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Help a newbie! - Notebook spec for video editing

post #1 of 21
6/12/05 at 7:47am
Thread Starter 
Hi all. This is my first post & is a question about the requirements for video editing. I'm looking at buying my first notebook & the most demanding task i will do is editing my home camcorder footage with Adobe Premiere Elements. Before i researched into notebooks i thought it would be a case of buying something mid-range & that would be it. Ive now come across all sorts of things like different processors, chipsets, graphics cards etc! My mind is boggled because i dont know much about it all.

I wondered if anybody could help me out by telling me if i would need a dedicated graphics card for running Adobe Premiere Elements or if i could just use an integrated one like the Intel 855gm or Intel 915gm? Im not worried about gaming so a dedicated graphics card wouldnt be important if i dont need one for video editing, from what ive read these can cause the laptop to warm up more than an integrated one & because i'll be using the notebook for 3-4 hours every evening (video editing, spreadsheet work & internet browsing) im worried this may do some damage in the long term.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thank you.
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post #2 of 21
6/12/05 at 10:13am
Hmm, im not sure, i never used Adobe Premier Elements, i got a Mac Mini for my video editing

Just make sure you get at LEAST 512mb, but better yet 1gb
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post #3 of 21
6/12/05 at 10:36am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for replying. I will be going for 1mg of RAM, & either a 5400rpm or 7200rpm HD, but my main worry is with the graphics card as this will have a big effect on my choice of notebook. Its all a bit confusing!
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post #4 of 21
6/12/05 at 7:29pm
my advice is that you want dedicated graphics, not integrated. Video editing is demanding, and you should have a good vid card. I'd recommend a 128MB graphics card.
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post #5 of 21
6/12/05 at 8:19pm
Thread Starter 
So does the graphics card play a part in the video editing then? Being a novice i'd read up on this a bit & couldnt work out if a dedicated graphics card didnt really come into force unless its being used by a game to produce 3D graphics? Also am i worrying too much about the heat issue with dedicated graphics notebooks....my worry is that if im using it all night, every night, then this could reduce the lifespan of the notebook. Thanks for help so far..
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post #6 of 21
6/13/05 at 3:54am
yeah, me too- what's the skinny on the role of dedicated graphics in the editing process? anyone with the know let us in on the facts...
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post #7 of 21
6/13/05 at 6:30pm
Video cards have no effect on video editing. The current issue of Videomaker magazine has an article on hardware needed to build a good video editing machine. They don't even mention video cards. You'll need a good cpu (not gpu), more RAM is better, and fast storage.

I repeat - video cards have no effect on video editing.
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post #8 of 21
6/13/05 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rfortson
I repeat - video cards have no effect on video editing.
lol... Do you know how long I've been trying to tell people that?
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post #9 of 21
6/13/05 at 8:25pm
Thread Starter 
rfortson & Teckng778....thanks for your replies. For me who doesn't know a great deal about notebook technologies i found it quite difficult to find out exactly what i needed to suit occasional editing. I trawled around the internet & magazines for days but couldnt find many suggestions, & when i did i'd find one later of a different suggestion.....so i appreciate your positive answer on this. At least now i know i can go for an integrated graphics card & save some money, & avoid the increased heat issue.

Thanks again, your advice is well appreciated.
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post #10 of 21
6/13/05 at 9:34pm
Welcome to the forums!
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post #11 of 21
6/13/05 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jprojr
rfortson & Teckng778....thanks for your replies. For me who doesn't know a great deal about notebook technologies i found it quite difficult to find out exactly what i needed to suit occasional editing. I trawled around the internet & magazines for days but couldnt find many suggestions, & when i did i'd find one later of a different suggestion.....so i appreciate your positive answer on this. At least now i know i can go for an integrated graphics card & save some money, & avoid the increased heat issue.

Thanks again, your advice is well appreciated.

No problem, thats why we are here, to help people with notebook questions & problems...
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post #12 of 21
6/14/05 at 3:37am
hello,

i have read quite a few posts on various video editing message boards and they all say to get a 7200 rpm hd.

i hope this helps.

indera

Quote:
Originally Posted by jprojr
Thanks for replying. I will be going for 1mg of RAM, & either a 5400rpm or 7200rpm HD, but my main worry is with the graphics card as this will have a big effect on my choice of notebook. Its all a bit confusing!
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post #13 of 21
6/14/05 at 3:45am
hello,

you may want to post this question in the forum for premier elements. they are very helpful. http://www.adobe.com/support/forums/main.html

i purchased this software a few weeks ago, but have not had time to install it.

i have a product called lapcool2 that sits under my laptop. it does keep it cool and i often have my laptop on for 10 or more hours straight. i know that there are posts here about this product.

this model has 4 usb ports and is the one i have
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834999413

the other model doesn't have the 4 ports.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834999412

i hope this helps.
indera


Quote:
Originally Posted by jprojr
Hi all. This is my first post & is a question about the requirements for video editing. I'm looking at buying my first notebook & the most demanding task i will do is editing my home camcorder footage with Adobe Premiere Elements. Before i researched into notebooks i thought it would be a case of buying something mid-range & that would be it. Ive now come across all sorts of things like different processors, chipsets, graphics cards etc! My mind is boggled because i dont know much about it all.

I wondered if anybody could help me out by telling me if i would need a dedicated graphics card for running Adobe Premiere Elements or if i could just use an integrated one like the Intel 855gm or Intel 915gm? Im not worried about gaming so a dedicated graphics card wouldnt be important if i dont need one for video editing, from what ive read these can cause the laptop to warm up more than an integrated one & because i'll be using the notebook for 3-4 hours every evening (video editing, spreadsheet work & internet browsing) im worried this may do some damage in the long term.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thank you.
Reply
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post #14 of 21
6/14/05 at 3:47am

ram

i agree with artek,

buy a gig of ram.
a friend and i have the same exact laptop, the only difference is the ram and my laptop is faster. we have put them side by side and opened the same software like photoshop and mine opens the software faster. yes, i know this isn't a scientific test, but it's the best we could do (smile).

indera

Quote:
Originally Posted by Artek
Hmm, im not sure, i never used Adobe Premier Elements, i got a Mac Mini for my video editing

Just make sure you get at LEAST 512mb, but better yet 1gb
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post #15 of 21
6/14/05 at 3:51am
Thread Starter 
all of your help & advice has been great, & thanks for the welcome
now ive just got the biggest problem left...which notebook to pick!

I'd read about 7200rpm HD being recommended too, if not then i was near to going for the Asus W3A (14" is the biggest screen i want) but its only 4200rpm. The search goes on..........
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post #16 of 21
6/14/05 at 1:38pm
1) a 7200RPM drive doesnt gain you much when compaired to a 5400RPM drive... I recommend a 5400RPM...

2) Video Card Doesnt Matter...

3) I recommend at least 512MB of ram, go for 1GB if you can...
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post #17 of 21
6/14/05 at 2:35pm
I would recommend the Gateway M680 because it has a fantastic screen, 17in so lots of screen space for editing, runs very quiet and Gateway will "deal" with you to reduce the overall price. I bought the minimum RAM and then picked up 2 1gb sticks at egghead for about $115 each See the Gateway threads for more details.

I am very happy with mine (I use Vegas for video editing)
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post #18 of 21
6/14/05 at 4:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jprojr
rfortson & Teckng778....thanks for your replies. For me who doesn't know a great deal about notebook technologies i found it quite difficult to find out exactly what i needed to suit occasional editing. I trawled around the internet & magazines for days but couldnt find many suggestions, & when i did i'd find one later of a different suggestion.....so i appreciate your positive answer on this. At least now i know i can go for an integrated graphics card & save some money, & avoid the increased heat issue.

Thanks again, your advice is well appreciated.
You're welcome. Looks like you're getting good advice here, which is what it's all about.

On the 7200rpm HD, I've seen that advice as well, and I'd recommend getting one if you can. However, the 5400rpm drive should work fine and you'll save a little bit of money. My laptop has a 4200rpm drive and it has worked fine with editing video, though I wouldn't be surprised to see some dropped frames while capturing or rendering video. I think I'm skating on thin ice with this drive. As long as it works, though, I'll continue to use it.

Check out some of the dedicated video editing fora and websites. Videomaker magazine has a website with some (occasionally) interesting articles. Their latest issue has an article about building your own editing computer, but it's not on their website yet. Simplydv.com has a good forum for video editing, and the people there can tell you all about the hardware you'll need.

Good luck!
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post #19 of 21
6/14/05 at 4:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rfortson
Simplydv.com has a good forum for video editing, and the people there can tell you all about the hardware you'll need.
That looks like a good source...
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post #20 of 21
6/14/05 at 5:13pm
Thread Starter 
Funny you should mention SimplyDV...i used to look & post on that site when i was trying to choose my camcorder & they gave great advice too...ended up with a Sony DCR-PC350. I didnt think to return there for hardware advice, thanks.

Also with regard to 5400rpm drives...if they are suitable for video editing then that opens up more options for notebook choice. Was looking at the new Sony S4XP recently which is 5400rpm. Now the Sony has a dedicated graphics card which brings me to another question.......i know a dedicated card serves no real purpose for editing, so if there is one on the machine i buy & im not using the notebook for anything demanding like gaming, would i not suffer as much from the heat issue if im not pushing the card, or are they continuosly producing heat by default?

edit - Sony S4XP is the model here in the UK....I believe its called the S480 in the US.
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