I'm in the middle of specing a Dell laptop for video editing and would like opinions about which processor will do the job best using Vegas Pro 8 and XP Pro, 2 Gb and a 200 Gb 7,200 rpm HDD. TIA...

 

I'm not a computer techie, but I have the Intel Core 2 processor and it's worked great for all my college needs. Sorry if that wasn't much help....just my .02

 

Bob, I will be building a new gaming rig soon, and for that I am going with the Intel core 2.

I hear Intel has surpassed AMD for gaming now with that chip.
You can never go wrong with Intel.

 

Unfortunately for AMD, Intel currently has the performance crown. Make sure you get at least 2 GB of ram if you are doing video editing. Good luck!

 

Unless your going to run vista, then double that ram, 2 gigs for xp is great.

 

Thanks all, Intel it is. I'll start with 2 Gb (only rendering SD, no HD plans for the future) and if needed go aftermarket.

 

So corey what type of gaming online do you play?

 

I've got an AMD Turion 64x2 and run vista. I like it, and I only run 2 gigs. A little Vista trick, get two gigs of memory and then use a USB drive...


When you plug it in, it gives you an option to use the usb drive to boost the memory. I have a 2 gig usb drive and it's like my computer is on speed with it plugged in.

 

I ordered an Inspiron with XP Pro (and a whole lot more) using all the codes I could find that expired today. It's intended to be a desktop replacement. I didn't want the 3-year onsite warranty, but got an extra 12% off with it so it came out almost a wash and included some fluff I won't use like Trend Micro, a 1-year tuneup and some other stuff.

I ordered online first, but after several hours got no receipt. I called Dell who had no record, so re-ordered with the nice sales rep (in the Philippines). Meanwhile, one of the coupon codes had expired, so his quote was more. I asked him to do better and call me back. Two hours later he beat the online quote by $90. It might be worth your while to call instead of ordering online, it worked for me.

Here it is, including free two-day shipping, a good thing since it won't ship until 12/28. It'll be interesting to compare DVD rendering times to my 3-year old 2.8 Ghz HT Dell desktop:

Item Number Quantity Item Description
222-9009 1 Inspiron 1520, Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 2.2GHz, 800Mhz, 4M L2 Cache
313-5399 1 Midnight Blue Color with Microsatin Finish
311-7215 1 2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
320-5462 1 High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1680x1050)
320-5639 1 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
341-4770 1 160G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
420-4770 1 Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2, English, for Inspiron
313-5812 1 XP DELL RESOURCE ,BACK-UP DVD 1520
420-7024 1 Media Direct 3.3
310-8617 1 Thank you for choosing Dell
412-0689 1 Image Restore
420-4928 1 Windows Media Player 10
420-5769 1 Internet Search and Portal
463-2282 1 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
420-5924 1 Icon Consolidation Application
420-7622 1 DELL SUPPORT CENTER 2.0
430-0493 1 Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron
420-7468 1 ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP
313-5197 1 8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
420-6464 1 Roxio Creator Basic
313-4783 1 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
430-2346 1 Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card
320-5691 1 Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
420-6487 1 Trend Micro PC-cillin InternetSecurity, English, 15-Month Subscription
312-0526 1 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1520
461-3063 1 No ISP Requested
412-0915 1 MS WORKS 8.5
950-3339 1 3 Year Limited Warranty
960-7391 1 1 yr Automated PC Tune Up
987-4827 1 Insp Datasafe 10GB,1YR,DHS
420-7091 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS
420-7094 1 DataSafe Online 10GB for Dim/Ins/XPS
412-0360 1 Soft Contracts - Banctec
950-5442 1 Warranty Support,2 Year Extended
960-2780 1 Warranty Support,Initial Year
986-5848 1 Thank you for choosing a Limited Warranty and Service Contract
982-8392 1 Type 15- Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, 2 Year Extended
987-7228 1 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year
983-3080 1 Type 15- Third Party At HomeService with Nights and Weekends, 24x7 Technical Support,Initial Year
987-7227 1 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
420-7627 1 PC Tune-up, 1 Year (For English OS only)
988-0649 1 LoJack Theft Recovery Service - 1 Year
320-5826 1 Midnight Blue color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
310-8624 1 You have chosen a Windows XP System
310-8319 1 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
412-0943 1 Basic digital Music,Photo and Game experience
988-0089 1 DataSafe included with DellCare Service bundle
Subtotal: $1,459.29
Shipping and Handling: $0.00
Total: $1,459.29

 

As I was looking at your spec. I know its a DELL PC... Yeap I also choose no warranty since i'm a computer builder myself. On my hard drive they formated it to NTFS which is so noisy so I formated it to FAT32 which it suppose to be format and now its quieter. Mine cost about the same price. About 1400, now I owed them 800 left. Got the 18months w/o interest fee which is getting there so I will try to pay it off by then.