Laptop for encoding

[VaShy23]

I was recently promised a laptop for college around the $1500 range. All i would basically use a laptop for beside schoolwork is just encoding dvd's and watching movies. Since im not that much of a hardware person could anyone point me in a good direction for a laptop or the specs i should consider? thanks!

[ilovejedd]

I'm assuming a desktop won't be any good as you'll be needing the mobility?

You would probably want to get a laptop with a Core 2 Duo processor to speed up encoding tasks. It should also be good for multi-tasking. As for RAM, get a minimum of 1GB. For Vista, 2GB. A discrete graphics card would probably help for HD videos or if you're running Aero. You might want a large hard drive, too, depending on your needs.

Remember to take into consideration the screen size, weight, battery life, and keyboard layout of the laptop you're buying. Unless you plan on leaving the laptop on a desk all the time (complete with large LCD, wireless keyboard & mouse, etc, in which case, you'd be better off getting a desktop), you want to make sure the laptop is as comfortable for you as possible. Trust me, even 6lbs can seem like a lot when you're lugging it around on campus. On the other hand, an ultra-portable is no good when your hands are right next to each other and you keep typing he;;p instead of hello.

[gameplaya15143]

$1500That's how much I spent on mine 3 years ago, and it is my encoding machine.

One thing when buying a laptop, get the best video chipset you can. That is the most important thing to consider. Next RAM, CPU, HDD, etc. Video chipset is key to a laptop's extended usefulness, so get the best you can, you can't upgrade it later.

I just wish I could have gotten more than 32MB ATI 7500 in mine :( (had i waited 1 week I could have gotten 64mb :mad: ) I can't complain too much though, it runs Doom3 :devil:

[Awatef]

You could get something real good like the Dell Inspiron 1501 for about 1120$ only, with a powerful dual core AMD Turion X2 TL-60 (2 GHz!), 2GB memory, ATi Radeon graphics w/ 256MB Hypermemory, 120GB HDD, an 8x DVD burner, a glossy 15,4" widescreen display and a 9-cell battery for long running times.

This is an excellent configuration for video encoding & watching (even HD will be no problem).

[foxyshadis]

You might look for one with DX10 graphics, like an nvidia 8400M, although the selection is pretty limited. You're futureproofed and have the best platform for any hardware-assisted encoding/decoding at that point. Or wait a few months for the HD2300 (and up) notebooks to start showing up, but it probably won't really be worth the wait.

[VaShy23]

Thanks for your reply everyone. So far ive been looking around and building comps on different sites xD (amazing how time flies when you look for something you want) anyway i think ive settled at this notebook from dell!

specs:
PROCESSOR IntelCore2Duo 2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium (dident have xp......)
MEMORY 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
HARD DRIVE 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
VIDEO CARD 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON X1400 HyperMemory

i did a little reasearch on parts since im bored during school so im pretty sure thats a nice system for $1506 without student discount! any opinions?

[Taktaal]

Don't buy the Latitude 410 and 420 systems, those have serious quality issues. The other Dell laptops are great though.

[ilovejedd]

Which Dell site (Home Office or Small Business) were you browsing through? Sometimes, I find really good deals in the Small Business section, like $100-$200 less than the Home Office counterpart. You can buy from either.

Also, what laptop model are the above specs for? If you're adamant about using Windows XP, the Home Office site is offering XP on several models, it's just there's a specific link you have to follow. For the Small Business, I think almost everything is available with XP.

I believe it's been reported by forum members that DVDDecrypter, RipIt4Me, and the other necessities work just fine with Vista so I guess it would be fine to just get Vista.

Edit:
I'm guessing you opted for the Inspiron E1705? I tried building a similar system (actually, it's probably the exact same), with the Small Business equivalent - the Inspiron 9400. Price was $1,298 with Vista Business and $1,398 with Vista Ultimate. Of course, Dell Small Business charges sales tax in more states than Dell Home Office, but if you're paying tax either way, you can use the extra $100-$200 for either a faster processor, the 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS video card, a bigger hard drive, a longer warranty or peripherals such as a wireless mouse, printer, etc.

[feedback]

I have a HP dv 6000 laptop with a T5500 core 2 duo cpu. It is sooooo! much faster than my old laptop, when encoding a project.

I, also, recommend using a laptop cooler to keep your temp.'s down.

Although this unit is more efficient in use of battery power, the design is one where the HD is running @ 45C.

I use speedfan located Here (http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php) to keep an eye on temperature levels.

I would try to find and keep WindowsXP for your system over Vista. It is a resource hog and many features within it are merely fluff. You will find many people here that will agree with that fact.

[VaShy23]

i also agree that vista is merly eye candy and definatly that xp is more stable. My friend has had vista home premium and its nothing but trouble, especially if you dont have more than a gig of ram! The laptop i chose from dell was in employee and affiliates which you save alot of money on! my stepdads company has some deals with dell so thats why we can use it.

[Awatef]

@vashy23
Well, you could save even more w/ the AMD system.
The Turion X2 is only a little bit slower than the Core2Duo, for that you save a whole bunch (400$ is a lot of money indeed!).
And then, they give you Vista Basic only, which doesn't have the Aero interface, so that you don't even think about wasting your resources :D

[VaShy23]

You know aero does look kinda sexy :(

[lilhobo]

you would rather have a shuttle small form factor PCs and a LCD screen....as a hometheatre and college work

there really isnt much use of a laptop in the classroom...

DONT BUY THE CREATIVE ONES since Creative dont support them fully (Shuttle rebadged)

http://images.creative.com/iss/images/products/headers/prod11766_hdr_1_6_1.jpg

[gameplaya15143]

there really isnt much use of a laptop in the classroom...Sure there is.. it keeps you from falling asleep during that boring lecture :D

[partystar]

Sure there is.. it keeps you from falling asleep during that boring lecture :D

:)Yeah...I think that's true

[chainring]

If you don't care about usage outside of your dorm room, Acer has a really nice little desktop unit that I've considered. Based on an E6300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103060

[Dr.Khron]

there really isnt much use of a laptop in the classroom...

Lies, pure lies!
How else does one make fun of the professor with other students? Not out loud, thats for sure. :)

I would have scoffed at encoding on a laptop until recently...
However, the new PC they issued me at work is an encoding MONSTER.
Its a Thinkpad with a Centrino Duo chipset and a Yonah T2400 CPU.

Its overall encoding speed with x264 is a little more then TWICE as fast as my ageing desktop machine! I've been doing all of my encoding on it now... I lug it home everyday, plug it in and let it rip... its kind of nice to be able to work on my main PC while it encodes.

Whatever you get, make sure it has multiple cores.