Will this laptop handle editing videos?

[Tony R]

I have a powerful I7 editing machine at home but was thinking about getting a powerful laptop to edit video on while at my "real" job or not at my home. I will use an external esata raid (dual drives raid 0). I wont be burning HD DVDs on it. Will this handle HDV, or even AVCHD? Here are the specs:


HP Pavilion dv7t Quad Edition
Espresso Black
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
Webcam Only
Intel Wireless-N Card
No TV Tuner w/remote control
HP Color Matching Keyboard
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
No Modem

I can get this for $975 delivered. Any suggestions are appreciated. I dont want to spend more than this for casual, leisure editing. I have my powerful system at home for that. Thanks.

Tony

[bbeanan]

I have a HP Pavilion dv6us that works just fine for basic HDV editing. Granted I am looking at upgrading my hard drive to a 7200 rpm drive to speed it up a bit more.

[Tony R]

Are the specs the same? (I7, 1066 FSB, 6GB Ram, dedicated 1GB Video Ram, etc.)? What drives are you editing on?

[bbeanan]

I have used a G-Raid via the e-sata connector
as for specs....

Product Name dv6-1280us
Product Number NV138UA#ABA
Microprocessor 2.40 GHz AMD Turion X2 Ultra ZM-87 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
Microprocessor Cache 2MB L2 Cache
Memory 6144MB
Memory Max 8192MB
Video Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 (M96)
Video Memory Up to 2815MB (1024MB dedicated)
Hard Drive 500GB (5400RPM)
Multimedia Drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display 16.0" Diagonal High Definition HP LED Brightview Display (1366x768)
Fax/Modem High speed 56k modem
Network Card Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wireless Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
Bluetooth

Sound Altec Lansing with SRS Premium Sound

Keyboard 101-key compatible with full size keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
Pointing Device Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical scroll Up/Down pad
PC Card Slots 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
External Ports 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 4th port shared with eSATA
2 Headphone out
1 microphone-in
HDMI
1 VGA (15-pin)
eSATA + USB 2.0
1 RJ-11 (modem)
1 RJ -45 (LAN)
1 notebook expansion port 3
1 IEEE 1394
irewire (4-pin)
1 Consumer IR (Remote Receiver)

Other Devices HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone

Dimensions 14.9" (L) x 10.15" (D) x 1.33" (min H)/1.61" (max H)
Weight 6.47 lbs

[Tony R]

I just bought a StarTech esata external dual drive enclosure. Only one drive can be detected in Raid 0 mode. The manual says that this is normal if the esata controller does not provide a port multiplier. I guess my motherboard does not have that feature. I want an esata array that will be detecte in any computer I connect it to. Do you know if your laptop has that port multiplier or if the G drive uses some technology that allows both drives to be detected in any system?

[bbeanan]

not sure I was using a different external drive that was not keeping up with me so I sent my runner over the the apple store to pick up a 2tb G-Raid I just plugged it in and it worked and I continued editing. After that i packed the drive back up and sent it back to the shop.

[radams]

Hi Tony,

Your specs seem okay...but please advise what kind of production you are wanting to do with it and SE.

That will better let us know what the needs and possible drawbacks are with the laptop.

Are you also looking to work mostly off of battery or plugged in?

Cheers,

[rj44319]

I use gateway FX laptop :D for on the road editing. BUT, I use it for pulling the video off the tapes. Nothing more. I edit at home. :)