% GPU.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 17 November 2011 - 06:26 PM, said:

waldojim, on 17 November 2011 - 06:22 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 17 November 2011 - 04:27 PM, said:

As far as I know, video editing software doesn't really use the gpu. Get a good cpu, don't worry about the gpu.

Yes they do. Though the exact software will determine the exact GPU acceleration in use.

What, with things like Nvidia CUDA or Nvidia quicksync? I don't know about other programs, but the video converting software I use uses 100% of my CPU and 0% GPU.

Nero uses both Cuda and Stream, Adobe uses OpenCL as I recall, Badaboom uses Cuda, Sony Vegas uses OpenCL, and Mainconcept uses OpenCL as well as deep multi-threading.

[LiveBrianD]

So, if anything, this favors nvidia cards over ati ones?

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 18 November 2011 - 03:18 PM, said:

So, if anything, this favors nvidia cards over ati ones?

Depends on your viewpoint. I wouldn't use badaboom due to quality issues, the others don't suffer from them.