Mike
The laptop I am currently using struggles when editing videos - and is almost impossible to edit HD videos with. I need something a bit more powerful.
So, what would be the minimum requirements + a bit more, just to be sure?
Answer
Began doing video production for my job at the end of last year. Like you, at the time, I was attempting to edit HD footage with an underpowered laptop, both at work and at home. When I was researching how to upgrade my system, I found this article, which was a really big help: http://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+System+recommendations+for+Video+Editing/0x4aebb06ba071d2b6a2cd784ce243a6c6.aspx
For home, I bought a Dell Studio XPS 435T: 8GB RAM, i7-920 processor, ATI Radeon HD video card, 750GB storage, and a 24'' monitor. At work, the company got me a Dell business workstation with 12GB RAM and a Xeon processor, with two 22'' monitors. A significant upgrade, to say the least. That may seem superfluous to you, but if you really want to build an HD-capable system, you need to go as beefy as you can.
That's why my advice would be to steer you away from a laptop; with a desktop, you're going to get far more bang for your buck, not to mention a much bigger screen.
It used to take an hour and a half to render a four minute video, and while editing, I was forced to have the preview window at the lowest/smallest resolution, both because of the lack of power and lack of screen real estate--not much fun and horribly time-consuming. Now, it takes eight minutes and I get to have the preview window at the best and biggest resolution, along with a timeline that stretches across two monitors--a whole lot of fun and much more efficient.
Which type of high def camcorder and files are you working with? AVCHD or HDV? Here's a blog post I wrote about my own workflow: http://www.werdofbert.com/2009/08/best-workflow-avchd-convert-editing.html
Any further questions, you can leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Hope this helped your decision!
Began doing video production for my job at the end of last year. Like you, at the time, I was attempting to edit HD footage with an underpowered laptop, both at work and at home. When I was researching how to upgrade my system, I found this article, which was a really big help: http://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+System+recommendations+for+Video+Editing/0x4aebb06ba071d2b6a2cd784ce243a6c6.aspx
For home, I bought a Dell Studio XPS 435T: 8GB RAM, i7-920 processor, ATI Radeon HD video card, 750GB storage, and a 24'' monitor. At work, the company got me a Dell business workstation with 12GB RAM and a Xeon processor, with two 22'' monitors. A significant upgrade, to say the least. That may seem superfluous to you, but if you really want to build an HD-capable system, you need to go as beefy as you can.
That's why my advice would be to steer you away from a laptop; with a desktop, you're going to get far more bang for your buck, not to mention a much bigger screen.
It used to take an hour and a half to render a four minute video, and while editing, I was forced to have the preview window at the lowest/smallest resolution, both because of the lack of power and lack of screen real estate--not much fun and horribly time-consuming. Now, it takes eight minutes and I get to have the preview window at the best and biggest resolution, along with a timeline that stretches across two monitors--a whole lot of fun and much more efficient.
Which type of high def camcorder and files are you working with? AVCHD or HDV? Here's a blog post I wrote about my own workflow: http://www.werdofbert.com/2009/08/best-workflow-avchd-convert-editing.html
Any further questions, you can leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Hope this helped your decision!
what gives a computer/laptop its ability to edit HD video?
Change
like on vegas pro
what is the minimal needed of GB and whatnot?
Answer
If you look at the specifications chart (in the sources) you will find the minimal requirements for running Vegas Pro 10.
Generally for HD video editing, you may need to dish out a bit more money to get the better versions of a PC's main components.
1.) CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU is the brain of the computer. Sony recommends you have a multicore processor, such as the Intel i5 (dual core, with some being a quad core) or the Intel i7 (quad core) processors which are common options for laptops today.
2.) Video Card. This takes most of the rendering and visual computing load off of the CPU. You will find that most laptop dealers will offer an addition of a video card with 1GB of video RAM on-board. I would recommend getting it.
3.) Hard Disk Drive (HDD). With editing and saving HD video files, you are going to eat up a bunch of memory space. I would recommend at least a 500 GB Hard Drive if you are going to be saving a lot of videos.
4.) RAM (Random Access Memory). This really effects the speed of your computer, allowing for the computer to save bits of data that it will need in the next few processes. This helps speed up rendering times, and just makes your computer generally able to completely take advantage of your preccessor's speed. I would recommend 4 GB at least if you are going to be running Windows 7.
If you look at the specifications chart (in the sources) you will find the minimal requirements for running Vegas Pro 10.
Generally for HD video editing, you may need to dish out a bit more money to get the better versions of a PC's main components.
1.) CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU is the brain of the computer. Sony recommends you have a multicore processor, such as the Intel i5 (dual core, with some being a quad core) or the Intel i7 (quad core) processors which are common options for laptops today.
2.) Video Card. This takes most of the rendering and visual computing load off of the CPU. You will find that most laptop dealers will offer an addition of a video card with 1GB of video RAM on-board. I would recommend getting it.
3.) Hard Disk Drive (HDD). With editing and saving HD video files, you are going to eat up a bunch of memory space. I would recommend at least a 500 GB Hard Drive if you are going to be saving a lot of videos.
4.) RAM (Random Access Memory). This really effects the speed of your computer, allowing for the computer to save bits of data that it will need in the next few processes. This helps speed up rendering times, and just makes your computer generally able to completely take advantage of your preccessor's speed. I would recommend 4 GB at least if you are going to be running Windows 7.
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