[Paul M C]

Hi all

Well, decided to upgrade my current Toshiba 4 year old laptop. It's been a decent machine, but I really want to get into HD video editing, hence the upgrade...

I was looking in PC World at lunchtime and have narrowed it down to these two:

Firstly this one:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/search...-criteria.html

and secondly this one:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/search...-criteria.html

Both are Sony Vaio machines.

However, the main differences (apart from the obvious price!) is the following:

Cheaper one uses i5 instead of i7
Cheaper one has DVD and not Blu-Ray
Cheaper one has Vaio display, more expensive one says Vaio display "plus"?
Cheaper one has 4gb ram as opposed to 8gb
Graphic card on dearer one is AMD Radeon HD 7650M 2GB dedicated memory

So hope someone can help answer a few basic questions for me: As I say, I want to get into HD video editing, but won't be a full time thing, just bits here and there. Other than that, I just want it for everday internet and general word processing/spreadsheet use....

Firstly, in "reality" is there much difference between an i5 and i7 processor? Would this make a lot or noticeable difference when rendering HD video?

Secondly, does anyone know what the difference is between a vaio display and vaio display "plus"??

Thirdly, I know (presume) that the 8gb memory on the dearer one is alot better than the 4gb on the cheaper one....(but you could simply upgrade the 4 to 8 cheaply enough)

Graphics card: Could anyone please have a look at the two mentioned (cheaper one is Intel HD Graphics 3000 as opposed to AMD Radeon HD 7650M 2GB dedicated memory on the dearer one....again, would I notice much difference?

Both are 17.3 " inch displays - I usually go for 15.6" but I wonder if 17.3" would be better for video editing etc...

Anyhow, if anyone could help me answer any of the questions above, I would be really, really grateful

Thanks!

[Daedroth]

Do you really want a laptop for video editing? The reason I say is because desktop computers are far cheaper and much better for video editing.

Basically, for video editing, the £1000 one is much better. Better processor, more RAM and a much better graphics card. The cheaper one has 'shared' graphics, which perform very poorly, however for video editing I think it doesn't matter, as the processor is the main component for it.

[anniebrion]

Originally Posted by Daedroth

Do you really want a laptop for video editing? The reason I say is because desktop computers are far cheaper and much better for video editing.

Basically, for video editing, the £1000 one is much better. Better processor, more RAM and a much better graphics card. The cheaper one has 'shared' graphics, which perform very poorly, however for video editing I think it doesn't matter, as the processor is the main component for it.

FYI, More and more video editing software uses a GPU to speed up rendering, usually as external GPU would give more power. an i7 k series processor has on chip GPU that can be used for extra video processing power

[noise747]

Originally Posted by anniebrion

FYI, More and more video editing software uses a GPU to speed up rendering, usually as external GPU would give more power. an i7 k series processor has on chip GPU that can be used for extra video processing power

depends on software and some of the rendering I have seen done using the I7 chips are pretty poor.

[Paul M C]

Originally Posted by noise747

depends on software and some of the rendering I have seen done using the I7 chips are pretty poor.

So generally speaking, is there a real vast difference between i5 and i7 processors when it comes to HD video editing? I guess on most other usages (other than video editing) you wouldn't really notice the difference?

[subversive]

Originally Posted by Paul M C

So generally speaking, is there a real vast difference between i5 and i7 processors when it comes to HD video editing? I guess on most other usages (other than video editing) you wouldn't really notice the difference?

i7 uses hyper threading and is generally more powerful than an i5. it would be stupid to say they are both the same.

to be honest, I would recommend a desktop over a laptop. BUT if you want a laptop, then I don't recommend sony anymore.

The new Dell XPS laptops are nice, so are lenovo and toshiba.

in the end the choice is yours. I say future proof yourself and get the more power laptop, but its nearly double the price of the cheaper one.

oh and a dedicated graphics card is always going to be better than a onboard one anyday

[Paul M C]

Originally Posted by subversive

i7 uses hyper threading and is generally more powerful than an i5. it would be stupid to say they are both the same.

to be honest, I would recommend a desktop over a laptop. BUT if you want a laptop, then I don't recommend sony anymore.

The new Dell XPS laptops are nice, so are lenovo and toshiba.

in the end the choice is yours. I say future proof yourself and get the more power laptop, but its nearly double the price of the cheaper one.

oh and a dedicated graphics card is always going to be better than a onboard one anyday

Thanks for the advice......just out of interest, why do you say that about the Sony? Are they not very good?

[alanwarwic]

Wouldn't something like the SVS1511S9E be better?
Ultralight
Magnesium Chassis.
Full 1080P IPS screen.
Its got a slot loading blu-ray and has the newer HD 4000 graphics.

Seems to be 'coming soon' at the online Sony store and the education store.
I'd check out the 17" full HD ones there too.

[subversive]

Originally Posted by Paul M C

Thanks for the advice......just out of interest, why do you say that about the Sony? Are they not very good?

Well my last sony, failed due to a defective graphics chip, not only that, they knew about it. Infact Nvidia ship these chips out to sony, dell, hp. Sony have been the most arsey in reparing users laptops. google nvidia defective graphics chip.

This has obviously left a bitter taste. What else do you expect from big corps like sony...

But thats my own personal experience.

if you look at what you pay for, you will see with sony, you pay more for the style, like with apple, but spec on spec other brands offer more.

I bought a lenovo i5 2.50ghz, bluray drive, 750gb hd, 6gb ram, 720p hd, 2gb video for £507.

I am building a desktop PC just for video editing around a i7 3770k or dare I say, AMD Bulldozer FX8150, with 16GB ram, 1TB HD and 2GB graphics card....would love a ssd, but too pricey for my budget.

Personally, I would say get a desktop, BUT its your choice and if you want a laptop, get a good one, look at the spec. For 1k, i7 minimum, you should get bluray, 8gb or more, big hard drive and graphics card...look at the HD speed, most spin at 5400rpm compared to a faster drive at 7200rpm, which will be better. Or even better is SSD, but then your topping £1500 easy or more

[Paul M C]

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~12716781

Does this one look ok? What are Samsung like generally for laptops? Are they any good/well received?

[alanwarwic]

Originally Posted by subversive

i7 uses hyper threading and is generally more powerful than an i5...if you want a laptop, then I don't recommend sony anymore.

You really have to judge every system on its merits.

Contracts and designs etc change all the time so a Dell could be like an old Sony and Vice versa.
i5's are usually hyper threading too with i3's having the feature turned off.

i7 has most features left turned on but it could also be more liable to cook the laptop.
I liked the S series for being a very high quality lightweight traditional design.

[subversive]

Originally Posted by alanwarwic

You really have to judge every system on its merits.

Contracts and designs etc change all the time so a Dell could be like an old Sony and Vice versa.
i5's are usually hyper threading too with i3's having the feature turned off.

i7 has most features left turned on but it could also be more liable to cook the laptop.
I liked the S series for being a very high quality lightweight traditional design.

I agree. My experience about the Sony laptops are based on whats happened with me.

an i5 is good processor. But I think if your buying a laptop or PC for HD video editing, then its good to spend a little more.